feeder vs sweeper tentacles

[pledosophy]

In my understanding some corals use sweeper tentacles to kill other corals (i.e. euphyillia) and some use feeder tentacles to catch food (i.e candy canes). My quedtion is do the feeder tentacles that corals use have the ability to sting, or just catch and trap food?

I am looking to keep some LPS with some fish that are very suseptable to stinging corals and am trying to understand the difference between the two.

Also how do you tell a sweeper and a feeder apart?

Thanks.

 

[duec22]

feeders can sting. They are ment to catch and immobalize live prey.

What kind of fish?

 

[pledosophy]

seahorses. Even an aiptasia sting can cause a death with these guys IME.

Know of aywhere where I could read articles on the feeding tentacle or sweeper tentacles?

Also how big of prey can a brain of candy cane eat as opposed to a euphillya? For example could a candy cane eat a peppermint shrimp if it were alive. I know they can trap and eat frozen mysis, just trying to get an idea.

 

[chrisstie]

It really depends on the coral. Some are known to have looong tentacles .. some plates, any uh, frog\hammer\etc .. i think its called euphyllia? the family? .. My echino seems to have relatively long sweepers too

but if you want things that are really relatively short go with trachyphyllia, candy cane\trumpets.. these usually dont extend too far past the polyp and i think are used mostly to trap\catch then shuttle food into the polyp.

i am not sure about some of the other LPS

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Caulastrea (candycane/trumpet coral) feeders and sweepers

All can "sting". Sweepers extend much longer than feeders and are used for defense.
You might want to double check with Seahorse experts on which corals you can keep with your 'horses. I know some species of Hippocampus remain very small and they'd be a potential snack for many types of LPS corals.

 

[raoul]

I have red candy canes as well as green ones. Strangely enough my reds have very long, multiple, trailing tentacles that are out most of the time, and my greens have nearly the opposite. The greens only come out in response to food being near them, but even then they're not as noticable as the reds. I guess I didn't expect such a difference between the colors.

 

[chrisstie]

I don't have any reds and was really surprised to see the pic above! I have the teal\green kind and they just get a tiny ring of feeders around their mouth.. wow !

 

[circusordie16]

i agree with random candy cane sweepers. i have a three headed green and brown candy cane and only one head extends sweepers but all of them extend feeders. and its a vicious sweeper let me tell you!

 

[pledosophy]

Seahorse experts disagree, that is why I came to ask you knowledgable folks.

Do all LSP corals have sweepers? SPS varies, some sting, others do not, thought LPS might b the same.

In my limited experience with candy canes, brains, and cynaria corals all of the tentacle have been very small. The frogspawn, well, not so small at all.

The species of seahorses I am looking to gain info on all exceed 5". Small species such as dwarfs, brevi's, or tubers, would be too much of a risk to keep with most corals IMO.

 

[pledosophy]

any articles or such I should read?

 

[Ti]

aren't sweepers longer?

 

[pledosophy]

 

[pledosophy]

Bueller?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

FWIW when I looked at my Caulastrea early this morning it was eating a small (2" long) bristleworm. I don't think I'd trust smaller 'horses around Trumpet corals, but I've never kept any Seahorses so what do I know?

 

[impur]

My candy cane regularly attacks some GSP growing near it.

Here is pic of it eating with feeders out.