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masterqaz
08/20/2006, 10:55 PM
So we got these new yellow sun polyps at work about a week ago and i was looking at them and noticed my girl friend had put a hold on one.... Anyways long story short she started feeding them and i started talking about how much of a pain in the @ss they are because of their feeding requirements and how every polyp needs to eat otherwise the polyps that dont get food end up dying (overtime).

So this is the part where she says thats not true and that if you feed one polyp they all will benefit from it, In other words feed one and you feed them all.

So heres my question is she right? I've always been under the impression that your have to feed each and every polyp otherwise the ones that dont get food will start to die. So I've been told. I just dont know what to believe since she knows a good 10X's more than i do, latin names and all.

TearDrop
08/20/2006, 11:02 PM
I thought the same thing.

sparks56
08/20/2006, 11:13 PM
you have to feed each head!!!!:lol:

wjhuie
08/20/2006, 11:15 PM
thats not true you have to feed each head.

masterqaz
08/20/2006, 11:17 PM
as i thought though she seemed to thing she had some back up from in some book in which i have yet to see.

mleinart
08/21/2006, 04:00 AM
I'm just trying some of these polyps out for myself.. I've been pretty careful to feed any that are open (lately groups of them will open at different times), but i would expect that some nutrients would be shared through the mat..

In short, i dont know yet, but let us know if you find out.

Here's an interesting page on melev's site with his experience with them:
http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/0604/suncoral.html

Hens4Fish
08/21/2006, 05:34 AM
I have had a large bed of them for about 3 years. At first I did not feed them anything but filter feeding stuff. But in the last 3 months I have been adding brine shrimp into my big tank, i moved them into the 150, and they get residual shrimp that float around. I am sure that each head does not get shrimp, but the whole mat has doubled in size over the last 3 months and they all look to be benefiting. So I do not believe they each need focus feeding, as long as the whole colony gets some they share the nutrients. I have no scientific evidence to back it up other than the amazing growth of my colony.

The Saltwater Kid
08/21/2006, 08:57 AM
I don't feed each individual polyp and mine seem to be growing and very healthy. I do use the top of a 2 liter plastic coke bottle that i place over the entire colony first and insert a feeding tube through the top and then squirt in the food. This is mainly because my cleaner shrimp is such a thief that he'll go right up to them and steal the food from their mouths but the coke bottle trick keeps him at bay...and frustrated as hell...lol.

masterqaz
08/21/2006, 10:09 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7980844#post7980844 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Saltwater Kid
I don't feed each individual polyp and mine seem to be growing and very healthy. I do use the top of a 2 liter plastic coke bottle that i place over the entire colony first and insert a feeding tube through the top and then squirt in the food. This is mainly because my cleaner shrimp is such a thief that he'll go right up to them and steal the food from their mouths but the coke bottle trick keeps him at bay...and frustrated as hell...lol. have the same problem as you, I have 2 cleaners a blood and CB that will go and rob the food though i dont use a pop bottle i just decide to fight the shrimp off as the thing eats. also using the pop bottle will feed every polyp...... It just might not feed every polyp something meaty thought the packing fluid that fills the water in that bottle will in fact feed each polyp as well. they just wont be as full as the other ones. I'm sure if you did this method every 2 weeks you's have polyps that werent getting enough that will start to die. Could be wrong.

masterqaz
08/21/2006, 10:10 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7980151#post7980151 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hens4Fish
I have had a large bed of them for about 3 years. At first I did not feed them anything but filter feeding stuff. But in the last 3 months I have been adding brine shrimp into my big tank, i moved them into the 150, and they get residual shrimp that float around. I am sure that each head does not get shrimp, but the whole mat has doubled in size over the last 3 months and they all look to be benefiting. So I do not believe they each need focus feeding, as long as the whole colony gets some they share the nutrients. I have no scientific evidence to back it up other than the amazing growth of my colony. though you do feed the tank filter feeding stuff and that itself would feed every polyp.

ReefEze
08/21/2006, 10:35 AM
each poly is a seperate being. Thus, you have to feed each head. Tell your gf i said so. :D

masterqaz
08/21/2006, 10:38 AM
speaking of them im going to feed mine as they are open now. mine arnt even that healthy (really busy for the past little while so i've only been feeding every few weeks) And yet they'll open at any time in the day. pretty much anytime i add top up water or shrimp packaging fluid.