Coral foods?

[reeferaddict]

I have read just about every bit of hyperbole surrounding food additives and have tried my share as well... now I'd like to hear it from you.

What types of food/trace elements are you feeding to what types of corals? How much? How often? What time? What are your results? How do they impact your water quality/algal growth? Most people post how they deal with Ca+ and Alk, even magnesium and iodine... but this is a real grey area...

Thanks in advance to those that answer. I was going to put this in a poll, but decided there were far too many variations.

My own...

I feed a couple of times a week with foods such as Phytoplex, Chromamax, Zooplex, and Microvert at various times sometimes day sometimes when the lights are out. I usually feed at half or less of recommended doses as I have lots of fish and a good bioload as it is. I skim heavily so water quality isn't an issue. I have noted feeding type of behaviour from almost all of my softies and LPS as well as some SPS, but couldn't tell you if it has contributed to their growth.

[DanG]

I add calcium, buffer for alk, add magnesium and iodine. For trace elements, I rely on water changes. I feed flake in the morning and cyclopeeze after I turn the lights out, as that is when my candy cane coral seems to have it's feeder tentacles out. I feel it's worked better to feed the cyclopeeze after lights out that way the coral gets some, for me anyways.

[AndyL]

I feed the 3 kent micro foods (phytomax, chromamax and zoomax) My LPS generally get spot fed every other day with either, mysis, NLS (usually finicky fish, sometimes I've got something else open and just feed it) or cyclopeeze.

I dose liquid reactor for Ca/Alk/Mg, Kent iodine (mixed into auto top off). Everything else is handled with water changes.

Tanks have a mix of everything, SPS/LPS/softies, sponges, macros, not sure on what effect feeding/dosing specifically has, the liquid reactor is 100% easier, and more reliable than the kalk I was dosing before. The foods, I just keep adding more, over the first month, I'll see a more rapid increase in nitrate levels, after about 6 weeks, it stabilizes to previous rates.

Andy

[Ruth]

I run a calcium reactor and adjust magnesium as required. For food I feed phytofeast - for clams and copepods mostly. I feed frozen cyclopeeze as well although I am not convinced it is for the corals given the size of the particles - but it is fish crack. I have just begun using a product called Pohl's coral vitalizer which is supposed to do wonders for SPS so we will see. I also use Korallen-zucht Aminoacid concentrate.
On my new 190 I have just begun using the Zeovit method so will be interesting to see how this works out.

[Joe Reefer]

I feed phytoplankton and DT's oyster eggs daily. I spot feed my lps irregularly with mysis, brine or what ever else I am feeding my fish.

[deacon hemp]

Hey ruth what site or store did you get the pohls from? i didnt think it was up here yet?...... i guess from the place you got zeo?

[Ruth]

Yea I ordered it from this site
http://www.captiveoceans.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=CO&Category_Code=ZEOvit
You don't have to be using the zeovit system to use this product. I have only been using it for 3 days now and I *think* I see improved colour in my SPS but want to wait a while longer before I make any conclusions. I am going down to Vancouver for 3 days tomorrow so won't be using it during my absence (don't trust my son at all to dose correctly)

[deacon hemp]

Thanks ruth,also does anybody here feed live rotifers to there sps tanks? and if so have you seen an improvment on color or growth?

[AndyL]

does anybody here feed live rotifers to there sps tanks?

Now call me crazy, but I could have sworn L and S type rotifers were both too big for SPS polyps to catch/hold.

Andy

[deacon hemp]

wow i totally thought that rotifers were perfect size....thanks....i do see ppl on rc using them in their tanks? i have used them before and had wicked color but i have nothing to compare it to.

[deacon hemp]

double post sorry

[AndyL]

Alrighty, I take it back... Dependant on the species, I guess SPS can largely take rots.

Andy

[deacon hemp]

That makes sense,monti's i doubt take them,but hairy polyped acro's look like they would.I am on an rc thread about this right now and was wondering.....The only time ive kept sps i fed roti's the whole time so i dont even know if it helped me,but as i said they looked zeovit colorful! I ran a 10K bulb too. I'm thinkin im trying pohl's and roti's this time round.

[Samw]

My orange serpent star and cleaner shrimps go crazy when I add a few drops of Liquidlife Bioplankton, Liquidlife Coral Plankton, or Tahaitian Blend. They come out of hiding and swim towards where the drops entered the tank. I didn't get the same response from DT"s phytoplankton. But that could be because the serpent star and cleaner shrimp are scavengers and prefer the smell of dead plankton.

Anyhow, I dose my tank Bioplankton, CoralPlankton (w/ Rotifers and phytoplankton), MarinePlankton (w/ Cyclopeeze) and Tahaitian blend once in a while. I just bought Oyster eggs and will give that a try. I read that cyclopeeze, rotifers, and oyster eggs were popular foods for flowerpot corals.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/10/aafeature2