Artificial food study for corals.

[Jarred1]

I have heard a lot of great things about the Fauna Marin foods, do you know what it is made of? It's weird that its purple. I am thinking of buying some of the Fauna Marin Zoa Acan Food, it is probably better suited for their mouths.

Recently my local fish club had a speaker from AlgaGen and he talked a lot about the different kinds of copepods and how they were the next step up from phytoplankton in the food chain. He fed a tank with a few baby lyretail anthias, the fish went NUTS for the stuff even though you couldn't see the pods from where I was standing. They were very tiny, about the size of a grain of sand. I believe if a company grew their own and froze them and sold them they would be the best food we could add to our tanks.

 

[TjwBlake]

on occasion I have even mixed in a cube of frozen brine shrimp with the roids, i get a great reaction fromthe larger zoas and often when they open up there is a little bit sticking out of their mouths. The smaller ones dont seem to be able to handle anything larger than the powered foods.

I have some GSP that has a great reaftion to the roids. I spray some over the whole colony and watch as each individual tentacle curls and snakes around grabing bits to bring into it's mouth.

It stands to reason that even though they mostly get their food from sunlight, the fact that they do still filter feed would mean that small amounts of target feeding would only benefit them in the long run in order to assure the introduction of good nutrients from other sources.

But like Grandis said, its about the balance

 

[Joshporksandwic]

Great article Grandis Thanks! I used to target feed when i first got my tank but I only had like 10 corals. And growth was awesome. I feed phyto and rotifers every few days and my fish daily but never target feed anymore, i think it would take me like 2 hrs to do so. But i will give it a try and let you guys know.

 

[Jarred1]

Check this link out, shows and talks about SPS eating. They have way smaller mouths than zoas.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...main/articles/nutrition-6/zooplankton-capture

Here is a link on how to feed corals:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...org/main/articles/nutrition-6/how-corals-feed

I couldn't find the original links, their site might be down. I haven't read the second link yet but I plan on doing so tonight.

 

[MUCHO REEF]

This thread died to soon.

Hey Jarred, great stuff man. Thanks for sharing that.

MUCHO REEF
TOTM - August 2003

 

[A. Grandis]

I have heard a lot of great things about the Fauna Marin foods, do you know what it is made of? It's weird that its purple. I am thinking of buying some of the Fauna Marin Zoa Acan Food, it is probably better suited for their mouths.

Recently my local fish club had a speaker from AlgaGen and he talked a lot about the different kinds of copepods and how they were the next step up from phytoplankton in the food chain. He fed a tank with a few baby lyretail anthias, the fish went NUTS for the stuff even though you couldn't see the pods from where I was standing. They were very tiny, about the size of a grain of sand. I believe if a company grew their own and froze them and sold them they would be the best food we could add to our tanks.

I've tried San Francisco Bay frozen plankton and that is a good product. It has a good concentration of lipids, protein and beta carotene in it. I didn't feed the polyps for long time with that because there was an unbalance with the nutrients and the excess algae was noticeable on the second week or so. The same happens when I feed the fishes with mysis. It's probably phosphates.

Reed Roids have plankton and probably similar quality. I've tried it and didn't see any problems with algae yet. I prefer Reef Roids.

I would think the problem is in the wet part of the product. They must add something as a preservative too.

Do you remember what AlgaGen product you fed the anthias?

Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

on occasion I have even mixed in a cube of frozen brine shrimp with the roids, i get a great reaction fromthe larger zoas and often when they open up there is a little bit sticking out of their mouths. The smaller ones dont seem to be able to handle anything larger than the powered foods.

I have some GSP that has a great reaftion to the roids. I spray some over the whole colony and watch as each individual tentacle curls and snakes around grabing bits to bring into it's mouth.

It stands to reason that even though they mostly get their food from sunlight, the fact that they do still filter feed would mean that small amounts of target feeding would only benefit them in the long run in order to assure the introduction of good nutrients from other sources.

But like Grandis said, its about the balance

The frozen adult brine shrimps have nothing but excess phosphates in the water they come in, besides their broken bodies that will expel their rich nutrient contains in the tank to "feed the skimmer". That said, the fishes will just taste their juice and eat their shells like crazy because of the taste. Of course that not 100% of the brine shrimps are broken and the fishes/zoas eat some whole shrimps, but still they have no quality nutrients in them. I would avoid feeding adult brine shrimp (frozen or not) to any organism in our aquaria in the regular basis. It's can be a great way to introduce a feeding schedule to some hard to eat fishes, but I wouldn't recommend to use it in the regular basis. Not worthy it!
Frozen mysis have less broken bodies and more nutrients to the fishes. They do add phosphates to the system as well!

I've tried Reef Roids after reading about it here in the forum and can't agree more with you guys. One of the best foods I've offered to my zoas!!!!
They do respond fast to them and really makes a difference with the growth, color and the general looking of the zoas!! Really good quality food!!:thumbsup:

I personally look at target feeding as the main reason, besides basic equipment and maintenance, that some of my zoas have been growing and showing their colors, abilities and behaviors very close to what we see in the ocean.

Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

Great article Grandis Thanks! I used to target feed when i first got my tank but I only had like 10 corals. And growth was awesome. I feed phyto and rotifers every few days and my fish daily but never target feed anymore, i think it would take me like 2 hrs to do so. But i will give it a try and let you guys know.

You're welcome! I'm glad you liked it!!

I've tried phytoplankton before and it didn't make much difference on my zoanthids but added lots of phosphates to the water and gave me lots of headaches with the algae, so I stopped.

I feed the whole tank in a week and take my time as my schedule allows. You can target feed half of the polyps one day and the other half another day in a week period. That would help. Some people target feed 1/4 of the tank 4 times a week. I enjoy feeding them and it's rewarding so I fit my schedule around it. They don't need much food anyway. Remember that they can fit only so much in their tiny guts.

Please don't forget to turn off the pumps and allow the food to be dropped o them. Spraying them will force them to react and close, not necessarily grabbing the food and swallowing it to digest.
Some polyps take a while to close with the food particles, like some smaller Zoanthus spp., but eventually they will. Make sue the fishes and shrimps aren't stilling from the polyps.
If the food has quality (taste, right size and nutrients) for them they will ingest, digest it and you'll see results soon.

Good luck and enjoy!!

Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

Check this link out, shows and talks about SPS eating. They have way smaller mouths than zoas.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...main/articles/nutrition-6/zooplankton-capture

Here is a link on how to feed corals:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...org/main/articles/nutrition-6/how-corals-feed

I couldn't find the original links, their site might be down. I haven't read the second link yet but I plan on doing so tonight.

I sure thanks you so much for enriching the thread!!!
I'll be taking a look for sure.

Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

This thread died to soon.

Hey Jarred, great stuff man. Thanks for sharing that.

MUCHO REEF
TOTM - August 2003

I think it didn't die, but was dormant for a while. :twitch:
I don't know...
Maybe most people don't have time for target feeding anymore or they don't believe in it really?

Some people condemn target feeding without trying it, which is sad.
There are some tips that we need to follow and the time to spend, but results are obvious.
We are still learning about the best way and the best foods for our zoas, but can already see how important it is.

My schedule now is crazy busy, but I'll try my best to come back here and learn some more...

Thanks MUCHO!
:thumbsup:

Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

Check this link out, shows and talks about SPS eating. They have way smaller mouths than zoas.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...main/articles/nutrition-6/zooplankton-capture

Here is a link on how to feed corals:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...org/main/articles/nutrition-6/how-corals-feed

I couldn't find the original links, their site might be down. I haven't read the second link yet but I plan on doing so tonight.

I just have to thank you once more for the links!!!

The articles are great and I just love the videos also!!!

It confirms many of my observations with zoas in captivity and in the ocean. Also my observations while feeding the zoas in the tank, such as the 3 week+ period after first feeding to see results, zooplankton does a better job than phytoplankton, and the need of proper food particles in association with the quality of light and water. Those points (and more!!!) are exposed brilliantly in the article simply to show us how important is target feeding, light and water quality for corals in general. Those great explanations are well applicable to zoanthids' keeping, of course.

For sure would be great if everyone here would stop for a while to read those papers and begin to believe in target feeding as I and some others do.

I really appreciate your post, Jarred1!!
Great contribution to my understanding and this thread!!!
Hope to hear from many after this.
Am I the only one excited here?

Cheers, :beer:
Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

So I've got so time today and decided to search some...
Found this while searching the web...

Red Sea Reef Energy.
Features:
No unnecessary or organic material is introduced in the system.
RE-A:
1. Carbs
2. Amino acids
3. Fatty acids
4. Protein flocks

RE-B:
1. Vitamins
2. Marine amino acids.
All from marine sources (RE-B).

The product seems to have all we would look for our zoas also.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JBIN5QeCu24?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

They were formulated for SPS corals but I believe that zoas would take some advantage.
Please let me know if you had the chance to try them and their effects on zoas...

I like the "coral yummy" part, showing the fish food!
They should tease the fish poop too!
Both can contribute to absorption, but indirectly.

Also would be interesting to try the four coloration program products (minor and trace elements). There is a need to test the params often, as we know, and it can get kinda expensive. Not that necessary when we do our partial water changes.

Grandis.

 

[jdraider75]

I also broadcast feed my tank and the only foods I have tried are rotifeast and oyster feast but going to order rhe reef roids and maybe something else just not sure what yet. Any suggestions. I will also try to target feed each colony.

 

[A. Grandis]

I also broadcast feed my tank and the only foods I have tried are rotifeast and oyster feast but going to order rhe reef roids and maybe something else just not sure what yet. Any suggestions. I will also try to target feed each colony.

You can start with Reef Roids and have fun with it. One of the best!
If you want to get other good food you can offer them Coral Frenzy.
Some say Reef Chili is great, but I didn't try that yet.

Make sure you turn off the pumps and drop a small tiny amount of the food over the polyps. Make sure the fishes don't attack them because it must taste good!!! Fishes love it too! Try to feed them only what they consume. Once a week is more than enough. Keep skimmer and maintenance including partial water changes.
Let us know ...

Grandis.

 

[jdraider75]

Thank you for the great advice grandis I will order some today.

 

[A. Grandis]

My pleasure!
:thumbsup:

Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

I just had to post this cute video for us: feeding the corals!
Two of the best artificial coral foods I've tried.
I actually use much more powder of the foods when I feed my own polyps and I don't blow on them, but let the powder fall over the zoas. I never add the shrimps and I feed one type of food at a time, once a week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gm1ppVDSKY&feature=channel&list=UL

Many thanks to IridescentLily for it!
You have a nice clean set up there!

Grandis.

 

[jdraider75]

Hey Grandis thanks for posting the link to that video very helpful.

 

[jdraider75]

Thanks iridecentlily for making the video great info.

 

[A. Grandis]

Hey Grandis thanks for posting the link to that video very helpful.

You're welcome! It's a cute video.

Try to target feed with pumps off when you do it.
Some times I turn off the skimmer too.
Remember to drop the food on the polyps, not to squirt it on them.
Maybe they will take a while to grab it at the first.
And once a week is enough.
You can try to feed them at night, like some people do.
I feed my zoas with lights on.

Have fun and please let us know how that goes!!!

Grandis.