Feeding correctly?

[mosssw]

I am just adding DTs Phytoplankton one evey two weeks I am not target feeding. We a a zooanthis, candycane, Xenia, Ricorea and red mushroomand a torch these are all frags. Is it necessary to target feed and are Cyclopeez needed. Our two clowns get mysis and a green herbivore diet LFS recommended (he feeds it to his tanks) Also adding 15ml Iodine every two weeks?

Thank you
Shelley

[greenbean36191]

I would cut the iodine. The only animals documented that show any evidence of benefit from supplemental dissolved iodine are a few gorgonians an even that hasn't been proven. If you overdose it, it's toxic to most animals and the little bit that's being used is already being replenished by waterchanges in most tanks. The biggest users of it tend to be algae.

The clown diet sounds fine. In nature they're almost strictly carnivorous though. They feed on zooplankton, so you might try replacing the herbivore diet with some other sort of meaty food.

Now for the corals. Almost no corals feed on phytoplankton. The few that do are not generally kept in the hobby (at least successfully). Almost all actively feeding corals feed on zooplankton and bacteria. Most of the corals you list aren't known to be active feeders. The candycane and torch, definitely eat and some larger species of zoantids and mushrooms have been reported to eat, though it doesn't seem to be very important to meet their energy demands. Xenia definitely doesn't eat and doesn't even have a fully developed gut.

My advise would be to switch to cyclopeeze every week just squirted near the torch and the candy cane.