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Cultivated Reef

Do I need to feed my corals?


dlaunde

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Hey all,

 

Setup a 10 gallon with LR and sand. As of right now I have a hairy mushroom, a toadstool leather, and a zoa/paly. I also have a colony polyp, trumpet coral, and candy button coral arriving tomorrow. The only fish I plan on adding is a clownfish.

 

Since clownfish will eat a "wide variety", I was only planning on using the same flake food I use for my big FW tank (Omega One Tropical Fish food) as it has a high protein load but not sure if any of the corals I have require a secondary food source other than light and what might be floating around in the water.

 

According to Live Aquaria, only the trumpet and candy button are said to "benefit from additional feeding". Wasn't sure if it's required or not though.

 

Thanks!

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ReefSafeSolutions

Short answer, no, feeding the coral isn't required*. Long answer, no, BUT...feeding them won't hurt. Corals generally do just fine getting nutrients from the food you feed your fish, as well as your lights. Chances are good the fish won't get everything, and the food will dissolve into the water and the corals will use it.

 

Some corals will grow pretty quick if you feed them. For example, my Duncan grows pretty fast when I feed it mysis shrimp. Some corals may not even accept food if you try to feed them. I can't get my Euphyllia to eat anything so anymore, I don't bother and they get what they need from the water and lighting.

 

*If you don't have any fish in your tank (which you do, so this is mostly an FYI) you'd need to feed the corals somehow, either by just dropping some fish food into the tank and letting it float around and dissolve or using reef roids or whatever you want. If the water has no nutrients, the corals will suffer.

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When I used to have a candy cane coral (pre tank crash), I spot fed it mysis.

My Duncan's love to eat mysis. They are catch the mysis I feed my fish and get to eat everyday. They are big. I have 5 Duncan heads the size of a 50 cent coin and 6 baby head growing. My torch coral eats mysis too, everyday. Mysis will fall into the torch and their arms plump up and curl in. Its neat to watch. Even my purple stlophora will eat mysis! Mysis will land on its polpys and they latch on to the food and it is in a direct flow spot and the stylo hangs on to the food.

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Thanks!

 

Since I will be using flake food most of the time (as clownfish aren't picky is what I was told), is that beneficial enough for the corals if there is excess particle in the water?

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ReefSafeSolutions

Thanks!

 

Since I will be using flake food most of the time (as clownfish aren't picky is what I was told), is that beneficial enough for the corals if there is excess particle in the water?

 

I think flakes would be fine, especially since I'm sure the clownfish won't get every last flake. If you're concerned about it, get some coral frenzy or reef roids...you mix this stuff into a little bit of tank water and pour it back into the tank. My dad and I will turn our pumps off and pour a little bit over each coral...you can watch the corals close up around the mixture. Pretty cool.

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  • 3 years later...
Wc_aquariums

A lot of people say feeding isn’t important but everyone is looking for success in this hobby so yes if you want to see growth and have frags to share then feed them every 3-4 days and you’ll see a good increase in size 

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Feeding isn’t required, as others have stated, but there are some health benefits for the corals and they will grow faster. 
 

I would also recommend having at least two foods that you feed the fish. It’s good for them to have some variety in their diet. Plus, you shouldn’t have a fish ever trained to eat one food and one food only... what happens if you run out? It’s much easier in the long run if your fish are used to eating different types of food. And if you are going to occasionally feed something else, why not make it a food that can also benefit the corals?

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