coral feeding

[tony7855]

I read that corals will eat the crap from the sand bed if it is stirred up at night by moving corals or just moving rock. Is that the equivalent of the marine snow, is there enough bacteria in it for them to eat? Would it hurt to stir it up a little bit to feed them at night. I'm not talking about clouding up the water, just running a stick through the sand a little. I have both soft and sps corals.

Thanks,
Tony

 

[sirreal63]

Where did you read this? Link?

 

[tony7855]

It was on a forum here somewhere. I can't find it now. I came across it by accident.

 

[sirreal63]

I am not sure I would do that, too many unknown variables. If your sand bed is fairly clean, and not a DSB it may not cause any harm, but I would not intentionally do that.

 

[cloak]

Some of those larger Tongan nassarius snails will do the same when they dive and resurface, only on a smaller level though.

I don't have any baffles in my sump so it's pretty much just another tank. Before I do a water change I'll use a powerhead to stir up all the crud that settles down there. I get a great feeding response when this is done. FWIW.

 

[seapug]

many corals will feed on detritus and particulate matter, especially soft corals and mushrooms; many LPS as well. If nutrients are properly managed in your tank and you don't disturb very deep parts of your sand it can be a very beneficial thing to do. I use a turkey baster to stir the top inch or two of my sand bed as a regular maintenance procedure every week before I do the water change. The corals feed on it and it gives the skimmer a chance to suck out a lot of junk.