feeding sun coral.. pls help me

[jadakiss]

:letitallohi guys i just got a sun coral and ive read many post but i still would like to ask is how many times a week does a suncoral need to be feed and the most important does every head need to eat to survive. im currently feeding by putting a 1 liter soda bottle so no fish and snail would eat the mysis and i put my baster threw the hole but some mysis hit the head some on the sand. any way i just what to know if each head needs to eat to survive.

 

[emps]

:letitallohi guys i just got a sun coral and ive read many post but i still would like to ask is how many times a week does a suncoral need to be feed and the most important does every head need to eat to survive. im currently feeding by putting a 1 liter soda bottle so no fish and snail would eat the mysis and i put my baster threw the hole but some mysis hit the head some on the sand. any way i just what to know if each head needs to eat to survive.

I feed mine 2-3 times a week. Feed everything else first in the tank. Sun polyps will open up sensing food in the tank. I turn off the powerheads and turkey baste the whole colony trying to get mysis on each head. If everything else was fed earlier they shouldn't fight for the mysis.

 

[jadakiss]

doesnt that pollute ur water like raise nitrate in ur tank.but do each head needs to eat to survive??????:headache:

 

[lanacane214]

first some cyclo peeze,wait like 10 minutes and all the heads will open up then just spray mysis shrimp to the general area ,not every head needs to be fed,that would be a major pain in the a$%,you could feed as much as you would like but a least 2 times a week.i have gone like 2 weeks without feeding them and there fine,they open up when the light go out,you think there not eating but they catch what ever food floats by.there really east to take care of

 

[jadakiss]

ok . so i guess the answer is as long as 2 or 3 heads eat they all eat.

 

[emps]

doesnt that pollute ur water like raise nitrate in ur tank.but do each head needs to eat to survive??????:headache:

I've got 3 colonies, an orange, a yellow, and a black branching. Not many mysis are left behind, and if they do the nassarius snails grab the extras.

 

[jadakiss]

thanks for the advice:champagne

 

[qckwzrd]

I feed mine everyday but twice a week would be just fine. It hasn't been proven whether or not each head needs to be fed but I would feed as many as possible. I believe as long as the skin is connected that they transfer nutrients to one another, but that's just me. I feed mine, cyclops (frozen and flaked) mysis shrimp, chopped squid and shrimp as well as formula one flakes. Sometimes I give them blackworms and live brine shrimp soaked in selcon. Keep an eye on your nitrates depending on how much and how often you feed. Any pics?

 

[rookie07]

A recent picture.

A pic from when I first got it....

For a fram of reference, 1st pic-far right side has small bit of rock, with 1 single head on it...thats the front in the 2nd picture, the small bit of orange. Ive had it about 4 months now.

I think each head needs to eat 1 time a week. Each head is its own being...needs its own food.
I feed mine evry day...but only some get food, so it evens out to 2-3 times a week.
The more you feed, the more they grow, at first i was feeding directly with turkey baster 2 times a day...nnow they eat when the tank eats...what ever gets fed, gets fed(its in a gd spot for food floating by)...Ive only been doing this method for about 2 weeks...so im not sure exactly how gd this method is, but it seems ok.
My return gives a slight flow, so after about 5 mins, i turn the main PH back on, and that covers everything, even my zoas grab mysis and eat them

 

[jadakiss]

wow ur suncoral looks crazy.

 

[KathyC]

ok . so i guess the answer is as long as 2 or 3 heads eat they all eat.

I feed mine everyday but twice a week would be just fine.

I think each head needs to eat 1 time a week. Each head is its own being...needs its own food.
I feed mine evry day...but only some get food, so it evens out to 2-3 times a week.

Just a few facts and perhaps you can use these to make your decision...
Tubastrea (sun corals) are ahermatypic.
Ahermatypic corals that do not contain zooxanthaellae are not restricted to high light intensities waters and can exist at almost any depth

Since they don't live off light, that means they need to eat..food!

Sprung & Delbeek:
...they are not especially long lived in most aquaria because of their need for large quantities of food. ...for this reason we do not recommend them for the beginning hobbyist unless he/she is willing to give this coral the special attention it needs: daily feedings of shrimp tissue, mussel tissue, brine shrimp, worms or other foods...

I feed each head of mine every day, they are fat, happy & thriving.
There is a marked difference between surviving and thriving.

Please research the needs of your corals as well as you research the needs of your fish.

 

[rookie07]

I agee with what kathy said, except.
IM AM A ROOKIE-THESE THOUGHTS ARE JUST MY DEDUCTIVE REASONING AND LOGICAL THINKING-TELL ME IF IM WRONG!!!!


Coral are not like animals in the sense that they do not have brains. they exist soley to exist and expand. If they are hungry they dont think, "gee Im hungry I hope I get food before I die", they are like a computer, no thoughts, just focus on what it wants "food, food, food, food, food, etc......"....that being said,
Corals thriving might not be gd for a tank, to much growth will over grow a tank(which can be gd or bad), and I think, I STRESS, I THINK that very fast growth would change the needs of a tank, as far as whats availabe in the water coloum, and trace elements(I could be bull$h*ting here completely).

Sometimes I want my corals to just survive, not expand much, and I want some corals to thrive and grow alot.

As far as sun polys, I think 1 feeding a week to each head would constitute surviving, and 5 times per week would be thriving.

My dendro's, sun polyps, duncan's get fed almost every day! What they can catch that is, which happens just about every time I feed the tank.

LMK what you think of my statement KathyC...My only point is that corals just surviving isnt a bad thing. It isnt cruel or mean in any way, thats all.

 

[qckwzrd]

I must agree, they aren't for novice. The average person and lfs won't be consistant with the feeding requirements for tubastrea to survive over a long period of time. They do require target/direct feeding in order for them to have continued success in the aquarium. You can find a lot of feedback and information on suncorals if you search MR as well as Reef Central and Ultimate Reef. My tank is dedicated to corals in the Dendrophyllidae family (ie Tubastrea, Dendrophyllia, Turbinaria, ect). I've had my Tubastrea micrantha, faulkneri and Dendrophyllia reproduce in my tank.

http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?t=195870&page=3

 

[Awibrandy]

I feed my suncorals along with all the others that I target feed cyclopeeze, brine & mysis shrimps every other day! I baste mine by spraying the food under,over, and around it. Even though I feed the fish first they & the shrimp will still come, and take food
while I feed the fish. And that is ok, as long as the corals get some as well. I also see the snails & crabs come out to hunt as well. If your worried about polluting your water step up the water changes. But please don't let your animals go hungry.

I do not agree with your statement rookie07. Just surviving is not a good thing. The homeless are just surviving, I wouldn't want to be in their position in life.

I like your method of the liter bottle! Unfortunately the placement of my suncoral prohibits the use of the liter bottle.

 

[tosiek]

Jada, each head is a different organism and because it is, every head needs food separately.

was skimming through the posts and i don't think people gave you a direct answer to that. Each head needs food, whether it be from floating stuff while feeding the tank or by direct feeding each one.

They can go up to 2 weeks or more unfed and still look healthy but they will crash eventually. So you might think u can feed one head and take care of a few but they all need food separately.

 

[bigbris1]

It is possible to feed your sun coral without polluting your tank. The "soda bottle" and "shooting food in the general direction" methods will ultimately lead to water pollution.

What I did was this; after thawing out the plakton/mysis mix & extracting as much of the "juice" as possible, using a turkey baster I would slowly release 1 or 2 pieces of food into each polyp.

If the polyp opened again in a very short time, I would give it another piece of food. You can train your sun coral to open up with scheduled feedings in conjunction with your light cycle. For instance, I had mine open every night when the daylight turned off leaving only the actinics on.

I believe each individual head must be fed. If there is a new head developing, it does share nutrients with the larger head it's growing from. But if they're that close anyway, feeding one will result in the other getting fed most of the time.

It take skill & patience but it can be done with great results.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

My friend takes his out of his tank and puts it in a plastic container. feeds it then puts it back in after a few minutes.

 

[Awibrandy]

My friend takes his out of his tank and puts it in a plastic container. feeds it then puts it back in after a few minutes.

Make sure you don't forget to put it back in the tank!

I was tired one evening, and forgot to put it back in the tank. When I got up the next morning I had lost all the heads but two little ones.;(
I know stupid mistake. Now I onlyyyyyyyyyy feed them in the tank. Weekly to bi-weekly water changes, my tank, and it's inhabitants are fine.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Awilda I'll send him an e-nail to remind him

 

[alfani]

i used to take the colony out and feed it twice a week but now i just use a turkey blaster with frozen cyclopeeze at least once a week if i remember to. if you feed them big chunks of meat, your fish, inverts will go after it so i found the cyclopeeze to be the best and not having to take out the colony and forgot to put it back into the tank.