What do you feed your torch coral?

[lessans]

I have never fed mine, but it doesn't seem to be completely happy. One of the polyps has recently been retracting its tentacles and it has little black spots at the end of the tentacle. The other three polyps don't do this. I've never been able to feed my polyps because they usually don't sustain a hold on the mysis shrimp. Any suggestions?

 

[thecichlidpleco]

Same thing occurs with my frogspawn/hammer hybrid, but just because it isnt catching the mysis doesnt mean it isnt eating.

 

[cristhiam]

My clown feeds my torch anything I put in there, but it's not needed, light should be enough. My frogspawn doesnt seem to hold anything either, mine is over 2 years old.

 

[lessans]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9984976#post9984976 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by thecichlidpleco
...just because it isnt catching the mysis doesnt mean it isnt eating.

If it isn't catching food then how the heck is it eating?

 

[magnoliarichj]

maybe you should go read a book on how corals live.

 

[lessans]

I know that they photosynthesize... I'm referring to how they ingest food, smarty pants. Eating=ingesting, however, eating ≠ cellularly respirating. Pay attention to my diction in the fourth post, magnoliarichj. Corals are cellularly respirating when they consume the translocated reduced carbon compounds from photosynthesis of the zooxanthellae.

 

[lessans]

Plus, any time I try to feed my torch coral and all other corals, my fish and cleaner shrimp eat the food. What should I do?

 

[thecichlidpleco]

Are you in front of the tank all of the time? I have rarely seen my froggie actually catch food, and it has grown and split many times. They feed on other microscopic things you wont be able to see. Different kind of 'Pods will most likely get eaten by it. I have the same problem with greedy shrimp. But as cristhiam said, they should be okay without catching food. It is either that your lighting is too weak at the current placement or the water flow is too much on the partticular head. Also, all this attitude from everyone is just great, you get nippy with people and you will find help will come few and far between, people are just trying to help...appreciate it.

 

[Joshua1023]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9987894#post9987894 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lessans
smarty pants.

:lol:

 

[Hormigaquatica]

Ive never seen a torch (or any Euphyllia) die from not being target fed- as others have mentioned, they will usually sustain themselves by photosynthesis and catching small bits of whatever floats by them. That being said, my frogspawn does eat mysis and cyclopeeze pretty regularly.

If its just a single head closing up, I would thing its more likely that someone in your tank is picking at it. Watch for fish or crabs that might be irritating it. Watch for any kind of growths over top of it as well (brown jelly-like stuff is the most common). If that happens, you may need to take a bit of action.

(And ignore magnoliarichj.. sounds like he is the one that could benefit from a bit more reading)

 

[jrobison]

I was just fixing to ask the same question about my Hammer Coral and Frogspawn. So they do not HAVE to be fed but may enjoy it occasionally, I guess?

 

[bgiles11]

I feed my brains, frogspawn, torck, and bubble corals. They all eat. My bubble devours everything in a manner of seconds, where as my torch, and froggy take a lil while longer. I turn off all bumps though.

 

[Gian-Marco]

My frogspawn and torch corals seem to be fine without direct feeding. I think they feed off the disolved organics in the water. I have tried feeding them, and the frogspawn does not seem to accept any types of food. I have fed the torch coral however, by squirting into it. Turn all the pumps off though for about 10 mins, the tentacles will grab the food.

 

[lessans]

Gian-Marco, does just placing the food in the torch corals tentacles work for you too? What food do you squirt into the coral?

 

[Gian-Marco]

Yes, when I feed my torch coral, I turn off the pumps and squirt mysis shrimp into the coral using some airline tubing attached to a syringe. The tentacles then seem to curl up to protect the food and move the food to its mouth. I dont find that it requires much feeding though. It seems to do well under T5 lighting and low to medium flow. They are definately photosynthetic and I believe they feed mostly from light and disolved organics.

 

[Gian-Marco]

Simply placing the food in the torch corals tentacles doesn't work for me as the food is quicky stolen from the coral by the fish. Squirting the food into the coral doesnt allow the fish to get to it.

 

[lessans]

And when you say, "I squirt the food into the coral," I'm assuming you mean at the mouth, but not actually into the digestive cavity. Did I interpret that correctly?

 

[Gian-Marco]

I hide the end of the airline tubing in amongst the tentacles and squirt the food slowly. The aim is that none of the food escapes the coral for the fish to eat. Whether its toward the mouth or not, the tentacles should curl up as the coral moves the food towards its mouth. I feed my anemone in the same fashion.

 

[Gian-Marco]

I don't actually touch the base of the coral with the airline tubing, therefore no, I don't squirt the food into the digestive cavity.

 

[ek9vboi]

nothing. just good lighting and whatever it can catch.