LPS Feeding
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: LPS
Forum Description: This is the place to ask questions LPS corals.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=72682
Printed Date: February 01 2026 at 4:50am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.03 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: LPS Feeding
Posted By: Molli
Subject: LPS Feeding
Date Posted: August 25 2014 at 3:26pm
| Do you use any of the food on the market for corals? Do you hand feed them or place the food in the water supply? Are you noticing a difference in growth rates or coloration that you think you can attribute to the food? |
Replies:
Posted By: ReefdUp
Date Posted: August 25 2014 at 5:47pm
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I make my own, hand feed, and it's a huge difference in sick corals. It helps a little bit in healthy corals (most corals get about 95% of their energy from zooxanthallae, not actual food.) ------------- www.reefdup.com Diving since 2009, reefkeeping since 2007, & fishkeeping since 1987 200g, 75g, & 15g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water |
Posted By: Molli
Date Posted: August 27 2014 at 10:45am
| So no one is trying any of those rather expensive coral foods that are being marketed to add color and size to corals? I'm wondering if any of them are worth the money. |
Posted By: willstang
Date Posted: August 27 2014 at 1:11pm
| I use Fauna Marin LPS food |
Posted By: Molli
Date Posted: August 27 2014 at 8:47pm
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I just found a time lapse youtube video of someone using that food to feed LPS corals! Great video! |
willstang wrote:Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: August 27 2014 at 10:34pm
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It seems good to feed at night when they are out looking for food. ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Posted By: ReefdUp
Date Posted: August 27 2014 at 10:39pm
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I've tried some of the fancy ones, and in my unofficial and nonscientific studies, most corals vastly preferred my food. ------------- www.reefdup.com Diving since 2009, reefkeeping since 2007, & fishkeeping since 1987 200g, 75g, & 15g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: August 28 2014 at 8:31am
I don't feed any coral directly. I feed the ~75 fish 1x/day in my ~200 gal system. Just for comparison, that food contains minute particles of BSD New Wave Arctic Copepods, Rotifers and Roe. Bob Carlson's newest food and Emerald Entree also go into the mix. The GSL and BSD Brine and Mysis contain broken up pieces which feed invertebrates. Lastly there is a spoonful of BSD Tahitian Blend Algae Paste in many feedings. The food is not drained because I believe the "juice" is absorbed by the coral. I have seen Coral eat fish poop. Coral absorb nutrients like fish pee and other N compounds from the water, right?
 How much captured food does it take to give a coral 5% of it's energyWho has seen videos of the wild reef at night when the water is murky with swimming invertebrates and their spawn? In a well fed and not so "clean" more biologically active reef aquarium, there should be a good amount of worm and bug spawning going on at night which I believe feeds coral. As sunset approaches the LPS hydrate/expand and extend their feeding tentacles to capture and eat this spawn all night. Below is a pic of a coral, a rescued Pearl Bubble Coral in one of my old tanks, in the middle of the night when it's feeding tentacles were out. The next 2 pics are of the same coral about 6 months later, shortly after dusk and again during the day. It remained hydrated/extended more than many LPS. Aloha   (The orange rock is Southern Utah sandstone beginning to cover with Coralline Algae. The camera flash made it look more orange than pink. The extensive growth of Saw Blade Caulerpa was eventually completely eaten by the fish.)   ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: relethg
Date Posted: March 06 2015 at 3:07pm
Niki what is your recipe? Is it on your site? ------------- 210 G Filled 18 Mar 15 120 G Filled 11 Jun 16 |
Posted By: Pete Moss
Date Posted: March 06 2015 at 3:12pm
+1 Zoox provide 95% of the calories to a healthy coral. Nikki is one of the best sources around for coral healh. I make my own food as well. I blend high qualty pellets and flakes ( brine shrimp direct ) into a powder using a coffee grinder, then add RO water, brine shrimp, mysis, rotifers, squid, diced clams, fish eggs etc, and throw it in the ninja blender until everything is blended to a very fine level. I put it in ziploc bags and freeze it in flat sheets. I break off a very small piece ( .5"x.5" ), mix it with tank water, then use a turkey baster to feed corals directly. I turn off flow and let the food drop onto the corals. I turn back on the powerheads 5 minutes later, then the pump 20 minutes after that. I feed bi-monthly unless a coral is recovering. For recovering corals I feed twice a week. Anything more than that is un-necessary in my opinion, and has the potential to pollute the water. ------------- 125g 90g 2x33g 34g What stores do I recommend? Up North: Bill ( Saltwater Paradise 801-317-8115 ) Down South: Jerry ( Reef On 801-563-0600 ) Member of GCFB |
Posted By: Pete Moss
Date Posted: March 06 2015 at 3:27pm
It's not an if. There are numerous studies confirming this. And it doesn't equate that way. 95% of the caloric intake of corals is handled by zoox in a normal light cycle ( sunrise/sunset photo-periods found in nature ) They don't need .6 hours of eating food. The amount of calories a coral needs to grow and flourish depends on species. It definitely doesn't take .6 hours of eating food every day to provide the additional 5% of calories needed for optimal coral health. Meaty foods are calorie dense in comparison to the calories provided by zooxanthellae. Please don't feed your corals for 36 minutes a day. Each species of coral is different, and has different requirements. Ultimately good husbandry comes down to knowing what is in your tank and what it's needs are. Success comes when we study each species in our tank to better provide for it's dietary needs. ------------- 125g 90g 2x33g 34g What stores do I recommend? Up North: Bill ( Saltwater Paradise 801-317-8115 ) Down South: Jerry ( Reef On 801-563-0600 ) Member of GCFB |
Posted By: beege29
Date Posted: March 06 2015 at 3:30pm
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Oh god...here we go again. Wonder how long this thread is going to end up being? :) ------------- 90 gallon mixed reef 30 gallon sump |
Posted By: Pete Moss
Date Posted: March 06 2015 at 3:33pm
 Grab a lawn chair and a beer. ------------- 125g 90g 2x33g 34g What stores do I recommend? Up North: Bill ( Saltwater Paradise 801-317-8115 ) Down South: Jerry ( Reef On 801-563-0600 ) Member of GCFB |
Posted By: AcroNem
Date Posted: March 06 2015 at 4:25pm
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Grab a lawn chair and a beer.[/QUOTE] That was good! And to stay on topic mine get fed once a week alternating between things like oyster eggs, brine, mysis, roe, plankton, depending on the coral. I've never tried any commercial foods never seen a need to. ------------- 150G mixed reef, growing coral farm. Thirteenth year keeping reefs, always here to talk fish. 801-850-7577. |
Posted By: ReefdUp
Date Posted: March 07 2015 at 6:46am
Here's the link on my site: http://www.reefdup.com/2012/01/08/rescuing-dying-corals-feeding/" rel="nofollow - http://www.reefdup.com/2012/01/08/rescuing-dying-corals-feeding/ I keep the "pappone" recipe as the base, then I add whatever is lying around. My latest batch is this: Ingredients: Garlic (organic, out of my garden) Raw shrimp Raw mussels Raw oysters Raw clams Raw snow crab (fish eat better than I do...) Red algae Green Algae Brown Algae Mysis shrimp Artic copepods BSD Golden Pearls (various micron sizes) BSD Astaxanthin (increases pigmentation) Dash of sugar (bacterial food) Dash of buffered Vitamin C (great for tons of stuff, esp. zoanthids) Pacific Krill Cyclopeeze RO/DI water
What?! No. First off, corals hit photoinhibition/photosaturation usually well before 12 hours. Second, the amount of energy obtained varies depending on the light quality and quantity. Dusk is not equivalent to noon light. Third, not all food is created equal. If you ate for 0.6 hours of nonstop salad or burgers, which do you think would have the larger impact to your waist? It's an energy percentage, not a time percentage. ------------- www.reefdup.com Diving since 2009, reefkeeping since 2007, & fishkeeping since 1987 200g, 75g, & 15g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: March 11 2015 at 8:49am
I figured that little "what if" would raise a few eyebrows.  ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: Pete Moss
Date Posted: March 20 2015 at 12:17pm
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Flawed logical deduction often does. ------------- 125g 90g 2x33g 34g What stores do I recommend? Up North: Bill ( Saltwater Paradise 801-317-8115 ) Down South: Jerry ( Reef On 801-563-0600 ) Member of GCFB |