Do you feed your corals Phytoplankton?

[lessans]

If so, which brand do you use and can you notice any significant difference compared to before using phytoplankton. The reason I ask is that I have a toadstool leather and it seems to have been growing very slowly since I bought it about a year and a half ago. I was under the impression that it should grow quickly.

 

[michaeldaly]

I don't dose any phytoplankton and most of my leathers grow very fast.

 

[dustin323]

Generally softies are faster growers compared to SPS & LPS, but don't expect phenonamnal growth on something like a toadstool. I do use phytoplankton for my feather duster though. I use Kent brand, be careful though to much can easilly cause nitrAtes & ahir algae.

 

[Sk8r]

I like Phytofeast and DTs, and I'm not sure whether corals eat phyto per se, but copepods and other things do, which corals do eat, and copepods eat algae--the more layers of life in a tank, the healthier, imho. I noticed the growth of sponges and dusters and pods when I was feeding it for a crocea clam in an sps/lps reef.

 

[fsn77]

I don't feed phyto, but do still see what I would consider really good growth on our leathers. I can frag our largest one as often as every 6 - 8 weeks to keep it from growing too large.

I've considered starting to feeding phyto, but just haven't decided to give it a try just yet.

 

[Jamokie01]

When you feed you have to look at it as feeding your tank, not feeding your fish or feeding your corals. Everything in the tank benefits from the addition of food, which is how phyto works. Very few corals actually consume phytoplankton, however, they do consume the zooplankton that eats the said phyto. Dosing phyto will increase your population of pods, sponges, feather dusters, as well as many other organisms you probably dont know are in your tank. These in turn provide food for other animals. I wouldnt expect this to drastically increase growth but it will help. You may also consider adding freshly hatched baby brine as this is a more direct option. If you decide to add anything just be sure to start slowly and not overfeed, if possible always use live as it is harder to overdose since it remains alive in the tank and doesnt decompose as quickly.

 

[lessans]

Well, I moved my toadstool a month or two ago b/c it wasn't doing well. But now I think I see some growth. I'll keep monitoring it. When I feed my fish I feed a mixture of Blood worms, Emerald Entrée, frozen Brine shrimp, Mysis shrimp, squid, and Formula One.