may have messed up at the frag swap today :(

[good_reefer]

bought a sun coral ....
Im kinda new to this don't know if im ready to feed corals every day
now I have to learn to make phytoplankton

[squishifishi]

feeding tip:
cut the op off of a platic bottle so you have a bell shape with the thin neck on top.
when you feed it, place the bell over the coral, and squirt the food through the neck of the bottle.
this keeps nutrients from drifting away, and keeps other critters from picking at it while it tries to eat. leave it there for awhile so it can finish eating, then use a siphon to suck the gunk out of the covered area, then take your bottle top back out. voila! clean, efficient feeding!
good luck!

[Mstefa1]

Originally Posted by good_reefer

bought a sun coral ....
Im kinda new to this don't know if im ready to feed corals every day
now I have to learn to make phytoplankton

Feed Mysis 3x / week and you will have a happy sun coral. If you want a lot of growth then feed more often.

[OrQidz]

on the other hand, you can probably trade it to someone else if you don't want to keep up the feeding regimen long term.

[Twwety]

I use to spend an hour waiting from the heads to open after I fed every thing else, now I just spray a bunch of Mysis shrimp on the closed up heads they just open up there mouths an slurp up there mucus coating. Really easy to feed, but all my fish are really well behaved and do exactly what I tell them to do. No matter how much the fish and shrimps manage to steal it always seem to save some for it self.

[good_reefer]

thanks all fofr thee tips... ill give it ago ....
but wow!!! this hobby is getting very labor intensive

[badguitarist]

Yes small meaty foods are perfect for sun corals. Mysis chopped shrimp etc. don't worry there's no need to culture phyto, Sun corals are meat eaters. Good luck!

[good_reefer]

thanks everyone for the tips ....
its really an awesome community

[small alien]

Go at it very aggressively. Once the colony is in jeopardy, it can go quick with tissue loss and algae colonization. Here's a short article I wrote about feeding sun corals.

http://aquariumanimals.blogspot.com/...rs-of-sun.html

Good luck.

[Dale Cooper]

Originally Posted by small alien

Go at it very aggressively. Once the colony is in jeopardy, it can go quick with tissue loss and algae colonization. Here's a short article I wrote about feeding sun corals.

http://aquariumanimals.blogspot.com/...rs-of-sun.html

Good luck.

Oh, my, I enjoyed that! I've been toying with getting a sun coral and since I'm retired, I certainly have the time to baby the thing to pieces, but wasn't sure how to control overfeeding the whole tank. I think I will try it by cutting a small hole in the bottom of an empty Folgers plastic coffee can, just big enough for a small baster tip to fit into, use a stray rock to secure the coffee can in place over the coral, and leave it in place for about an hour, giving the coral time to eat.

Do you suppose a feeding like this once a day, just after the lights go off, would be sufficient?

[Mstefa1]

I don't understand why people make feeding sun corals such a big deal. The hardest part is getting a malnourished sun coral to open up but once it does you are in good shape. Feed it during the day and at random times if you want it opened up more. Feed it 2-3x / week if you want to maintain it. Feed it more often if you want more growth.

The biggest problem with feeding sun corals is that they are slow eaters and competition from other things in your tank sometimes make it difficult. Generally shrimps, crabs, or nassarius snails are the biggest trouble makers. Small fish don't normally steel food. My sun coral is under an overhang so it is partially blocked from direct light. The bottle or jar tricks help keep others away so your sun coral can feed but that may not be an option for some such as myself that houses in a nano.

Try to feed a meaty food and try to feed each head. Sometimes I remove my sun coral from the tank and feed him in a separate container. They really are not hard. Good luck!

[small alien]

Good advice from Matt. Turkey bastering each polyp is more effective than trying to maintain sufficient foods in sufficient quantities in suspension.

[small alien]

My main point is start heavy and lessen the feedings when you feel it's appropriate. No they're not that hard if you understand what's required. Good luck. They are very beautiful animals.