oyster eggs? rotifers? What do you feed? [Archive]

sps_addict

03/24/2006, 04:04 PM

My current feedings for corals are:

Daily: Pohl's Coral Vitalizer, HCAA, ZooMax, Phytomax, ChromaMax
Monday: Baby Brine Shrimp
Tuesday/Thursday: DT's Phyto, Oyster Eggs
Friday: Cyclopeeze
Whenever Needed: Pocillo-Stylo Glow

Steve

64Ivy

03/25/2006, 09:12 AM

Use to feed Golden Pearls. Now I just give 'em light and let the the fish poop on 'em. No difference. :p

GreshamH

03/25/2006, 11:26 AM

I use a rotifer concentrate, phytoplankton concentrate, as well as a true copepod concentrate. I used to use live rotifers, but I hate culturing them. To labor intensive for me now adays :D

DMK

03/25/2006, 11:58 AM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7032973#post7032973 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mikeatjac
I think that cyclopeeze is to big for SPS.
how do u figure???
cyclopeeze is great for sps.

GreshamH

03/25/2006, 01:07 PM

Considerring most SPS capture prey below 50ul (microns) I'd gather to say Cyclop-Eeze is far to big for sps being it's at 800ul to 1200ul.

twon8

03/25/2006, 01:18 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7038843#post7038843 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GreshamH
Considerring most SPS capture prey below 50ul (microns) I'd gather to say Cyclop-Eeze is far to big for sps being it's at 800ul to 1200ul.

i have seen my tenuis capture cyclopeeze and then it disappeared; and with polyps this large, i tend to think my sarmentosa can also. this pic was taken 15minutes after a feeding of cyclopeeze to the tank, about 30 minutes after lights out.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y78/twon8/Corals/acrocrabsarmentosa.jpg

shelburn61

03/25/2006, 03:42 PM

shelburn61

03/25/2006, 03:46 PM

You guys that are feeding phyto, is this to boost plankton in the tank. SPS aren't known to eat phyto.

MACH5

03/25/2006, 05:19 PM

I feed my acros Golden Pearls. However I agree with 64Ivy. I suspect that as long as they have adequate lighting, flow and some fish to provide nutrients, anything else might be a waste. The key comes down to lighting and flow. Perfect water params. are a given of course!

shelburn61

03/25/2006, 11:25 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7040167#post7040167 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MACH5
I feed my acros Golden Pearls. However I agree with 64Ivy. I suspect that as long as they have adequate lighting, flow and some fish to provide nutrients, anything else might be a waste. The key comes down to lighting and flow. Perfect water params. are a given of course!

My fish arent providing enough nutrients. I'm having lightening issues. The plan is high import/high export like the ocean.

PITSTOP

03/26/2006, 01:15 AM

same as 64Ivy...

jaden1

03/26/2006, 07:43 AM

Fish poop here. I give the tank cyclopeze once or twice a week, but mostly for my large torch and some of the other LPSs. I thought that the polyp extension was for gas exchange/respiration. Not a biologist, so please don't flame me.
Jason

redwinger02

03/26/2006, 08:28 AM

Here is my SPS feeding schedule.

Every day. Light
Everyday calcium and alk
Everyday Fish poop

otherwise they get whatever the fish don't eat.

PITSTOP

03/26/2006, 08:30 AM

yeah, same as redwinger02...forget all the 'products' they make your water nasty...

MACH5

03/26/2006, 08:55 AM

Shelborn61... remember that our tanks are infinitely smaller than the oceans therefore the nutrient content is always a lot higher. I believe that the water in our tanks (no matter how well skimmed and scrubbed) resembles more toxic soup than Fiji waters.

Jamesurq

03/26/2006, 09:08 AM

I still feed a mix of 3 sizes of golden pearls. It seems to help the pod populations more than anything else. With it being SO cheap for several years of supply - I figure why not.

shelburn61

03/26/2006, 11:32 AM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7043840#post7043840 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MACH5
Shelborn61... remember that our tanks are infinitely smaller than the oceans therefore the nutrient content is always a lot higher. I believe that the water in our tanks (no matter how well skimmed and scrubbed) resembles more toxic soup than Fiji waters.

You're definitely right here. I should have been more clear with that statement. I was by no means comparing tank water to the ocean, but there is an enormous amount of food on the reef so corals have no problem getting the nutrition they need. Every tank is different but as some BB tanks show, tanks with aggressive skimming, carbon, ozone, etc. can become depleted in some "nutrients". It's all about replacing the good ones and removing the bad ones (i.e. Zeovit).

DMK

03/26/2006, 01:48 PM

i see my sps capturing and consuming cyclopeeze 3 times a week w/ frozen rotifers. tank also gets DT's twice a week, and Pohl's coral vitalizer daily.

PITSTOP

03/26/2006, 01:51 PM

"but there is an enormous amount of food on the reef so corals have no problem getting the nutrition they need."

Really? Then why is the water so clear? It was my understanding that tropical waters are relatively devoid of life compared to temperate/sub arctic waters.

jman77

03/26/2006, 02:57 PM

There's an enormous amount of like in the tropical oceans. You can take a water sample and put it under an microscope and see all kinds of life .

jwalters103

03/26/2006, 04:11 PM

the water is so clear because of the fact that reefs are excellant recyclers. one animals waste is anothers food. i should restate that---nutrient levels are so low becasue reefs are such excellant recyclers. clarity involves many other factors than presence of life or lack thereof

Serioussnaps

03/27/2006, 04:29 PM

Cyclopeeze is good stuff for SPS. All of the frags ive ever grown reacted vigorously to it as well as consumed it. I like enriching it with Zoe and Selcon too. Also, no blender you can find can mince up mysis, mush etc.... to correspond with the MICRON argument. Every once in a while i feed some Dt's oyster eggs and phyto, but avoid it most due to it being a nutrient sink although it does work as a food source. Also, to produce the best food you can give your SPS-------FISHLESS REFUGIUM---PODS AMPHI, COPE, MYSIDS, LARVAE PLANKTON.... YOU NAME IT--- a refugium i wont be without on any reef tank

---and cyclopeeze does work

MiddletonMark

03/27/2006, 04:33 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7053813#post7053813 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Serioussnaps
Also, no blender you can find can mince up mysis, mush etc.... to correspond with the MICRON argument.
I disagree.
Cyclops-eeze starts at 800-1200 microns in size [from what I've heard].

If my blender chops them into 5-10 pieces, that leaves them ranging from 80 -> 250 microns in size ... just slightly larger than the `ideal'.

I have zero doubt my blender makes them much smaller. Given they start at a range measured in microns ...

shelburn61

03/27/2006, 05:20 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7053813#post7053813 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Serioussnaps
Cyclopeeze is good stuff for SPS. All of the frags ive ever grown reacted vigorously to it as well as consumed it. I like enriching it with Zoe and Selcon too. Also, no blender you can find can mince up mysis, mush etc.... to correspond with the MICRON argument. Every once in a while i feed some Dt's oyster eggs and phyto, but avoid it most due to it being a nutrient sink although it does work as a food source. Also, to produce the best food you can give your SPS-------FISHLESS REFUGIUM---PODS AMPHI, COPE, MYSIDS, LARVAE PLANKTON.... YOU NAME IT--- a refugium i wont be without on any reef tank

---and cyclopeeze does work

Maybe you were just feeding your fuge with the cyclopeeze and your corals were reacting to the ZOE and selcon instead? :)

Can someone point me to these ideal micron size studies?

PITSTOP

03/27/2006, 07:05 PM

no feed the sps....clean water, feed the fish only. save money to buy more salt and RO membranes for regular water changes

shelburn61

03/27/2006, 07:19 PM

you need a better skimmer pittstop :)

Sk8r

03/27/2006, 08:15 PM

another vote for fish poop and light. So far so good. Everything's growing and in good color...but I've never believed in a squeaky clean tank, and I've got a big load of micro-stuffs in a lot of very live corallined rock.

fishypets

03/27/2006, 10:02 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7055849#post7055849 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sk8r
another vote for fish poop and light. So far so good. Everything's growing and in good color...but I've never believed in a squeaky clean tank, and I've got a big load of micro-stuffs in a lot of very live corallined rock.

This was my thinking also for about 4 months. Then one day a few people pointed out that my sps were lacking color. I figured my nutrients were high so I tested and found they were SUPER low. I started feeding somewhat heavy and now my color is great. I also skim very wet.