Best foods to feed corals

Mark C · Dec 3, 2013

I am new to reef and coral keeping. I would like to know the best foods and also the best methods to feed them.
I do feed my two anemones brine shrimp with a small dropper sprayed directly to them. I realize there are many different types of corals and particular needs. Thanks!

SeahorseKeeper · Dec 4, 2013

Recently, I just began feeding my corals. I am using BRS reef chili and Fauna Marin pellets for my LPS. The results are looking good so far.

Mufasa31 · Dec 4, 2013

I've always had success with Coral Frenzy.

Feed after the light go out.

Ward9320 · Dec 4, 2013

I also use reef chilli from BRS and am very satisfied with it. For my meat eaters I usually give them mysis shrimp

Mark C · Dec 4, 2013

Do you broadcast the food into the water column or target feed each coral? Thanks for the imput so far gang!

Ward9320 · Dec 4, 2013

I usually broadcast the reef chilli first and wait about 5-10 minutes to give the corals time to extend their "hungry hands" and then target feed with the mysis.

Palting · Dec 4, 2013

Mark C said:
Do you broadcast the food into the water column or target feed each coral? Thanks for the imput so far gang!

It depends on the coral. For most coral that have feeding tentacles or mouths, like most LPS for example, I turn all the pumps and powerheads off and encase the coral in a cloud of food. After 20-30 minutes, I turn just the powerheads on for another 20-30 minutes to let the food circulate within the tank. After that, I turn the return pumps on and filter out the excess food.

Be careful about feeding coral. Most of the problems encountered in reef keeping can be attributed to over feeding. GHA, cyano, bad water parameters, etc. Almost all the coral available to the hobbyist are photosynthetic, meaning they can thrive and do well on the food provided by their zooxanthelae and good light. The daily feeding you give your fish plus the fish poop then just act as supplements to the coral by providing amino acids, and other building blocks which the coral can get directly from the water column. I have an SPS dominated tank, and direct feed my coral only about once every 2-3 weeks, if that. If your tank has a lot of softies and anemones, you may want to feed once a week.

YVR · Dec 5, 2013

I am a huge advocate of feeding corals in my tanks. I target feed my LPS corals thawed and rinsed frozen mysis in the evenings a couple times per week. I feed SPS in my tank 2-3 times per week alternating with frozen oyster eggs, Tropic Marin Pro-Coral Phyton and TM Pro-Coral Zooton.

GHill762 · Dec 5, 2013

Palting said:
Almost all the coral available to the hobbyist are photosynthetic, meaning they can thrive and do well on the food provided by their zooxanthelae and good light.

according to the article on advanced aquarist yesterday, all corals should be fed.. all of them feed on different things, some will get them from your water column, some won't. now, your coral won't croak from lack of feedings, but the calcification and tissue growth rates were dramatically different with and without feeding according to the study.

socal619 · Dec 5, 2013

LRS food, reef and coral frenzy, broadcast feeding. spot feed my anemones once a week, trachy, fungia when i remember to lol

SirKevinD · Dec 5, 2013

For feeding corals I suggest PhytoFeast, just use a syringe to suck some up and then spray it onto each of your corals. Also I have seen fantastic results with Reef Frenzy. You just take a small bit of powder and mix it into a small bit of tank water and use the syringe in the same way noted earlier. For feeding your anemone you can use raw shrimp from the seafood section in your local grocer. Just thaw it and make sure it is not a huge piece and dop it onto your anemone. You can also use mysis shrimp by thawing it and using a turkey baster to spray it into the anemone. Good luck!

Chris07 · Dec 5, 2013

I mix up a little Oyster Magnifique, phytoplankton, and brine shrimp once a week and target feed everything with a turkey baster. My palys and lps eat it all. My sps obviously cant eat the brine but my fish do and I just don't feed my fish that night. Return pump off for about 20 minutes and vortechs on feed mode. I've been doing this for 2 months now and WOW what a difference in everything as far as color and growth. Previously I would just pour food in the tank. I know everybody has their own preference in food but when it comes to how you feed I don't think you can beat spot feeding. Also I change my filter sock after I feed the corals just so all that extra food and waste isn't breaking down in there. Just my observation of what works in my tank.

Jimbo · Dec 5, 2013

SPS seem to like Oyster Feast. I also feed Reef chili from BRS. Frozen cyclopeeze for LPS

AquaSwap · Dec 5, 2013

Anyone have any luck finding Fauna Marin in stock anywhere??? Looking for med LPS pellets and something to feed zoas and chalice.

Palting · Dec 5, 2013

GHill762 said:
according to the article on advanced aquarist yesterday, all corals should be fed.. all of them feed on different things, some will get them from your water column, some won't. now, your coral won't croak from lack of feedings, but the calcification and tissue growth rates were dramatically different with and without feeding according to the study.

Yes, I agree they should be fed. But you missed my point, so here it is again:

Palting said:
Be careful about feeding coral. Most of the problems encountered in reef keeping can be attributed to over feeding. GHA, cyano, bad water parameters, etc.

I believe in feeding coral, and in fact I gave my feeding regimen as an example. Caution is needed, however, as higher nutrition levels in the tank can result in bad parameters and deterioration of the coral, particularly the SPS in the scleractinian group.

Here' a link to the article in Advance Aquarist, for anyone interested in reading it:
Feature Article: Coral Feeding: An Overview ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog