feeding an acan enchinata

[sadie]

Does the connecting tissue in the enchinata actually connect the coral?  So if one head eats, do they all eat?  I have 2 heads that eat every time, but one that does not.  

[mcarroll]

They all eat – even when you don't feed them. 😉

 

They will feed off of anything particulate that gets stuck in their mucus: microbes, detritus, fish poop, fish food leftovers, etc.  They will also indirectly feed off of dissolved nutrients via their dino symbionts and other microbial companions.

 

Feeding food directly to photosynthetic corals may help speed growth in some circumstances, but is definitely not a requirement per se...it's only one of the ways they feed.

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

12 hours ago, mcarroll said:

They all eat – even when you don't feed them. 😉

 

They will feed off of anything particulate that gets stuck in their mucus: microbes, detritus, fish poop, fish food leftovers, etc.  They will also indirectly feed off of dissolved nutrients via their dino symbionts and other microbial companions.

 

Feeding food directly to photosynthetic corals may help speed growth in some circumstances, but is definitely not a requirement per se...it's only one of the ways they feed.

I have a scoly vietenisis and i has 2 mouths. One of the mouths is too small to feed, so I just feed the big one. Is this the same thing? Like does it work the same way? I also see it spitting out this weird clear mucas out of its mouth at times. Is that the thing where it’s catching food particles?

[sadie]

I get nervous, because when I got my sun coral (the one in my avitar) everyone told me I had to feed EVERY mouth, that they were not connected.  I would cut up meaty squares, stick it on a kabob stick and feed EACH mouth (It really was cool). again- this was one of my first coral almost 20 yrs ago (I feel so old 😲)

 

So now I feel like these individual heads all need to be fed.  (now I use a pipette and squirt over coral making sure each mouth gets some).

[Ratvan]

43 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

I have a scoly vietenisis and i has 2 mouths. One of the mouths is too small to feed, so I just feed the big one. Is this the same thing? Like does it work the same way? I also see it spitting out this weird clear mucas out of its mouth at times. Is that the thing where it’s catching food particles?

I use a plastic cup and air line tubing to feed my multi mouth LPS. Put a hole in the plastic cup and push a length of tubing inside, you can then use a pipette/syringe to push food down the tubing and onto the corals. The food stays within the cup and each head can then feed from the "soup"

 

Basically a cheap DIY version of https://www.aliexpress.com/i/32819224559.html

  

[sadie]

yup, I tried something like that, it was a horrible mess.  I'm sure I did it all wrong, but wow.  I knocked over a coral getting the bottle (I used a plastic soda bottle-drilled a 1/4" hold in the screw top and fed my tubing through that), The food wouldn't go down the hose, so I added more food, then added some saltwater to try and push that through.  (the whole time my husband telling me how this isn't a good idea😆)  for a moment it worked and some of the coral got food, but not the bottom under skirt ones.  I waited a while, and when I lifted the bottle out, it was like snow on Christmas morning.  It was horrible, food EVERYWHERE.  My husband sat there shaking his head. yup- won't do that again.  then I had to clean out the hose.  The kabobs were quick, not messy and everyone got fed.