Would Phytoplankton replace spot feeding my duncan coral or any other coral?

Tony Jacot

New Member
i guess i should do a bit more research. My damn boxer shrimp wont leave my duncans alone after spot feeding or my anome!!..I may have to re think my strategy when it comes to feeding lol..i usally put in the mysis for the fish and then do the spot feeding..I may have to get rid of the shrimp all together cause hes super aggresive when it comes to feeding.
 

john suh

Member
i guess i should do a bit more research. My damn boxer shrimp wont leave my duncans alone after spot feeding or my anome!!..I may have to re think my strategy when it comes to feeding lol..i usally put in the mysis for the fish and then do the spot feeding..I may have to get rid of the shrimp all together cause hes super aggresive when it comes to feeding.
I did a google for Boxer shrimp and came up with Coral Banded shrimp pics? that another name for em? If so, have a CBS as well. Best advice is to spot feed him a piece of freeze dried krill that's been presoaked and squeezed in tank water. With the way they eat, that little piece of Krill will keep him occupied for hours on end so that he leaves your corals alone at the same time when you spot feeding em.
 

Tony Jacot

New Member
@john- Yes it is a CBS and thank you much for the advice..I have some cooked salad shrimp left over in the freezer(very small ones) wondering if that would be ok to feed. I know it wont have as many nutrients as raw shrimp but would you see any harm in him eating that?
 

john suh

Member
I know many prefer uncooked seafood to hold the nutrients in but regardless, if your main purpose is to keep him occupied he'll still gobble it up...just give him a small piece, it'll last him for hours.
 

reefkeeperZ

Member
most corals are carnivorous, consuming zooplankton in various sizes (depending on the coral) there are very few that can subsist on phyto, the good thing about phyto is it can feed the zooplankton that can develop in our tank hence in the long run and in a round about way feeding our corals. that said most warm shelf phyto bought off the store shelves isn't that good, fresh home grown phyto is the way to go if you are going to utilize phyto.

long answer short no phyto wont replace spot feeding.
 

reefkeeperZ

Member
i guess i should do a bit more research. My damn boxer shrimp wont leave my duncans alone after spot feeding or my anome!!..I may have to re think my strategy when it comes to feeding lol..i usally put in the mysis for the fish and then do the spot feeding..I may have to get rid of the shrimp all together cause hes super aggresive when it comes to feeding.
Reply: thats not uncommon, being a scavanger it's in their nature, but it can damage some corals or anemone when stealing their food, they don't really care if they are hurting it when ripping it out of their mouths. You can always give him his own chunk of something while you feed but even that is no promise that he wont move along later before they digest it and steal it anyway.
 

mandy111

Active Member
Hi @Tony Jacot

I used to target feed all my corals, time consuming and more than that a pain in the butt. (2.5ft deep tank)
I started using the Seachemn Trace and Seachem Plus as directed on the bottle and havent target fed anything in the tank for over a year. I have had massive growth, great color and healthy corals since with amazing polyp extension, All the corals react within minutes of it going in the tank. . Might be worth a thought.
xmas reef pics 001.JPG
 

Tony Jacot

New Member
Thanks for the reply's!! and your coral look beautiful mandy!! I'm using a product similar to the seachem plus called "fuel". I only use half the recomemded dose because i only have a 29 gallon biocube. Spot feeding may not even be needed? Cant wait till next year because ill be upgrading to a 75gallon!! I heard they are much easier to maintain!
 

mandy111

Active Member
HI @Tony Jacot Well thank your. If your using "fuel" then I really don't think spot feeding is needed by most corals. The only ones that may need a little extra is things like flowerpot corals and Goniporas.
Yes you will love the new 75g. much easier to keep parameters stable on the most part. Would love to see pics when it up and running.
Good luck and I wouldn't worry to much about spot feeding corals, the only thing I would recommend is when you use the 'Fuel' turn your wave makers either down to a minimun for as long as you can, it gives all your corals a chance to actually capture the food in the water column. I feed at lights down, and turn wave makers down for the while night. It gives them a chance to eat and you should see the feeder tentacles in the morning. WOW.
 
Top