Should you target feed your mushrooms?

Brucealmighty · Apr 9, 2022

My fuzzy's sometimes will grab stuff put in for the fish to eat and turn themselves into purplish large balls while eating then to return back to normal again 5-10 minutes later they have doubled in size and tripled in quantity albeit that I have 6 now from the original 2 in 9 months

Ntl555 · Apr 9, 2022

I target feed my shrooms but get mixed reactions from them. The bounces take the food and will close up but the discomas doesn't seem to care for it.

bxclent · Apr 9, 2022

Daniel@R2R said:
How many of you guys are target feeding your mushrooms? Do you find that target feeding makes a difference in growth/multiplication rate? Is it better for mushrooms that are bigger? Smaller? Share your experiences with us!

Hungry mushrooms photo by @Ben Weaver

Target feed with Reef Roids

SauceyReef · Apr 9, 2022

SecondCityCorals said:
No offense but is there any way to opt out of these alerts so they dont show up?

I would like to know this as well. Reef2Reef is even messaging me with alerts now and I keep thinking somone actually wants to speak with me.

Lost in the Sauce · Apr 9, 2022

SauceyReef said:
I would like to know this as well. Reef2Reef is even messaging me with alerts now and I keep thinking somone actually wants to speak with me.

Hi Saucey, how's your day going?

Dreamscapesaquatics · Apr 9, 2022

I target feed my ricordia reef roads once a week and mysis twice a week. They don't split often. But I get great color and they stay big and puffy all day.

Freenow54 · Apr 9, 2022

Never have they are reproducing constantly without feeding

SauceyReef · Apr 9, 2022

Lost in the Sauce said:
Hi Saucey, how's your day going?

Hello! Good to see another sauce & reef connoisseur! Going well but I am having some big tank problems unfortunately. How are you and your tanks doing?

Lost in the Sauce · Apr 9, 2022

SauceyReef said:
Hello! Good to see another sauce & reef connoisseur! Going well but I am having some big tank problems unfortunately. How are you and your tanks doing?

Sauce and Reefs go together like macaroni and peas!

Sorry to hear that, what's going on with your tanks? And where's your build badge?

(Loudly knocking on wood) other than a growth spurt sucking up more carbonate than I was dosing, systems are feeling in point right now. (I KNOW I'm going to regret saying that within 48 hours)

SauceyReef · Apr 9, 2022

Lost in the Sauce said:
Sauce and Reefs go together like macaroni and peas!

Sorry to hear that, what's going on with your tanks? And where's your build badge?

(Loudly knocking on wood) other than a growth spurt sucking up more carbonate than I was dosing, systems are feeling in point right now. (I KNOW I'm going to regret saying that within 48 hours)

Amazingly put! Great minds think alike.. I appreciate the reply. I know I have a build thread. Does that automatically equate to a build thread badge? Or there may be a way to put the badge up and I have not realized yet.

I got aiptasia in my Fluval Evo mixed reef. It has been aggressively taking over the tank because I feed heavy (LPS/softy dominated tank). I finally recently found a local with berghias so I dont have to pay and risk 24 shipping. I put them in a week ago and I have not seen any of them since. I am just super worried because I am not sure how I can tackle such a pest problem without taking apart my tank if berghias do not work. The aiptasia is in the back chambers, on and in the power heads, etc.

I have another tank I am setting up for Mangroves. I have had literally nothing in this tank for 4 months now and I am still battling algae. My params checked fine and I added a Bangai Cardinal fish. It died within the night. Maybe the nutrients are spiking but not showing because the algae is eating it up? Not 100% sure.. Just kind of down in general...

But guess what? My riccordias are doing great! Especially the blue ones haha.

Lost in the Sauce · Apr 9, 2022

SauceyReef said:
Amazingly put! Great minds think alike.. I appreciate the reply. I know I have a build thread. Does that automatically equate to a build thread badge? Or there may be a way to put the badge up and I have not realized yet.

I got aiptasia in my Fluval Evo mixed reef. It has been aggressively taking over the tank because I feed heavy (LPS/softy dominated tank). I finally recently found a local with berghias so I dont have to pay and risk 24 shipping. I put them in a week ago and I have not seen any of them since. I am just super worried because I am not sure how I can tackle such a pest problem without taking apart my tank if berghias do not work. The aiptasia is in the back chambers, on and in the power heads, etc.

I have another tank I am setting up for Mangroves. I have had literally nothing in this tank for 4 months now and I am still battling algae. My params checked fine and I added a Bangai Cardinal fish. It died within the night. Maybe the nutrients are spiking but not showing because the algae is eating it up? Not 100% sure.. Just kind of down in general...

But guess what? My riccordias are doing great! Especially the blue ones haha.

You link your build thread badge by copying the link to page 1, then go to your profile, about half way down the page, paste it and the badge should appear.

Waynerock · Apr 9, 2022

I never really believed in feeding shrooms till I got some higher end bounce and they absolutely gobble up anything I squirt on them! If they did not want it they would not eat it. I have a couple that don’t even care about foods and some that go nuts. The ones that take food seem to split quickly

gibec · Apr 9, 2022

My discotoma does not eat, but my rhodactus loves to eat when i feed it reef roids. It eats pellets from time to time as well. I dont think its necessary to feed mushrooms, but if they eat it means they they are hungry too right? why not keep them happy and maybe they will repay you with growth and health.

Steven Garland · Apr 9, 2022

Regardless of the coral type,I ALWAYS SPOT FEED. I have had nothing positive gains from it.

It can take weeks or even months to see improvements or gains. Most reefers expect something within hours or days,then say its pointless.

Stoney · Apr 9, 2022

Steven Garland said:
Regardless of the coral type,I ALWAYS SPOT FEED. I have had nothing positive gains from it.

It can take weeks or even months to see improvements or gains. Most reefers expect something within hours or days,then say its pointless.

If it takes weeks or months to see the improvement, how do you know it's from feeding? Not disagreeing btw, genuinely curious. I've had mixed results with target feeding.

bnord · Apr 9, 2022

I feed some of them, and they really seem to enjoy eating. However they don’t seem to grow any more differently or spread more than the ones I don’t feed.

Steven Garland · Apr 10, 2022

Stoney said:
If it takes weeks or months to see the improvement, how do you know it's from feeding? Not disagreeing btw, genuinely curious. I've had mixed results with target feeding.

When I went from broadcast feeding (just squirting the food in front of my powerhead then shutting it off) to target feeding,is when I started seeing changes.

Mainly in my Z/P's,LPS. Larger,puffy polyps,better polyp structure,less drab colors and became more vivid deep rich colors,healthier looking polyps,and growth. The growth exploded.

Specifically in my Zoa's and Acan's. On average I was getting anywhere between 2-4 heads a month,to pretty much double that within weeks of spot feeding.

SecondCityCorals · Apr 10, 2022

I really don't want alerts about contests and sponsored questions like "should you target feed mushrooms" as I don't even keep nor want mushrooms. And last time I looked, there was no way to turn off this sponsored message alerts except for marking them as read.