Do you have to hand feed your LPS?

[tprize]

My question is do you have to hand feed the LPS, or will most of them eat on there own? I am assuming in the wild they don't have a giant hand squirt food into there mouths.

Also completely unrelated, what is a good guide on how to feed corals, I have a trumpet that was given to me recently, and I have no clue how to feed it, I just saw it's little fingers come out the other day for the first time.

 

[Sk8r]

I just toss cyclopeeze into the tank: they're pretty clever, and my 2 head hammer is now a 2-tiered, 4 head-each monster.

 

[theop]

You don't have to spot feed them, but they'll get more food and grow faster if you do. Like sk8r, I feed cyclopeeze. I also so feed frozen mysis shrimp and Reef Chili.

Most LPS except euphyllia (frogspawn, torch, hammer, etc) will put out feeder tentacles (the 'little fingers') soon after the lights go out at night. That is when I feed them, once or twice a week.

 

[fishyvet]

I like to hand feed all the LPS... they just look so hungery :eek1: I give silver side pieces, Formula 2, cyclopeeze, brine, and whatever else is in the kitchen! Some LPS need more food than others, like sun corals and chile which are non-photosynthetic.

You can just drop the piece of food on the polyp or you can make a target feeding device out of half of a small soda bottle through which you can gently spray the food towards the tentacles. Only feed when the tentacles are out or you may just be wasting food.