What to feed a Candy Cane Coral?

[brooke]

I've purchased a Candy Cane Coral and my LFS told me to feed it Marine Snow. Is this what I should be feeding it? How often should I feed it? They also told me they like a medium flow. Opinions???

[charlie]

I've had my candy cane for about 5 years now and I've never fed it specifically.
Some people do, some don't, but to be honest, I haven't seen any difference.
HTH

[DlBerlin]

My candy canes like mysis shrimp, cyclop eeze, any small meaty food. They do grow faster when fed. Most LPS will do much better and grow faster with feedings.

[cubanheat1]

Dts live plankton, cyclopeeze, bits of mysis and what ever it filter feed in the water such as excess food.

[kevinpo]

Hello,
Most LPS corals do not require direct feeding when kept under proper lighting conditions. Normally Caulastrea spp. extend feeding tentacles that they use to capture meaty prey at night only, but can learn to extend during the day if not bothered by other tank inhabitants. Faster growth can be achieved by regular feedings when the tentacles are extended. The polyps will form a figure eight shape then close off and form two separate and individual polyps. These corals also require that calcium and alkalinity levels be maintained at near NSW (natural sea water) for proper growth and health.

They will eat frozen cube preparations, raw shrimp, freeze-dried plankton, krill, and other meaty foods. They can consume quite large pieces up to the size of a pencil eraser.

Regards,
Kevin

[brooke]

Thanks for the info. I was able to feed it this morning before the lights came on. I saw that it's "feelers" were out and gave it a shot. It ate some frozen brine.

Here's a pic of my newest addition

[Reefland]

Looks like a nice healthy coral.

[brooke]

Thanks. It's hard to see, but the one on the top center is splitting. It has two mouths.

[brooke]

Anyone have any info on DT's Phytoplankton for feeding corals? Is it good, versus the Marine Snow that the LFS recommended? I'm not sure about the Snow, I heard somewhere that it's more than 99% moisture.

[kevinpo]

Looks like you have healthy and happy coral
Most corals are meat eaters and phytoplankton is algae based. Phtoplankton is good for clams and other filter feeders like Feather Dusters. Most stony corals like LPS and SPS are not filter feeders but actively capture their prey with stinging polyps.

Regards,
Kevin

[brooke]

Okay, so I'm assuming spot feeding it something meaty is the best method? 2-3 times a week?

Is there something I can just drop in the tank and it will feed itself?

[kevinpo]

2-3 times a week would be excellent. The coral will have a slim chance to catch food on its own if you have fish in the tank with the coral. It is best to use an eye dropper or tweezers to hand feed it. They do not require hand feeding with proper lighting but if you want it to grow fast for propagation purposes hand feeding will provide the extra nutrition.

Regards,
Kevin

[Reefland]

If your lucky it might catch some floating mysid or brine but your best bet is going to be spot feeding it if you want.