The importance of feeding corals?

[AquAttila]

I have read mixed reviews on this topic and recently watched the saltwater aquarium webinar and he made a comment that don't feed corals. I don't get this - is it because of the potential to increase PO4? I use reefroids and do feed twice a week but considering to stop after hearing this again on not feeding. I mainly have softies and LPS. My PO4 is around .25 and NO3 at 5 - 10 ppm. Should I consider stopping? has anyone had negative results on feeding corals?

 

[X-37B]

I feed maybe 2 times a week reef roids or oyster feast when lights are out. Alot of polyp extension.
Only been doing it for a month.
I feed my 11 fish in my 120 3-4 times a day and that has worked for 11 months since setup.
Po4 .02-.04
No3 <2

I feed 1/4 the recommended dose of reef roids and just squirt some oyster feast a couple times.

My no3 and po4 are very stable.

 

[Johniejumbo]

I only have 4 little fish in my tank so I feed my corals. I don’t use reef roids very often because it’s very potent and I can’t be trusted to not over feed. I feed the tank various frozen foods twice a day and so far everything is happy

 

[AquAttila]

Thanks for the response. 90's reefer - is there a reason you feed corals when lights are out? I would think that feeding when polyps are open would be the time to feed. no?

 

[User1]

I have read mixed reviews on this topic and recently watched the saltwater aquarium webinar and he made a comment that don't feed corals. I don't get this - is it because of the potential to increase PO4? I use reefroids and do feed twice a week but considering to stop after hearing this again on not feeding. I mainly have softies and LPS. My PO4 is around .25 and NO3 at 5 - 10 ppm. Should I consider stopping? has anyone had negative results on feeding corals?

I think you are going to get different opinions on this. I'm not a marine biologist but common sense tells me that they should be fed. The ocean is a large body of water and while it is impossible to replicate in our little glass or plastic boxes we do need to provide food for them. Many ways they get food be it by water column from feeding the fish or by light. Or, some combination of the two. If there is a polyp or mouth then they get a light feeding of Coral Heaven.

Mother nature is an incredible woman and knows what she is doing. If you ever have been scuba diving then it is as simple as doing a night dive and seeing her at work. Amazing stuff really. Nutrients, or the concern there of, is manageable. It isn't about chasing numbers but rather how the tank looks to you.

 

[blasterman]

Define "coral". Are we talking about acropora or LPS or softies? I've had varities of palys that grow exponentially when directly fed brine shrimp but dont grow at all when not fed.

Most of us agree feeding LPS directly makes them grow faster.

Feeding SPS filter size foods? Sorry....no evidence. SPS target foods like phyto, etc just decay into waste products like ammonia and P04 and nitrate, and there's increasing concensus those byproducts are what feed the coral.

 

[muzikalmatt]

The reason many people feed after lights out is because most corals tend to put out their feeders at night. However, you can train your corals to feed during the day if you feed them on a consistent schedule. In addition, you can use things like Polyp Booster, Amino Acids, or Oyster Feast to get a feeding response prior to feeding things like reef roids, LRS or mysis.

Regarding feeding, I feel like some of the older reefers don't subscribe to feeding corals because it's a relatively newer thing and they've had success without it. However, many of these guys also have large fish bioloads who's waste provides much of the nutrition corals need. I know WWC subscribes to this method but they keep their tanks stocked with fish and they feed A LOT...like every hour. This sort of fish load and feeding regimen provides more than enough food for the corals and adding more would be redundant.

For those of us with less fish, I do think it helps to feed corals, especially LPS. Softies and SPS are certainly less reliant on feeding and are generally harder to feed anyways. The issue with feeding is the tendency to overdo it, especially with reef roids which are loaded with phosphates. Given your phosphate levels of 0.25, I would say you are probably feeding reef roids too much. I'd recommend removing one of those feedings per week or switching one of them from reef roids to PE mysis or LRS Reef Frenzy. Or you simply dial back the amount you are feeding.

Another thing to consider is "how" you are feeding. Most people recommend turning off all pumps (return and powerheads) and spot feeding the corals. Then leave the pumps off for 10-15 minutes to allow them time to consume the food. This prevents wasting the food and allows you to lose less while ensuring most of it gets eaten.

 

[AquAttila]

The reason many people feed after lights out is because most corals tend to put out their feeders at night. However, you can train your corals to feed during the day if you feed them on a consistent schedule. In addition, you can use things like Polyp Booster, Amino Acids, or Oyster Feast to get a feeding response prior to feeding things like reef roids, LRS or mysis.

Regarding feeding, I feel like some of the older reefers don't subscribe to feeding corals because it's a relatively newer thing and they've had success without it. However, many of these guys also have large fish bioloads who's waste provides much of the nutrition corals need. I know WWC subscribes to this method but they keep their tanks stocked with fish and they feed A LOT...like every hour. This sort of fish load and feeding regimen provides more than enough food for the corals and adding more would be redundant.

For those of us with less fish, I do think it helps to feed corals, especially LPS. Softies and SPS are certainly less reliant on feeding and are generally harder to feed anyways. The issue with feeding is the tendency to overdo it, especially with reef roids which are loaded with phosphates. Given your phosphate levels of 0.25, I would say you are probably feeding reef roids too much. I'd recommend removing one of those feedings per week or switching one of them from reef roids to PE mysis or LRS Reef Frenzy. Or you simply dial back the amount you are feeding.

Another thing to consider is "how" you are feeding. Most people recommend turning off all pumps (return and powerheads) and spot feeding the corals. Then leave the pumps off for 10-15 minutes to allow them time to consume the food. This prevents wasting the food and allows you to lose less while ensuring most of it gets eaten.

Thanks for the detailed write-up. Yes, my tank is softies and LPS (no SPS)... sounds like based on what you're saying my phosphates are higher then it probably should be so perhaps I will feed once a week and as PO4 reduces I will maybe go back to twice a week. I only turn off my skimmer during coral feeding ... however regular fish feeding I turn off power heads. I will try to feed in the evening too as I thought during the day is when it should be done due to the corals open... I do use polyp booster and definitely makes a big difference as I can see corals opening up for food . I will Check out your other recommendations on coral food vs. reefroids...

 

[Hydrored]

I feed home made frozen 3 times a day and AB+ at lights out. I recently stopped with Phyto and can’t personally tell a difference. I stopped direct feeding awhile ago other than I give the elegance a squirt a couple times a week. Corals have been growing great and my nutrients have been spot on at 5 nitrates and .06 phosphates. I also do a 2.9 gallon a day water change so that might help