Feeding Open Brain Coral

StarGazer_1 · 03/19/2009, 12:04 AM

First time I fed him by hand
Had him a week
Way Cool
I thought only my wife had a mouth that big

ReefStuff · 03/19/2009, 12:20 AM

Yeah, it's fun isn't it!

I love feeding all of the LPS in our culturing systems.

Ricky Soutas Jr.
-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-
www.ReefStuff.com

robot2222 · 03/19/2009, 12:30 AM

what did u feed him ?

StarGazer_1 · 03/19/2009, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by robot2222
what did u feed him ?

Frozen brine shrimp, thawed
used a syringe
turned off flow first

jbird0420 · 03/19/2009, 05:42 AM

I feed my Brains every other day. Small chunk of raw shrimp. They love it! My smallest red brain has doubled in size since I purchased him in Dec.

SharkBait_Mtl · 03/19/2009, 05:47 AM

i try to feed my brains, but my clown or my wrasse usually steal the food before the brain eats. I have 4 brains in my tank and I honestly never seen them eat... however... I now feed 2 cubes in the AM and 2 in the PM and I am sure they end up with a little morsel....

is there a way I can try to feed it without having the other fish in my tank steal their food???

jbird0420 · 03/19/2009, 06:35 AM

There is a way my friend!

Had the same problem. Get a tupperware container that will fit over the brain nicely. Drill some holes into it. After you feed the brain, cover him up, till he's consumed the food.

Quote:

Originally posted by SharkBait_Mtl
i try to feed my brains, but my clown or my wrasse usually steal the food before the brain eats. I have 4 brains in my tank and I honestly never seen them eat... however... I now feed 2 cubes in the AM and 2 in the PM and I am sure they end up with a little morsel....

is there a way I can try to feed it without having the other fish in my tank steal their food???

snorvich · 03/19/2009, 06:37 AM

You can keep fish from stealing if you get a tupperware bowl (or other brand) punch holes in it so it will stay down. Place over coral and feed through the holes with a sea squirt or turkey baster.

CIGDAZE · 03/19/2009, 06:37 AM

Use a feeding probe, drop a few pieces onto the brain's mouth, and wave the wand around for a minute or so keeping the fish away. Mine takes no more than a minute to open up, eat, and close back up. After that, the fish can thieve no more.

SharkBait_Mtl · 03/19/2009, 06:51 AM

thx for the tips... I will try that tonight... Do all brains feed like this??

jbird0420 · 03/19/2009, 06:54 AM

I have 2 that eat really quick! And 1 slow poke. Takes him 15min sometimes....

will16 · 03/19/2009, 07:29 AM

I do the plastic bottle cut in half technique. Place over brain and feed with a baster through the neck. My biggest thieves are shrimp.

bubbly · 03/19/2009, 11:15 AM

I put a powerhead pointing down over my brain, he loves it -- it's red during the day, but at night he puts out all these feeding tentacles so he looks almost white.

If I gave him larger chunks of food (scallop) he would eat them but then throw them back up later.

He started getting skinny, but after I put the flow pointing down over him he started looking very happy.

bassist6108 · 03/19/2009, 11:26 AM

Some types of brains have more than one mouth. Mine has 4 or 5 smaller ones lined up in a row. Be careful not to feed yours pieces of food that are too large.

JEFFR259 · 03/19/2009, 03:11 PM

I used to do the tupperware trick.

Now I feed shortly after the lights are out. On a day that I will be feeding LPS (I feed mixture of PE Mysis and Brine Shrimp), I'll feed the fish rather heavily right before the lights go out, so there nice and full. I'll then wait for all the lights to go out. About 25 mins after actinics go out (all fishies are asleep at that time), I shut all pumps off and strategically place food on the LPS with a Turkey Baster.

The first few times I did this, took my LPS about 30 mins to open, swallow and then close. After a few times, the LPS learned to eat quickly. Now it takes about 5 minutes for their eating cycle. Once the mouths close, pumps come back on.

If you have shrimp, you may have to fend them off a little bit as mine tend to be awake even when the lights are out. If their buggin the LPS while they are eating, I'll spot feed the shrimp to keep them occupied.

StarGazer_1 · 03/19/2009, 10:45 PM

as an after thought do zoo's sting brain corals?

03/19/2009, 12:04 AM	#1
StarGazer_1 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Strathroy, ontario, Canada Posts: 230	Feeding Open Brain Coral First time I fed him by hand Had him a week Way Cool I thought only my wife had a mouth that big __________________ 55 Gal Reef 20 Gal Guppy tank I didn't take them from the sea, but I didn't put them back either. Gettin zoo'd with my zoos!! Current Tank Info: 55G Reef, 20G Guppy, and a 35 Gal carp pond in the back yard for the wife.

03/19/2009, 12:30 AM	#3
robot2222 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: phoenix, arizonia Posts: 1,283	what did u feed him ? __________________ 14 gallon biocube Current Tank Info: 72 gallon bowfront

03/19/2009, 05:47 AM	#6
SharkBait_Mtl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Montreal Posts: 354	i try to feed my brains, but my clown or my wrasse usually steal the food before the brain eats. I have 4 brains in my tank and I honestly never seen them eat... however... I now feed 2 cubes in the AM and 2 in the PM and I am sure they end up with a little morsel.... is there a way I can try to feed it without having the other fish in my tank steal their food??? __________________ SharkBait_Mtl ~700g system 180g in-wall reef (build) 40g coral raising tank 60g DT 80g banggai breeder 29g clown breeder 20g raising tank + 3 sumps, refugium Profilux Plus EX2 controlled Reefing is like racing... the faster you go the harder you crash click red house for my 180 build

03/19/2009, 06:37 AM	#8
snorvich Team RC member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Outlander Posts: 40,953 Blog Entries: 46	You can keep fish from stealing if you get a tupperware bowl (or other brand) punch holes in it so it will stay down. Place over coral and feed through the holes with a sea squirt or turkey baster. __________________ Warmest regards, ~Steve~

03/19/2009, 06:51 AM	#10
SharkBait_Mtl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Montreal Posts: 354	thx for the tips... I will try that tonight... Do all brains feed like this?? __________________ SharkBait_Mtl ~700g system 180g in-wall reef (build) 40g coral raising tank 60g DT 80g banggai breeder 29g clown breeder 20g raising tank + 3 sumps, refugium Profilux Plus EX2 controlled Reefing is like racing... the faster you go the harder you crash click red house for my 180 build

03/19/2009, 12:20 AM	#2
ReefStuff Moved On Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 84	Yeah, it's fun isn't it! I love feeding all of the LPS in our culturing systems. Ricky Soutas Jr. -Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.- www.ReefStuff.com

03/19/2009, 05:42 AM	#5
jbird0420 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Parrish, Florida Posts: 1,079	I feed my Brains every other day. Small chunk of raw shrimp. They love it! My smallest red brain has doubled in size since I purchased him in Dec.

03/19/2009, 06:37 AM	#9
CIGDAZE Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: St. Petersburg, FL Posts: 136	Use a feeding probe, drop a few pieces onto the brain's mouth, and wave the wand around for a minute or so keeping the fish away. Mine takes no more than a minute to open up, eat, and close back up. After that, the fish can thieve no more.

03/19/2009, 06:54 AM	#11
jbird0420 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Parrish, Florida Posts: 1,079	I have 2 that eat really quick! And 1 slow poke. Takes him 15min sometimes....

03/19/2009, 07:29 AM	#12
will16 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 1,812	I do the plastic bottle cut in half technique. Place over brain and feed with a baster through the neck. My biggest thieves are shrimp.

03/19/2009, 11:15 AM	#13
bubbly Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 331	I put a powerhead pointing down over my brain, he loves it -- it's red during the day, but at night he puts out all these feeding tentacles so he looks almost white. If I gave him larger chunks of food (scallop) he would eat them but then throw them back up later. He started getting skinny, but after I put the flow pointing down over him he started looking very happy.

03/19/2009, 11:26 AM	#14
bassist6108 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Champaign, IL Posts: 534	Some types of brains have more than one mouth. Mine has 4 or 5 smaller ones lined up in a row. Be careful not to feed yours pieces of food that are too large.

03/19/2009, 03:11 PM	#15
JEFFR259 Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Fort Myers, FL Posts: 595	I used to do the tupperware trick. Now I feed shortly after the lights are out. On a day that I will be feeding LPS (I feed mixture of PE Mysis and Brine Shrimp), I'll feed the fish rather heavily right before the lights go out, so there nice and full. I'll then wait for all the lights to go out. About 25 mins after actinics go out (all fishies are asleep at that time), I shut all pumps off and strategically place food on the LPS with a Turkey Baster. The first few times I did this, took my LPS about 30 mins to open, swallow and then close. After a few times, the LPS learned to eat quickly. Now it takes about 5 minutes for their eating cycle. Once the mouths close, pumps come back on. If you have shrimp, you may have to fend them off a little bit as mine tend to be awake even when the lights are out. If their buggin the LPS while they are eating, I'll spot feed the shrimp to keep them occupied.

03/19/2009, 10:45 PM	#16
StarGazer_1 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Strathroy, ontario, Canada Posts: 230	as an after thought do zoo's sting brain corals? __________________ 55 Gal Reef 20 Gal Guppy tank I didn't take them from the sea, but I didn't put them back either. Gettin zoo'd with my zoos!! Current Tank Info: 55G Reef, 20G Guppy, and a 35 Gal carp pond in the back yard for the wife.