Feeding Corals

[JohnVlahos]

I recently purchased a non-photosynthetic Gorgonian (Red Finger). I tried feeding it for the first time this weekend.

I mashed up some frozen brine shrimp, waited until it's little white polyps were extended and squirted the stuff at it with a syrninge.

There was no obvious 'eating' - am I doing it right?

Thanks,

jv

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John Vlahos
jvlahos@audiobasket.com

[AquaNut]

I have the yellow variety (diodogorgio nodulifera)...and it took about over a month before the first polyp decided to grace my tank [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img] Talk about taking time to adjust to a new system [img]/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]

I feed it with crushed flakes in tank water by seringe. I make sure to stop the pumps when I feed...the polyps grab the flakes and having the pumps on tend to just blow everything away. But they seem to also feed well from the suspended particles in the tank. So far so good.

Any reactions at all when you feed?


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The Nut!

Alex's Ocean Realm
GO FOR A DIVE!!!
http://home.earthlink.net/~amariquit/thereef

[JohnVlahos]

Thanks for the reply. No obvious reactions. The particles don't seem to stick on the polyps for long - I'll try stopping more of the pumps...it might be feeding on the small particles/dust...

jv

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John Vlahos
jvlahos@audiobasket.com

[Bamm Bamm]

Hey Vlahoes that name sounds very familiar did you ever used to live up in Antioch?It's like half hour from you??Dan

[Reefman19]

I ocassionally feed my gorgonians various frozen foods (thawed out, of course) with a syringe. I'd guess about once a month. It is important if you are spot feeding to kill all the pumps and let the food settle into the polyps. When not feeding, keep good flow so they can feed as in nature, being immobile, they depend on the currents to bring them their food.

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Greg

[Rob]

I'm doing the same, pouring in the dissolved frozen brine shrimp from above. The damsels (close cousins of the swarming pirana fish) get most of it. One even jumped into the feed cup, then jumped out after discovering that it was empty.

The smallest fragements get to the corals, I can only hope. These corals arrived as a bonus with my Garf order of reef janitors. They are assorted gorgonians. Since they are a surprise to us, I was unprepared and haven't had time yet to read up on them. Any suggestions on their care and feeding?

By the way, I've decided that I like snails more than fish, although Tanya likes both. At least snails know how to maintain their dignity. And they clean each others' shells. Hope this doesn't start a flame among fish-lovers ;-) heck I love fish too... but mostly on a plate. And I make a mean oyster stew. Served with a dry Burgundy.


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Cheers,
Rob
New York City

[AquaNut]

Hey Rob...
You don't watch your snails too often do you...LOL! Have you ever noticed how much crap those things produce...they're s**tting machines... [img]/ubb/lol.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/lol.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/lol.gif[/img]

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The Nut!

Alex's Ocean Realm
GO FOR A DIVE!!!
http://home.earthlink.net/~amariquit/thereef

[Rob]

Alex,
> Have you ever noticed how much crap
> those things produce...they're s**tting
> machines...

Hopefully ammonia machines as well.

Of course I like them best in a garlic butter sauce, with pine nuts.

According to Dr. Shimek, snails undergo torsion, in that the anus winds up placed adjacent to the mouth (not unlike the bureaucrat, IMHO). I just told Tanya that that was "the exhaust pipe, like on my SAAB".

"Not quite so loud", she commented. ;-)

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Cheers,
Rob
New York City

[AquaNut]

LOL!!!
A pretty good anology I guess... [img]/ubb/lol.gif[/img]

[JohnVlahos]

No advice on care and feeding yet. These are very new to me. It was an impluse purchase in the aquarium shop - probably a bad idea.

I've been having a hard time getting it mounted with underwater epoxy. It's so light that it floats away before the epoxy sets. I might try a combination of epoxy and wedging it between two rocks...

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John Vlahos
jvlahos@audiobasket.com

[AquaNut]

Hey JV...
Do you hold the gorg long enough for the epoxy to set...usually about 5 min. The fact that it's light should actually make it easier to attach. If your epoxy doesn't set that quickly, place a rock or rubble to help prop it in place. You can them remove this after a few hours...better yet the next day. Which epoxy are you using? I used the cheap $4 kind from Home Depot and works very well.

In regards to feeding...gorgonians suprisingly have to eat a lot...even photosynthetic ones. If your tank has lots of DOC, they will filter feed from this, this is why it's important to have them in a good waater flow to bring the food to them. Whenever you do feed with a serings...best to stop your pumps momentarily till the feeding is complete.

Be patient...they may not be eating your offerings for now, but in time they will. Just don't panic...Like I mentioned in my previous post..I didn't even see a single polyp till over a month. Just think of them trying to get a feel for their new home.



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The Nut!

Alex's Ocean Realm
GO FOR A DIVE!!!
http://home.earthlink.net/~amariquit/thereef