Coral feeding

[KingOfPain86]

Do I need to feed individual polyps or is it ok if just one polyp gets food. Does the food go to the whole colony or just that polyp.

 

[kireek]

I believe it's best to try to feed all the polyps.I don't know the answer to your second question.I would be interested in the answer myself.

 

[saltyphish]

I would think that the food would only go to the polyp eating the food. Alas I could be wrong. Anyone?

 

[Miracl3]

what kind of coral?
for SPS and colonial softs (xenia,leather,zoas), I feed powder based coral foods like Microvore by Brightwell Aquatics and AcroPowder (for acros) from Two Little Fishies.
individual softs (like mushrooms) and LPS I do meatier bits such as Mysis, just a little, dont overfeed. (I feed mysis to scolys, acans, large ricordia, fuzzy and elephant ear shrooms.)

Dont just take my word for it though, definitely keep watching this thread for more advice. what do you have specifically?

 

[Tab28]

This something i have wondered. Guessing it is aimed at LPS. Some LPS like chalice or goniopora have separate mouths or polyps but the body is attached to all polyps or mouths. Acans and euphyllia have true polyp separation.

 

[KingOfPain86]

I'm asking in regards to LPS. I feed mysis to all of them. Sometimes it's hard to get food to all of the polyps. Especially when shrimp and crabs try to take it. I was feeding little bits of silversides when I when I started the thread yesterday. The crabs and shrimp where a pain to keep away and only a few polyps on each coral where able to get food.

 

[dub3]

Not sure if this is true for all coral (sps lps softies) but I believe acans for example, if one or 2 polyps out of the colony get the food, they share a common vein and some nutrients reach the other polyps. I have a colony of 15 acan lords and only a couple polyps snag the mysis. But I get a new polyp or so every month, so something's working right.

 

[Waters]

I have wondered this as well....especially with my Duncans since some of the mouths are tucked underneath others.

 

[Tab28]

Not sure if this is true for all coral (sps lps softies) but I believe acans for example, if one or 2 polyps out of the colony get the food, they share a common vein and some nutrients reach the other polyps. I have a colony of 15 acan lords and only a couple polyps snag the mysis. But I get a new polyp or so every month, so something's working right.

Not sure if this is true. The heads that are not getting an actual piece of food maybe getting it through the water column or through your lighting. Sun corals and dendros need to have each head feed or that head will just die off. This is because they get no food through lighting. And they can not get enough through water column.

Acans, duncans, Euphyllia or any orher lps may have some flesh touching when small but are separate as they age. Some corals like duncans, plates and euphyliia can sprout babies from a visibly dead skeleton. So there may be something living within the skeleton but do not think it would be enough to nourish full grow heads or colonies.