It depends, what kind of corals you have in your tank.
For long time I feed all my corals with a differnet kind of food and tested a lot of products on the market. At the end I must say, that only the natural products (live-phyto, oyster eggs, rotifers and copepods) made positive effects to my corals.
For SPS-corals I use usually oyster eggs (product: "DT's Natural Reef Diet" - every day one small knife point) and with vitamins and amino-acids enriched oyster eggs (product: "Reefstar Coral Energy" - every day 3 drops for 100 liters).
The optimal particle-size for the most SPS-corals is 40-200 microns.
Because oyster eggs offer only 40-60 microns I have to add every two days for some corals like stylophoras and pocciloporas some rotifers (product: "Reefnutrition Roti-Feast") - they like particle-sizes around 80-200 microns
For soft corals, clams and worms I dose "living" phytoplankton (product: "DT's Premium Reef Blend"). I also dose phyto to increase the zooplankton in my tank, that is a nice living food at night for my SPS-corals. Optimal particle-size is 2-20 microns
The LPS-corals and anemons I feed with standard frozen food like Mysis and Krill. Optimal particle-size more than 3000 microns.
I feed mostly at night, after the lightning has switched off. This is very important. Also skimmers should be switched off for 1-2 hours. At this time most SPS-corals pull out their polyps for capturing zooplankton. These polyps has sometimes a different look than the polyps at day. Maybe they are longer and brighter than at day. If you can't see any differences, it could be, that your corals are hold a long time without feeding any kind of zooplankton. With some "triggers" like aminoacids or milk of clams you are able to reactivate the natural tendency to capture zooplankton at night. (for the "rectivating" I used the "Reefstar Coral Energy" - later you don't need it, only the normal oyster eggs).
The result is really great if you dose it regular and every day at the same time. But you have to dose it more than 3-4 months to see any results.
The result: SPS-corals get bigger polyps, better coloration and more vitality. Especially to prevent diseases like RTN the feeding is a must. But one disadvantage I have to tell you: The corals become more aggressiv. You could feel it, if you touch them. So keep a little carefully after feeding them 3-4 months and let more savety clearance to among themselves. Another point is, that you have to look to your Ca- and Alk-level, because the growing-rate could be increased by feeding. A high water-quality should be kept by skimming at day or by an additional DSB-system or other flitration-components. But I think this should be clear.
My conclusion is: "Feeding is not a must, but could increase the health and natural attributes of the corals in our tanks."
Sudad
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