Reef roids fed to SPS
- Thread starter Gmerek2
- Start date
bif24701
New member
Reef chilli from BRS might be a better choice.
Aaron
180 Gallon Dream (Now Reality)
http://www.panhandlereefers.com/forums/index.php?/topic/14405-180-Gallon-Dream-(Now-Reality)
Aaron
180 Gallon Dream (Now Reality)
http://www.panhandlereefers.com/forums/index.php?/topic/14405-180-Gallon-Dream-(Now-Reality)
I'm in a similar camp.
My green slimer, for example, has what I've identified as feeding specific tentacles (for a lack of a better word). They only come out when I clean the algae off the glass or really feed heavy.
I don't know how effective "normal" SPS polyps are for feeding. I know this goes contrary to some studies done. Some studies say the animal is covered in polyps, it must have a huge appetite. I've seen some videos on RC that did a comparison of different coral foods. These were close up videos of SPS polyps. From what I remember, the feeding response wasn't strong. I'm not convinced.
My LPS seem to like Roids more then the SPS. Minimal response if at all from SPS.
The best feeding response I ever saw was when my nitrates and phosphate was at undetected levels and I dosed liquid nitrate, 10ml into 60G system. Mille frags with already good PE sent out the longer whip-like feeding threads. Nearly every acro responded.
Now I keep the nitrates at 10 [but they recently jumped to 25] and the feeding response is very small. Reef Roids and Coral Frenzy each have the same effect.
One other time I got a very noticeble response was when I dumped some skimmate back into the tank. All the corals enjoyed that.
The best feeding response I ever saw was when my nitrates and phosphate was at undetected levels and I dosed liquid nitrate, 10ml into 60G system. Mille frags with already good PE sent out the longer whip-like feeding threads. Nearly every acro responded.
Now I keep the nitrates at 10 [but they recently jumped to 25] and the feeding response is very small. Reef Roids and Coral Frenzy each have the same effect.
One other time I got a very noticeble response was when I dumped some skimmate back into the tank. All the corals enjoyed that.
I think that is a very good description of what they are. I've seen a post here on RC with photos of the different types of fleshy parts of SPS. Maybe someone can link that in.
I'm willing to bet dosing phyto or some sort of algae will invoke a feeding response. If it happens in my tank, and I'm just learning to keep SPS, I think it will happen in yours too. Once I finish setting up and move into my new larger system, I'm interested in experimenting with stimulants to get a feeding response. Perhaps once the feeders are out, a food like reef roids can more easily be caught and ingested.
jbvdhp
New member
That's crazy! I should try that sometime. Do you skim wet or dry?
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I skim pretty wet. But right now with nitrates between 10-25, I get less then a third cup of skimmate [though it is very dark] all week. I barely have to clean the glass and not having any nuisance algae issues.
I only did that once [dumping in skimmate] because it goes against everything I have been taught. But so does feeding this much coral and fish food.
I am still feeding the Reef Roids or Coral Frenzy a little every day. I am not getting the feeding response but also the corals have never looked better then they do now.
Reef Frog
New member
When talking about feeding or other things it's helpful to identify the species in question. There is great diversity and differences between species.
Really long tentacles are almost always for defence of territory. But you may see them during feeding events. But they come out for lots of reasons other than feeding.
The Advanced Aquariast web sight has some excellent articles on coral feeding with many SPS species included. They generally eat zooplankton, bacteria, some dissolved organics and sometimes pizza & ice cream on the weekends. Very little to no phyto seems to be directly consumed. Studies were done by microscopic gut inspection.
Nitrate & phosphate are used by zoox for sure. It seems coral tissues can uptake these elements directly as well. But it's not exactly food. Fats, proteins & other elements are utilized.
Really long tentacles are almost always for defence of territory. But you may see them during feeding events. But they come out for lots of reasons other than feeding.
The Advanced Aquariast web sight has some excellent articles on coral feeding with many SPS species included. They generally eat zooplankton, bacteria, some dissolved organics and sometimes pizza & ice cream on the weekends. Very little to no phyto seems to be directly consumed. Studies were done by microscopic gut inspection.
Nitrate & phosphate are used by zoox for sure. It seems coral tissues can uptake these elements directly as well. But it's not exactly food. Fats, proteins & other elements are utilized.
Reefroids are so fine that it's hard to get them into solution. If you just drop some in the tank they'll clump. Target feeding will only work if you let them sit in some tank or RO water for a few hours and re-hydrate them.
Mesenterial filaments are an extension of the polyp structure.
You're not convinced ? :uhoh3:
Here's a good article that I'd recommend you read.
jbvdhp
New member
If you skim wet, shouldn't you get a lot of lighter/tea colored skim? I skim dry (so I think) and I get thick nasty black tar like stuff. Makes me puke.
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I used to get a nearly full cup of lighter colored skimmate.
I made several changes including more fish,heavy feeding, dosed nitrates until last week, added 5L of matrix, and I quit dosing Red Sea ABCD. Now I only dose 1ml of Koral Color.
Now my skimmate is much less in volume but darker colored. The only change to the skimmer is that I now run it 24/7 instead of 12/7.
I have always considered my skimmer running wet because it produced a lot of foam. My Alk consumption went from 17ml to 45ml in three months time. I have thought that maybe the coral growth and the increased bacteria have cleaned the water and there is less to skim. Possible that the extra bacteria darkened the skimmate.
I have considered rotating the tube on the skimmer to produce more foam but I do not know if there is anything to gain. I am hesitant to change much because everything is going good as is. This is possibly the best SPS color I have ever had.
jbvdhp
New member
Got it, thanks for the insight! I know some people who run their skimmers 12/7 too, but they have a light bio load to begin with.
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Scorpius
Stick Head
I only see mesenterial filaments on my acro's after I feed my tank and turn the flow back on. Then it's mesenterial city for about an hour. :lol:
Thanks for the reference. I checked this out a little bit. It is dense, but definitely nice to have to refer to in the future.
A skimmer benefits your tank in more ways than just removing excess organics. It's creating a gas exchange by airating, lowering CO2 and thereby raising the pH. If you turn it off because you don't see it collecting anything your pH will drop along the oxygen level of the tank. The increased wet skimming you see when you turn it back on shows that viscosity of the water has lowered because of any increase in organics, typically lipids/oil from fish food.
There is no good reason to turn off a skimmer for 12 hours a day. An hour or two when you're trying to feed corals or dose aminos makes sense, any more than that is not worth the trade off.
russ13
Member
I feed my corals two or three times a week. I have a feed mode on my apex that shuts down the return pump and the circulation pumps. I spot feed with coral frenzy using a coral feeder. After I'm done spot feeding them I turn on the circulation pump but not the return pump to let the excess food move around the tank and get eaten. I do my feeding at night after the lights have been off for a while and the tentacles of the corals are out and feeding. I'm not sure how well this system works but I'm getting good growth from my frags so I will keep doing it
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