- Location
- Li,Ny
Ok so i do target feed my corals with reef snow or any liquid food. But how can i target feed them mysis? i have one of those long syringes and the mysis are to big to be sucked into a syringe what do you guys use?
how to target feed?!
- Thread starter TrIsTaTe05
- Start date
From reading on the Web, a number of Marine Snow products are not that good. I do use one that is expensive called Reef bugs from Marc Weiss. I can tell you my corals love it. It stores in the refrigerator and I use a 1/8 teaspoon daily. I found that now, my corals all open in the early morning for it. My LPS really expand for it.
As far as Mysis. This comes in larger and smaller sizes. Some people like the smaller ones. I have used both types and fine that even if a coral does not look like it is being eaten, that when I place my frozen food in a 1 cup container and mix with my tank's salt water, that enough small particles go around. So I would not worry about the size.
I buy a turkey baster from the super market. I do have a larger turkey baster from a reef vendor on-line. It is nice because it has a longer stem, however, the hole is smaller and clogs more.
Anyway, the concept is that I take all of my frozen food and defrost it in a cup of my display tank salt water and then I spot feed my corals.
PS. On some frozen foods, I place today's smaller portion on a cutting board and chop it smaller. I make sure the cutting board is clean before and after doing this. This helps clog the larger turkey baster less.
As far as Mysis. This comes in larger and smaller sizes. Some people like the smaller ones. I have used both types and fine that even if a coral does not look like it is being eaten, that when I place my frozen food in a 1 cup container and mix with my tank's salt water, that enough small particles go around. So I would not worry about the size.
I buy a turkey baster from the super market. I do have a larger turkey baster from a reef vendor on-line. It is nice because it has a longer stem, however, the hole is smaller and clogs more.
Anyway, the concept is that I take all of my frozen food and defrost it in a cup of my display tank salt water and then I spot feed my corals.
PS. On some frozen foods, I place today's smaller portion on a cutting board and chop it smaller. I make sure the cutting board is clean before and after doing this. This helps clog the larger turkey baster less.
- Location
- Overland Park, KS
What corals are you feeding? The ones that you might want to target feed include tubastrea (sun coral) and perhaps acans when they have their feeding tentacles extended... There are other "LPS" corals that you could target feed from time to time when they are ready to eat (tentacles extended).
I target feed my tubastrea, acans, trachiphylia and lobo when they are tentacly (I prime the water with food for the fish, they "smell" the food and get ready to eat). I use the same food I feed the coral - mysis, whatever meaty food I'm feeding - and squirt the food gently over then with a turkey baster. The fish eat what the corals don't catch. The shrimp sometimes steal what the corals don't hold on to well.
Of these corals, though, only the tubastrea gets food every day. All the others I feed perhaps once or twice a week, sometimes less often. except for the tubastrea, the rest are photosynthetic, so they don't have to eat meaty foods often. The tubastrea is not at all photosynthetic, so it gets meaty food daily.
best of luck!
I target feed my tubastrea, acans, trachiphylia and lobo when they are tentacly (I prime the water with food for the fish, they "smell" the food and get ready to eat). I use the same food I feed the coral - mysis, whatever meaty food I'm feeding - and squirt the food gently over then with a turkey baster. The fish eat what the corals don't catch. The shrimp sometimes steal what the corals don't hold on to well.
Of these corals, though, only the tubastrea gets food every day. All the others I feed perhaps once or twice a week, sometimes less often. except for the tubastrea, the rest are photosynthetic, so they don't have to eat meaty foods often. The tubastrea is not at all photosynthetic, so it gets meaty food daily.
best of luck!
- Location
- Midtown Manhattan & Levittown LI
My dendro and Duncan have very "sticky" tentacles so I've found that I don't need to reduce flow at all. Feeding palys, I turn off all flow.
Sent from my iPhone using Reefs
Sent from my iPhone using Reefs
- Location
- Staten Island
I use the Kent Sea Quirt feeder. It doesn't always suck the mysis in but I really don't need it to. I just need to grab onto the shrimp long enough for the corals to grab it. Like Daisy said, I also prime the water with food first. I feed my Acans, Dendros, Duncans, Tubes and even Blastos this way. Seems to work for me.
What are you feeding?
What are you feeding?
GottaBNutz
Experienced Reefer
- Location
- Cortlandt Manor NY
How I target feed
Hi,
I cut the top off of a 1 liter and a 2 liter soda bottle so it formed a cone about 6 inches long. I lower the cone over the coral I want to target feed.
This serves two purposes. 1 it stops scavenging the food from the feeding coral (my shrimp, hermits, and other fish and sometimes snails will snatch up the food) and it prevents the strong reef current from washing the food away before the coral has time to ingest the food.
This works for me.
GottaBNutz (Mitch)
Hi,
I cut the top off of a 1 liter and a 2 liter soda bottle so it formed a cone about 6 inches long. I lower the cone over the coral I want to target feed.
This serves two purposes. 1 it stops scavenging the food from the feeding coral (my shrimp, hermits, and other fish and sometimes snails will snatch up the food) and it prevents the strong reef current from washing the food away before the coral has time to ingest the food.
This works for me.
GottaBNutz (Mitch)
I turn off all of my pumps while I use a turkey baster on my corals. My fish and shrimp have grown accustom to take some of the food from the corals. That does not bother me, as there is enough to go around. After 20 minutes, I turn pumps back on.
In addition, twice a week, I also turkey baster all of the corals and rock to clean off detritus.
I think from my spot feeding my corals, it looks like they grow faster than not spot feeding the corals.
It is cool to see the mouths on my chalice open. Did not even know they have mouths. I also see other corals, like LPS open very nicely. Even my candy cane, balloon up nicely.
I also even place my flake food into the cup of salt water. This way the flake food sinks and does not just float.
In addition, twice a week, I also turkey baster all of the corals and rock to clean off detritus.
I think from my spot feeding my corals, it looks like they grow faster than not spot feeding the corals.
It is cool to see the mouths on my chalice open. Did not even know they have mouths. I also see other corals, like LPS open very nicely. Even my candy cane, balloon up nicely.
I also even place my flake food into the cup of salt water. This way the flake food sinks and does not just float.
Last edited:
- Location
- Bklyn
Very simylar to what I do to target feed my fish. I got the concept from reef keepers, Hers is a link to my DIY feeding bell for fish: http://tanks4thememories.blogspot.com/2010/05/diy-feeding-bell-for-angler-fish.html#top1
Hope it helps
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