Feeding NPS

[E.intheC]

I know we have a good amount of discussion on continuous feeding for filter feeder type NPS corals.

However, for a relative newb like myself it gets confusing with the different food types and names. I think it'd be helpful to separate foods based on.. Targeted corals? LPS/gorgonians/etc.. Size of foods, frozen/dry/wet/etc.

Also general quality of the food and application (mixed and dosed, direct via turkey baster, etc).

If we can, general pricing and similar information will be very helpful.

 

[CuttleKid]

I keep stricly LPS Non photosynthetic corals and tube anemones. As far as feeding goes, my all time favorite is the Fauna Marin Ultra LPS Pellets. The have different size pellets but the ones I'm feeding are about the size of NLS medium pellets. It is a high quality dry food that is the key for getting polyp expansion. My corals, such as rhizo, tubastrea, and dendro's are always fully expanded after each feeding. I feed my corals every day to every other day, sometimes multiple times a day when I get the chance. To feed the corals I first feed the fish to get them opened up. When any poyps are open,even just one, I start feeding. with tank water the pellets mixed in a red solo cup and dispensed with a turkey baster, and watch the rest of the polyps slowly come out. For starved corals that need to be fed but don't have the energy to open their polyps, I turn off all the pumps so that their is zero flow in the tank, and then use a turkey baster to drop the pellets onto/into them and wait until they eat. I should also point out that you do not need to refrigerate them. Also,my tube anemones love them as well as some of my fish, who eat the fallen pelkets off the sand bed. The price for it depends on the amount and size of the pellets, but they are mainly between 25-30 dollars for a smaller container, and 55-60 for a larger amount.

Hope this helps and is what you were looking for

 

[E.intheC]

Thanks. That's definitely the type of info I'm looking for.

 

[Reverend Reefer]

my procedure is very similar to cuttlekid's. while the powerheads are on, i feed my fish with Ocean Nutrition Prime Flake Food. i crumple up the flakes so they're tiny crumbles. this generally results in polyp extension from the corals and also gets the fish somewhat off my back. then, once i get some polyp extension, i turn off the powerheads, and feed the corals with a blend of frozen food: DT's oyster eggs, cyclopeeze, mysis shrimp. i mix that with some reefroids powder, some KZ LPS amino acids, and some NutraPlus Reef Food. obviously, the amounts will depend on what you have to feed but in my case, its half a cube of mysis, just a scrape off the cyclopeeze bar, 1ml of KZ amino acid, a drop of nutraplus reef food, a tiny tiny dab of reefroids powder, and the tip of a knife of oyster eggs. very very tiny amounts. i do this pretty much daily, if not twice a day. i mix that all in half a shot glass of tank water. i don't rinse my food. i use a turkey baster for delivery.

the main thing to note is how little i use of each item. the cyclopeeze bar, the little thing of reefroids, the oyster eggs, i've barely made a dent in them. the only thing i've ever had to replenish so far are the mysis shrimp but i do have a small tank (65G). i am running low on the nutrakol nutraplus reef food but i sometimes squirt a couple drops at night as supplemental feeding if i'm awake and notice polyp extension.

i don't have pricing for you but i can tell you that the most expensive stuff was the LPS amino acid, and i couldn't tell you if its making any difference whatsoever but i have it so i use it. i feel as though i've slowly acquired this variety of foods as they became available at my LFS but haven't had to buy more since then.

 

[E.intheC]

Thanks Rev. Good tips!

 

[bohannbj]

I've been keeping NPS on a limited basis over the past few months and now added a few dendro's 2 weeks ago. The tank is connected to my other seven tanks so it has all the same parameters as a reef. My Scleronephthya has been an odd one but good. For the last two months I had not seen a single polyp extension until tonight on the main bunch. I have however had a number of small off-shoots grow at incredible rates with great polyp extension. In addition I also have had a pink cuc-nuke and an Australian hydrogen bomb. There are also a pair of perculas. Here is my feeding regiment, hope it helps:
1. Algagen Reef Blend- Capful daily
2. Cyclopees- Couple of pinches every day
3. Hikari Frozen Rotifers- Couple times a week
4. Ocean Nutrition (O-N) Instant Baby Brine- Total GARBAGE Stop Using
5. Hikari Frozen Baby Brine- Much Better, Couple times a week
6. O-N Ova- Couple times a week
7. I also have all the phyto chrome stuff and it's ok too.
8. Marine Snow- It's pretty much snot in a bottle. Used it once, because you can't target the other stuff.