Feeding Zoas Palys, how often?

[ZoWhat]

@CherryCorals .....and others

My 6ft 180g tank is 90% zoas palys growing all over the LRs

So Reef Roids is the Holy Grail for spotfeeding. I know to make the water stagnic and spotfeed and let feed stay put for 1-2 hours

.....But how often? Once a week, twice, every other day?

 

[YHSublime]

Let your fish feed the corals with their poo! A la naturale!

 

[vetteguy53081]

@CherryCorals .....and others

My 6ft 180g tank is 90% zoas palys growing all over the LRs

So Reef Roids is the Holy Grail for spotfeeding. I know to make the water stagnic and spotfeed and let feed stay put for 1-2 hours

.....But how often? Once a week, twice, every other day?

I target feed every 3 days

 

[ZoWhat]

Let your fish feed the corals with their poo! A la naturale!

Thanks for your input, appreciate it, but it's pretty much well known that spotfeeding zoas palys will grow them at a 2-3x rate

 

[vetteguy53081]

What most aquarists desire

 

[YHSublime]

Thanks for your input, appreciate it, but it's pretty much well known that spotfeeding zoas palys will grow them at a 2-3x rate

That's cool. Just seems like a ton of work to spot feed a 6' tank! FWIW, I'll just defrost my food in some tank water (individual container, usually LRS) and just just the "juices" to squirt onto my zoas and other lps.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Those juices will raise your phosphate levels. In this case suspend feed instead of target feeding.

 

[ZoWhat]

Just seems like a ton of work to spot feed a 6' tank!

To me the big part of the hobby is doing the hard work.....this hobby is NOT like collecting art where you just buy art then sit around admiring it.

In this hobby, imo, its doing the hard work and THEN admiring it



.

 

[Gareth elliott]

I broadcast feed a small amount of reef chili once a week at night. I also use coral gumbo as part of my normal feeding regiment so they get some from that too. Polyps will eat whole mysids so in a tank where nutrient build up is not an issue heavy regular feedings maybe enough when combined with fish and other inhabitants waste. We are only trying to make up the other 10-20% energy they dont get from lights.

 

[YHSublime]

To me the big part of the hobby is doing the hard work.....this hobby is NOT like collecting art where you just buy art then sit around admiring it.

In this hobby, imo, its doing the hard work and THEN admiring it

Never implied the above, and no argument there. But you also don't see the ocean shutting down the waves so everything can grab a bite to eat
I'm digressing from your original question though, and I don't have an answer! However, I'd be interested in seeing the data on the same zoas fed reef roids vs not and growth rate.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I agree with YHSublime about the growth rate issue. If you have a reasonable bioload in your tank and feed them on a regular basis, I think zoas will grow just fine. Feeding that same tank reef roids may increase the reproduction rate some but I seriously doubt it's more than double. If you have a good light source and the PAR is good, zoas will do fine with very little special feeding. But even I will admit, I do some of the same things you are doing Jim. I shut down all flow in my tank when I feed. But only for 10 to 15 minutes, then I stir it up again for 5 to 10 seconds and let it settle for another 10 to 15 minutes. Then I'll let the powerheads/wavemakers run for 30 minutes without the return pump in the sump running. That keeps the food in the tank and not in the filter sock! And I do spot feed, but basically just anemones and some lps corals.

I'd love to see a FTS photo of your tank Jim.