Feeding with plankton

Bontrager · 12/01/2009, 06:51 AM

I am getting reading to add a few "filter feeder" type corals to my aquarium.

I was going to use one the the "plankton" foods available but how to I go about feeding?

Shut of the pumps, skimmer; and if so for how long?

Thank you.

ChadTheSpike · 12/01/2009, 07:14 AM

I started by feeding 1 1/2 tsp every other day for a week, then 3 tsp then 4.5 tsp then 6 tsp for a week, then I switched to every day where I am now. I mix 1/2 of it with cyclopeeze and oyster eggs and put the other half in my refugium. Then I shut off my return pump (in tank circulation stays on and skimmer is in sump so it goes off) for about 30-45 minutes or so, this is about the amount of time for my water to clear up and most of the food in the water column to be consumed. Finally I spot feed anything that prefers 'larger' food (duncan, sun coral, lobos, and trachyphillia) with mysis.

For the most part, phyto feeds coral foods, not the corals themselves, if you are adding some of the filter phyto feeders, good luck to you!!!

My sister is experimenting with some small polyped gorgs and goniopora, and other NPS corals and has had some success for the last year or so, I can fill you in with her methods if you want.

Chad

HUNGER · 12/01/2009, 07:33 AM

wher do you get it at or do you grow it urself?

der_wille_zur_macht · 12/01/2009, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChadTheSpike

For the most part, phyto feeds coral foods, not the corals themselves, if you are adding some of the filter phyto feeders, good luck to you!!!

This bears repeating. Make SURE you know exactly which coral species need which foods. Talking about plankton feeding in a general sense can be misleading, without knowing real details about the specifics involved.

ChadTheSpike · 12/01/2009, 07:53 AM

I have a poor green thumb

so I buy it (DTs). The store bought stuff tends to be more concentrated, and it is not uncommon to add 1-2 cups or more of homeade phyto to a tank that is 100 gallons.

I forgot to mention in my previous post that my tank has about 100 gallons of volume.

IslandCrow · 12/01/2009, 09:22 AM

+1 to der wille zur macht. First, there are many types of plankton (phytoplankton, zooplankton, bacterioplankton, etc.) that comes in many shapes and sizes. Second, few corals really "filter feed" in the sense that we usually think of the word. Lastly, I'm not a big fan of most of the microplankton foods you find in the stores.

Let us know specifically what types of corals you're talking about, and we should be able to help you more.

Bontrager · 12/02/2009, 06:51 AM

Thank you for all of your responses

The corals that I will be receiving to day are:

Favia Brain Coral

Fiji Moon Coral

Nano Polyp 5 pack (5 different varities of polyps)

All pruchased from Dr's Foster 7 Smith; live aquaria

In your opinion what type of food, by name, should I purchase; would prefer braodcast feeding.

der_wille_zur_macht · 12/02/2009, 08:15 AM

None. In a thriving reef tank with adequate light, those corals don't need food. And, adding the wrong type of food, or too much, can create nutrient problems in your tank, so it's risky business.

If you want to target feed the corals with larger polyps, you can squirt some meaty bits at them from a turkey baster.

kyrin01 · 12/02/2009, 08:25 AM

Chad, I think u r fooling urself with the poor green thumb thing. What about ur 30 lb mass of cheato?!?! That's green!

IslandCrow · 12/02/2009, 10:04 AM

The Favia I might feed on occasion (once or twice a week at most). I'm actually a big fan of feeding corals when possible. Although they get plenty of glucose from their zooxanthallae, I think many of our corals tend to be deficient in nitrate based foods. I can't remember what genus or species moon corals are. I'm thinking they're also a type of Favia.

Anyway, I fed my Favias and Favites small pieces of meaty foods like mysis or Cyclopeeze. You should see their feeding tentacles come out at night. It may take a couple weeks while they're adapting to your tank for you to see a feeding response. If you want to reduce the amount of food that's wasted, you can hand feed the individual polyps. It's a bit time consuming, but for larger food like mysis, I really hate to just blow it in the general direction of the coral hoping it'll snag even half of what I feed it.

I'm guessing your "polyps" are some type of Zoanthid or possibly Palythoa. Many of those cannot really be target fed, but some will actually accept small bits of meaty foods. I usually don't feed mine, though I have seen increased growth with my Purple Death Palys when I target fed them a couple times a week.

ChadTheSpike · 12/02/2009, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyrin01

Chad, I think u r fooling urself with the poor green thumb thing. What about ur 30 lb mass of cheato?!?! That's green!

haha, yea I guess so on that one... you should have seen my attempts at phyto though!!! A mess that I dont soon want to replicate! Id much rather buy that stuff!

bertoni · 12/02/2009, 04:54 PM

A good phytoplankton source, like DT's, can increase the amount of various types of live prey that your corals might consume. That was my observation, anyway.

dh350twin · 12/02/2009, 05:13 PM

marine snow 3 times a week no skimmer for 15 min

12/01/2009, 06:51 AM	#1
Bontrager Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 123	Feeding with plankton I am getting reading to add a few "filter feeder" type corals to my aquarium. I was going to use one the the "plankton" foods available but how to I go about feeding? Shut of the pumps, skimmer; and if so for how long? Thank you.

12/01/2009, 07:14 AM	#2
ChadTheSpike Reef Engineer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Washington DC Posts: 1,526 Blog Entries: 1	I started by feeding 1 1/2 tsp every other day for a week, then 3 tsp then 4.5 tsp then 6 tsp for a week, then I switched to every day where I am now. I mix 1/2 of it with cyclopeeze and oyster eggs and put the other half in my refugium. Then I shut off my return pump (in tank circulation stays on and skimmer is in sump so it goes off) for about 30-45 minutes or so, this is about the amount of time for my water to clear up and most of the food in the water column to be consumed. Finally I spot feed anything that prefers 'larger' food (duncan, sun coral, lobos, and trachyphillia) with mysis. For the most part, phyto feeds coral foods, not the corals themselves, if you are adding some of the filter phyto feeders, good luck to you!!! My sister is experimenting with some small polyped gorgs and goniopora, and other NPS corals and has had some success for the last year or so, I can fill you in with her methods if you want. Chad __________________ ~Chad "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." Current Tank Info: 195 gallons of fun

12/01/2009, 07:53 AM	#5
ChadTheSpike Reef Engineer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Washington DC Posts: 1,526 Blog Entries: 1	I have a poor green thumb so I buy it (DTs). The store bought stuff tends to be more concentrated, and it is not uncommon to add 1-2 cups or more of homeade phyto to a tank that is 100 gallons. I forgot to mention in my previous post that my tank has about 100 gallons of volume. __________________ ~Chad "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." Current Tank Info: 195 gallons of fun

12/01/2009, 09:22 AM	#6
IslandCrow Reef Monkey Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Rockledge, Fl Posts: 5,759	+1 to der wille zur macht. First, there are many types of plankton (phytoplankton, zooplankton, bacterioplankton, etc.) that comes in many shapes and sizes. Second, few corals really "filter feed" in the sense that we usually think of the word. Lastly, I'm not a big fan of most of the microplankton foods you find in the stores. Let us know specifically what types of corals you're talking about, and we should be able to help you more. __________________ All opinions in the above message should be taken with 35 ppt salt. -Mike C. Current Tank Info: I have a reef screen saver on my phone, does that count?

12/02/2009, 08:15 AM	#8
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	None. In a thriving reef tank with adequate light, those corals don't need food. And, adding the wrong type of food, or too much, can create nutrient problems in your tank, so it's risky business. If you want to target feed the corals with larger polyps, you can squirt some meaty bits at them from a turkey baster. __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

12/01/2009, 07:33 AM	#3
HUNGER Moved On Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: OHIO Posts: 95	wher do you get it at or do you grow it urself?

12/02/2009, 06:51 AM	#7
Bontrager Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 123	Thank you for all of your responses The corals that I will be receiving to day are: Favia Brain Coral Fiji Moon Coral Nano Polyp 5 pack (5 different varities of polyps) All pruchased from Dr's Foster 7 Smith; live aquaria In your opinion what type of food, by name, should I purchase; would prefer braodcast feeding.

12/02/2009, 08:25 AM	#9
kyrin01 Moved On Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 301	Chad, I think u r fooling urself with the poor green thumb thing. What about ur 30 lb mass of cheato?!?! That's green!

12/02/2009, 10:04 AM	#10
IslandCrow Reef Monkey Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Rockledge, Fl Posts: 5,759	The Favia I might feed on occasion (once or twice a week at most). I'm actually a big fan of feeding corals when possible. Although they get plenty of glucose from their zooxanthallae, I think many of our corals tend to be deficient in nitrate based foods. I can't remember what genus or species moon corals are. I'm thinking they're also a type of Favia. Anyway, I fed my Favias and Favites small pieces of meaty foods like mysis or Cyclopeeze. You should see their feeding tentacles come out at night. It may take a couple weeks while they're adapting to your tank for you to see a feeding response. If you want to reduce the amount of food that's wasted, you can hand feed the individual polyps. It's a bit time consuming, but for larger food like mysis, I really hate to just blow it in the general direction of the coral hoping it'll snag even half of what I feed it. I'm guessing your "polyps" are some type of Zoanthid or possibly Palythoa. Many of those cannot really be target fed, but some will actually accept small bits of meaty foods. I usually don't feed mine, though I have seen increased growth with my Purple Death Palys when I target fed them a couple times a week. __________________ All opinions in the above message should be taken with 35 ppt salt. -Mike C. Current Tank Info: I have a reef screen saver on my phone, does that count?

12/02/2009, 04:54 PM	#12
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	A good phytoplankton source, like DT's, can increase the amount of various types of live prey that your corals might consume. That was my observation, anyway. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

12/02/2009, 05:13 PM	#13
dh350twin Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: kent island md Posts: 599	marine snow 3 times a week no skimmer for 15 min