how to feed LPS ?

[joaovieira]

Hi everyone,
two issues:

How frequently do you target feed your lps?
Who uses gloves?

Best regards.

 

[sporto0]

Turkey baster & once a week or two, no gloves though, I tried it before, they just end up full of water in my experience.

 

[joaovieira]

Is it harmful to livestock if you work in the tank without gloves ?

 

[sporto0]

Not in my experience, always make sure to rinse your hands & arms off if you have had soap or cologne on them recently. I think the idea behind gloves is to protect the tank owner from nasty bacteria, especially if you have a small cut on your hand, I do have a type of skin reaction, drying out & flaking, but I always wash thouroughly after being in the tank & apply cortizone cream to the affected areas.

 

[Lynnmw1208]

get a kent sea squirt and never get your hands wet

 

[GoIllini]

You honestly don't need to feed them. But turkey baster is the way to go if you are going to

 

[Hendogg0]

I use a turkey baster I feed 2 times a week. I rinse my hands after I feed. The reality is that you don't really need to target feed the only reason for it is to get your lps to grow faster/bigger but we do it cuz that's what we want most of the time it's just laziness that gets me that's when I just add oyster feast and call it a day.

 

[joaovieira]

Thanks everyone for helping me.
I will buy kent sea squirt which is a cleaner and practical way to feed corals when desired.

best regards

 

[aleonn]

I often go long periods of times (weeks to months) of not feeding LPS and they do fine. They just grow faster if target-fed, but it shouldn't be necessary.

I also recommend wearing gloves when possible. I'd rather not have my skin oils, or worse, lotions entering the tank. Best case scenario is that my skimmer foam head is lost.

 

[aleonn]

I often go long periods of times (weeks to months) of not feeding LPS and they do fine. They just grow faster if target-fed, but it shouldn't be necessary.

I also recommend wearing gloves when possible. I'd rather not have my skin oils, or worse, lotions entering the tank. Best case scenario is that my skimmer foam head is lost.

 

[jkcoon]

I tend to be tough on my hands, lots of little cuts, all the time... when i have cuts on my hands i will use nitrile gloves, i've found that a rubberband around the wrist will keep you dry... at the same time, don't see an issue with bare hands as long as you scrub down good before hand with just water, no soap.... also, ditto on the turkey baster, thats the only way i feed... several of the fish feed directly from it.

 

[markster33139]

I like feeding them, I think it is so cool. Is once a week too much?

 

[Palting]

If there is one thing I've learned, it's that no 2 tanks are alike. Whether to feed your LPS/softies or not I beleive depends on a lot of factors. Primary among them is the nutrient level in your tank. In my tank, the SPS are growing like gangbusters, while I've killed a lobo due to what I have come to realize as starvation. On the other hand, I know of other tanks that have excellent growth on their LPS, but can't seem to keep SPS, and I believe this is because of high nutrient levels in their tanks.

To keep my current LPS livestock alive, I've taken to target feeding them once a week, with that seasquirt. They seem to be responding, with no deleterious effect on my SPS.

 

[Crush Coral]

when you get your sea squirt you may find the hole too small. just drill it out a little larger.

 

[Todd_Sails]

OK, so I'm new to lps, picked up some last night from someone breaking their tank down due to a move.

The previous owner told me they only need photosynthesis.
He then asked about my lighting, when I told him about my PC's - bulbs are 5 months old, he said put them near the top.
If interested, I have two 36" banks of a 420/460 dual actinic, and a 10K in each bank, all bulbs are 96W.

Guidence and any comments appreciated.