Best food for toadstool leathers?

[CenlaReefer]

I LOVE toadstool leathers (sarcophytons) and have a 20 gallon softie-only DT that has about 7 different sarcophytons. The tank has 3 fish which I feed daily with a generous amount of some thawed San Francisco Bay Brand Emerald Entree. The corals seem to do well yet are not growing as fast as I would like. What is the best food for these corals in everyone’s opinion? I am guessing some sort of liquid like Kent PhytoPlex. I heard there are some more concentrated liquid foods out there. I would like to get the absolute best food for these corals.

 

[Retro Reefer]

I have never tried to feed leathers and IMO is completely unnecessary.. they get the bulk of what they need to grow from your lighting and will pick up some nutrients when your feeding other critters in your tank.

 

[cjd]

I am a fan of them too. Really are a set it and forget it coral . The nutrients in the water from feeding the 3 fish would defiantly suffice , but as for coral food I like oyster feast .

 

[GoPitt88]

I've never fed mine, and he's doing Great! [emoji16]

 

[Midrats]

Sunshine!

 

[Sea MunnKey]

Never feed & as long as there's strong & sufficient lights available, it'll grow

 

[PDR]

While not necessary, I have read that they do benefit from phyto.

 

[CenlaReefer]

I've never fed mine, and he's doing Great! [emoji16]

Beautiful!

 

[Flippers4pups]

Hope, no additional feeding needed. Just as others have said, just light and nutrients in the water collum.

 

[CenlaReefer]

Thanks for the advice! I have been wondering if I need to change my light spectrum. I will post my AI Prime setting later after work. Natural sunlight for one of these tanks has been an interesting prospect.

I have been reading a very interesting article from Advanced Aquarist. Perhaps this may explain my problem. Here is the URL and the quotation below.

https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/3/corals

“I have a 125 gallon reef aquarium that is dominated by soft corals, and there's a lot of diversity at that. I've placed four different toadstools in the aquarium, but only one has grown well, while the others have grown little or none. . . . While it looks perfectly fine, this specimen is a cutting from a much larger one, which was growing very well under similar lighting, but in an aquarium with only a few other soft corals in it. When the cutting was made it quickly increased in size, but after being moved into my aquarium, it just stopped growing. It hasn't had any problems that I know of, but it hasn't grown even an inch in over two years. Likewise, two of the other smaller cuttings from other types of toadstools that haven't grown very much, despite the fact that ALL other types of soft coral in the aquarium have been growing well - including a fourth toadstool cutting from yet another very different-looking specimen. It has grown as expected. So, that's why I'm under the impression that there's some form of chemical warfare going on in the aquarium, which shouldn't be a surprise, really. Water changes and the use of fresh activated carbon and a big skimmer haven't had any affect that I could see, so I guess I'm just stuck with a few small toadstools and one bigger one.”

 

[CenlaReefer]

Hope, no additional feeding needed. Just as others have said, just light and nutrients in the water collum.

Wow! Does that one look pink under almost any lighting? I have been looking for a true pink one for years. Let me know if you plan to sell any frags of it.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Wow! Does that one look pink under almost any lighting? I have been looking for a true pink one for years. Let me know if you plan to sell any frags of it.

Yes it's a pink one. I don't currently plan on fragging it, though at some point it will need to be.

 

[CenlaReefer]

Her is my AI Prime lighting spectrum and schedule:

 

[dragon99]

;Jawdrop

I'm an acro guy, but that's beautiful. Like ball of cotton candy.

 

[CenlaReefer]

Yes it's a pink one. I don't currently plan on fragging it, though at some point it will need to be.

Let me know who is selling those. An online vendor?

 

[Flippers4pups]

Let me know who is selling those. An online vendor?

Got it local about 10 years ago.

 

[sfin52]

Got it local about 10 years ago.

I'm jealous. That's the next one I'll be searching for. That's amazing piece .

 

[CenlaReefer]

Got it local about 10 years ago.

Please, keep me in mind if it ever sheds a baby or you decide to frag it. I will pay you for the coral plus shipping and buy other frags of corals.

Let me ask my original question for this thread another way. What is the absolute best food for these corals if you are keeping a quarantine tank full of them with no fish and you would like them to grow and flourish? I guess dissolved fish poop in the water column is the best. What is the next best?