Question regarding feeding. To me this means two different things, one is feeding by way of chemicals, ie, calcium ,iodine, trace elements and two by way of food such as brine shrimp. I have read corals which eat or require food. Does this apply to all coral? which corals definately required food feeding rather than chemical? Maybe this is too broad of a topic, however, I don't want to buy a coral and have it die due to my misinterpretation of what feeding means.

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"I would rather be chasing momma around the bed....

Hi Ed...
Yes this a broad question...I can write a book on this one, in fact many have....[img]/ubb/lol.gif[/img]

But in "very" short...most corals with zooanthellae do not require "feedings" of solid foods...but may benefit from it.

In Julian Sprung's book: Corals-A Quick Reference Guide...it tell you which and what corals feed. It's a good reference, but that's exactly all it is...I have a euphyllia that won't eat anything I attempt to feed it...even with all the others that feed theirs and the books saying that they will feed...mine shows no interest ...but I can say it's doing quite well. It all goes back to nothing is really absolute in this hobby....

All I can offer you without forever babbling...If you are looking to find info on any particular corals...I can quickly and easily look it up for you from what books I do have.

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

[img]/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] Thanks Alex, I knew I could count on you. I have a new green open brain I got yesterday, it is a beaut! along with the torch, frogspawn and green star polyps, I figure I have gotten good starter corals. The C balance seems to be doing its job.

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"I would rather be chasing momma around the bed....

Trachyphyllia (Open Brain)
Feeds on sun, phytoplankton,zooplankton, marine snow, fish feces, fish and shrimp, snails..

Euphyllia glaberescens (Torch)
Feeds on sun, phytoplankton,zooplankton, marine snow, fish feces, fish and shrimp, snails...

Euphyllia divisa (Frogspawn)
Feeds on sun, phytoplankton,zooplankton, marine snow, fish feces, fish and shrimp, snails...

Pachyclavularia violacea (Green Star Polyps)
Feeds on sun, phytoplankton, marine snow, fish feces...

Thais is from Julian Sprung's book...

Now...from the my personal experience with these...
The open brain will eat just about anything...and the feedings have given it better and fuller expansion. Bets to put it on some type of schedule...will quickly respond to the feedings.
I have a hammer coral...like I stated above...does not feed, so have given up in trying to.
The green star polyps...BTW one of my favorites in the tank lately...beautiful color and very "happy" [img]/ubb/wink.gif[/img]...I do not feed either. But sure loves the strong currents...so may get a lot of "food" this way....but nothing from me directly.

HTH


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

...and just to give PostNut a reason to keep calling me Link, here goes a very good one:
http://www.aquarium.net/0197/0197_4.shtml

FEED YOUR CORALS
IT IS THE NATURAL WAY
by Ronald L. Shimek PhD


Joaco [img]/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]




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My webpage Updated 3rd July 2000

I have a 55 reef with bubble coral, colony of brown button polyps, 2 condy anemones. I add iodine, just started to when i just got these corals. I always have dosed liquid calcium and coraline growth is great with it. And I just started feeding phytoplankton.

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Cody...

Yes corals feed. Funny Alex should talk about open brain corals eating snails. Anyway i have the book he is referring too. I almost lost it one day when I came home and discovered a snail in the brains mouth. He dissolved the entire thing shell and all in about a day or at least I did not notice the shell after that day. I feed phytoplankton marine snow etc but not too much I hate overfeeding a tank. But I have seen corals feed and benefit from this. I use to not feed them at all and have noticed a benefit from feeing them

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This is the most addictive thing that i have ever come across as well as expensive

Big, is that Kent's Liquid Calcium you are dosing?

Thanks


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E-mail: fishies@ravenstar.com