acan feeding?

[geckoejon]

hello,

i try to target / spot feed my coral once a week. my acans are sprouting lots of new heads and looking great. so....

i am wondering if i need to feed all of the individual heads or just the largest ones?

if i feed the largest ones, will all of the heads (including the new smaller ones) get nutrients from it?

do they share the same digestion process if they are part of the same colony?

thanks...

 

[boostd2valve]

I just feed pellets. Try to get all heads but some on the sides are harder. As long as some get food it should be fine. I know people who don't feed and they have healthy reefs. Just my 2 cents

 

[MondoBongo]

they will share nutrients, however when i target feed my LPS, i try to feed as many as i can to help maximize what they get. between some of it floating away and shrimp/snails/hermits/fish stealing, it helps to spread the wealth around.

http://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/coral-reefs-15786954

Corals are colonial organisms made up of individual polyps, each 1–3 mm in diameter, that are connected to one another via a thin layer of tissue (Figure 2). The connection between polyps allows for the sharing of nutrients.

http://coralreef.noaa.gov/aboutcorals/coral101/anatomy/

The individual polyps are connected via a system of gastrovascular canals that allow for the sharing of nutrients and symbiotic algae. These canals run through the coenosarc, which is tissue that connects individual polyps at the surface of a coral colony. The outer tissue of the polyp is the epithelium or epidermis.

it should be noted that certain types of corals like dendros do NOT share nutrients, but common soft/LPS/SPS mostly do.

 

[geckoejon]

thanks for the feedback / info! that was exactly what i was looking for!

 

[Bpawl]

I just feed all of my heads, I figure i'm already feeding one why not the rest.

 

[HunterBryan]

Do you'll feed everyday or like once a week or what? I've been trying to feed at least once a week but its a pain in the a** trying to keep my cleaner from stealing all the pellets out of their mouths

 

[MondoBongo]

Mine get a decent bit of cast off frozen food when I feed the fish. I usually specifically feed the corals with frozen myses every 1 - 3 weeks. Not any particular schedule for me personally. Just usually whenever I have time, and right before a water change.

Techniques and opinions vary tank to tank.

 

[jayjerk]

+1 mine get food from feeding of fish. I even seen them eating pellets...lol

 

[alf03]

I try to feed all of them but it gets harder when they're starting to grow on the back and sides...

 

[fishcraze_1]

I've been feeding pellets and rod's food, and Mysis , they love it. Plump up nice and beautiful.

 

[Steveb]

Do you'll feed everyday or like once a week or what? I've been trying to feed at least once a week but its a pain in the a** trying to keep my cleaner from stealing all the pellets out of their mouths

Cleaners are a pain, I always try to give them, hermits and any nassarius snails food first so they are not so inclined to thieve it from the corals.

Those acans are beauties fishcraze_1.

 

[jayjerk]

I occasionally feed mine rods and pwllets and they do well I do my best to get them all food but no worries if I dont

 

[JReefaddict]

I feed reef roids and occasionally I chop up a cube of mysis for my lps. I have one acan that seems to always have it's feeder tentacles out. All day long.