Do You Need To Feed Bubble Coral???

[crzyfshygy]

I HAVE HAD A BUBBLE CORAL FOR ABOUT 1 1/2 MONTHS AND THE LFS STORE SAID I DID NOT HAVE TO FEED IT SO I HAVEN'T BEEN, BUT I READ IN A BOOK THAT THEY SHOULD BE FED ONCE A WEEK. DOES ANYONE OUT THERE HAVE ONE OF THESE CORALS AND DOES ANYONE FEED IT? ALSO HOW DO YOU FEED IT????? THANKS

 

[crzyfshygy]

SHOULD I USE A BASTER OR JUST CUT UP PCS OF THE FROZEN MYSIS SHRIMP? ALSO SHOULD I DO IT AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS SMALL OR WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE ON AND IT IS BIG?

 

[foshizle]

from what i have read you do not have to feed them i could be rong but that is what i have read they just need light i think medium to high

 

[jacknjill]

i had one and i fed it every week. meaty things like mysis shrimp, silversides, whatever. all you do is put the food on their mouth and it will kinda like, fold over it and eat it.

 

[22caddy]

At night when it has its feeder tentacles out. I use a baster for spot feeding. Works for me.

 

[jacknjill]

i personally feed when the lights are on and its big.

 

[keliza]

I have a pink tip anenome that I feed daily. I give it cooked baby shrimp, just drop it in the tank close to the anenome and it'll grab it and eat it. I'm not sure if this works for bubble tips but you could atleast try, you'll notice if it won't eat what you gave it. I usually feed mine when the lights are on and when it's full.

 

[jacknjill]

you dont need to feed your anenome daily. once or twice a week is fine, if not once every other week

 

[crzyfshygy]

I WAS LOOKING AT BUBBLE CORALS ON THE INTERNET LAST NIGHT AND MINE DOES NOT LOOK LIKE THE ONES IN THE PICTURE. THOSE ARE FULL WHOLE BUBBLES, MINE IS VERY BIG WHEN IT OPENS BUT THE BUBBLES ARE SMALL AND DIFFERENT SIZES. SHOULD I JUST PUT A SMALL FROZEN PC OF MYSIS SHRIMP ON ITS OPENING?

 

[pontius]

first, why are you yelling? it's hard to read.
second, there are several different kinds of bubble corals. they are explained in more detail in the book "Corals" by Julian Sprung (though I don't recommend that book because I find it to be extremely lacking).
I have one of the bubble corals that are sold on this sight. It is very healthy (knock on wood) and I have never fed it directly. I "feed the tank". when I feed my fish every other day, I put in some Marine Snow. I also use Coral Vite and Coral Accel (both made by Kent) and C Balance. I don't think you'd need anymore than that. If some fish food or shrimp happen to float onto the coral, it's fine, but I wouldn't go out of my way to feed it.
I've also read that ricordea mushrooms should be spot fed. I've tried, and the food either ends up floating away or the shrimps come up and eat it.
oh yeah, I also use Kalkwasser mix, which is probably THE single best thing you could add to your tank.

 

[aburitojr]

I found hand-feeding squid to bubble corals has given the best result. The sizes of the bubbles are naturaly different; unless yours are deflated during the day there is nothing to worry about.

 

[nm reef]

You can feed them...and they will often respond well to direct feedings...but you don't "need" to direct feed them. In the proper conditions they can do fine just from the available lighting....direct feedings of meaty type foods can help them....but in most cases they'll do just fine without direct feedings.

 

[crzyfshygy]

Sorry, I hate hitting the shift key to capitalize. Anyway you wrote " I would go out of my way to feed it" did you mean I should'nt ? Also those items from KENT you were writing about, are those coral nutients or some kind of food?

 

[crzyfshygy]

Sorry, I hate hitting the shift key to capitalize. Anyway you wrote " I would go out of my way to feed it" did you mean I should'nt ? Also those items from KENT you were writing about, are those coral nutients or some kind of food?

 

[pontius]

yeah, I went back and wrote "wouldn't".
the Kent items are vitamin supplements. the Marine Snow is actual coral food. the Kalkwasser mix adds calcium. and the C Balance adds a whole lot of stuff.
you can get by without adding all this stuff. though I'd suggest that EVERY aquarist use kalkwasser with the water they use for evaporation replacement.
if I had to cut out 2 of the 4, I'd cut out the 2 Kent products, because I feel the C Balance is really good, and the kalk is essential.
now that NM has suggested that the coral may respond well, I may try it to see. NM, would you feed mushrooms, sun polyps, or sea mats?

 

[pontius]

I forgot to mention, most corals will also feed off fish waste, so try to get your fish to take a dump on the bubble coral. if you've got a dwarf angel, they're practically swimming coral food factories.

 

[crzyfshygy]

Sorry, posted a New Thread by accident. Any way thanks for the advice. As I was saying I started thinking about the feeding due to its size during the day, A little small! Usually large around 3 weeks in to it. I have had it for 1month or so. I just do not want to risk pollution from food in the tank due to it being so small 11gal (HOT).