Feeding Torch ... when?

[jtown]

I'm having a hard time feeding my torch coral. Two heads have died and there's only one left and I want him to stay alive. During the day, the torch has long tentacles, but at night it receeds in. When should I try feeding it?

[HuBu]

you need to have calcium, strontium, and other trace elements to the water to keep it in good health. try feeding it micro-plankton.

[jtown]

ok, I just bought some calcium, but haven't dosed much. I have a Ca test by Hagen, but I think it's really lousy cause I need to drop about 29 drops in before it turns purple. I heard seifert tests are good. Micro Plankton is what? food that I can add everyday? Will it increase my calcium/decrease strontium?

[HuBu]

plankton is food for filter feeders. drop some into the tank, it will cloud up the tank for a few hrs (well the brand i use does bc its concentrated). you shouldnt add it everyday since the un-eaten portion will become waste and hurt your tank. do it like every other day or something like that. you should really go ask your LFS what they use to feed feather dusters and their xenias.

[OscarBeast]

Well, I like to use DT's Phytoplankton. It is live phyto and it really seems to work well.

 

IT doesn't cloud the water very long either, and doesn't add nutrients to the tank because it is alive. Unfiltered "dead" food has to break down in your tank. DT's is supposed to live until it is filtered out by your animals or something else.

 

I feed my frog spawn little slivers of fresh shrimp along with my GOB.

[jtown]

how about b-ionic?

[Mnesarchus]

I never feed my Torch, and it's growing nicely. I just keep my Calcium at 450ppm and it thrives under my PC's.

[MrConclusion]

The Hagen calcium test kit is OK. The fact that you need 29 drops isn't a flaw in the kit... that's how it works. It's not unusual for modern salts to mix up to a calcium level above 500. If you're doing regular water changes that may be all you need in the way of calcium, but check your KH too. Some of the newer "fast dissolving" salt mixes have a hard time maintaining KH. I end up dosing way more carbonate than calcium.

[jtown]

I just thought with readings that high I would actually see calcium snowing in my tank. Or at least that's what I've read.

[MrConclusion]

No I maintain 480-500 with no precipitation. I'm sure it has been above 500 plenty of times. That's from regular old Reef Crystals plus a light dose of liquid calcium suppliment every other day.

[Caesar]

I don't know what causes the snow because I know a lot of guys who have Ca readings of 500 without precipitation but I start to see snow around 450-480. So I know what your talking about jtown but if you don't see any snow you should be ok.

[ross76053]

Well, I like to use DT's Phytoplankton. It is live phyto and it really seems to work well.

It may work well, but it won't for the torch coral (or any other Euphyllia sp.) mentioned in this post. They're meat eaters, so zooplankton & very small pieces of seafood is what they're after.

[Korbin]

Yeah, I agree with ross. I feed my frogspawn and hammer corals pieces of raw shrimp from the grocery store. Turn your pumps off and put a little piece of shrimp on there and wait 30-40 minutes. If its anything like my euphilia, it should gobble it down. I am always amazed at how big of a piece my froggy can eat. Do it during the day when the tentacles are out.

[OscarBeast]

Originally posted by ross76053

 

It may work well, but it won't for the torch coral (or any other Euphyllia sp.) mentioned in this post.  They're meat eaters, so zooplankton & very small pieces of seafood is what they're after.

 

That is why you should read the bottom of the post where it states: "I feed my frog spawn little slivers of fresh shrimp along with my GOB."

 

LOL

 

But here is another thought. We spend all of this money on buying live rock and live sand when play sand and base rock will in fact house the bacteria for breaking down Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. The reason we buy this stuff is to get all of the life that comes with it that benefits the tank.

 

The very bottom of the food chain for most creatures is phytoplankton. It would stand to reason that if we supply this, that other creatures that may feed our corals will survive to reproduce and make more food for our corals even if our corals can't directly use the phytoplankton. Of course there will be some filter feeders that can use the phyto directly and they will benefit as well. I don't know about you, but when I buy my live rock, it isn't just for bacteria and coralline algae...

[ross76053]

Gotcha Oscar - and agree with your phytoplankton comments - definitely beneficial. I just wanted to make sure we didn't confuse the answer to the original question:

 

Feeding Torch ... when?

I use DT's as well about once a week myself....good stuff.

[TStaut]

Caesar the level at which your CA will precipitate depends on a few things, but oftentimes it is a low magnesium level that causes us to fail to raise our CA above certain levels. If your alk and pH are in check, you should definitely buy a mag test kit and some mag supplement. Also, dripping kalk can slowly dissipate your mag level.

 

Travis