• Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.

meaty food.... for fish and corals

N

NJ_ychung1

i know phyto and roti are commonly used for coral feeding but for larger polyps i've heard ppl feed larger meaty frozen foods.

what is everyone/anyone's opinion on larger food choices between...

1. silversides
2. brine shmp
3. blood worms
4. cyclopeeze
5. frozen krill

heard great info about cyclopeeze and it's nutritional value. is that the one to go with or is there any merit on all the diff frozen foods. bloodworm and silverside aside they all seem to be small crustatians. can one substitute one crustacian for another?
 
C

calaxa

Well first off, cyclopeeze is not the same size as any of the other foods listed. Cyclopeeze are a type of copepod (decapod to be exact). It is nutritional complete and small enough that almost all coral will take this in.

Brine shrimp, as you probably know, has little nutitritional value in itself. It must be gut loaded for it to be effective.

Phyto and roti are questionable. I do add these but can I tell you definitively that corals consume it? Some do, others do not. Hard to verify without a controlled study. I have various non photos in tank that need it (chili, carnation, gorgonians, alveopora as a supplement, etc.)

As for feeding the LPS with any of the meatier foods, some will take it and some won't. It's too general of a statement. I've heard many people feeding their frogspawn. Mine usually tosses everything away and it has nothing to do with size. Some of my caulestra will take foods, others won't (you should know this since you have that trumpet I gave you). This area is very trial and error in my opinion.

Cyclops is probably the best option as many fish eat it and if the coral wants it, he'll extend polyps out for it. Target feeding with meatier foods can cause the exact opposite of what you want (ie very possible to aggravate the coral).
 
P

phish guy

cyclopeze is mainly what i feed the corals. my LPS just get brine and mysis that the fish miss, especially my 2 open brains, they LOVE it.
 
N

NJ_ychung1

tahnk you. answer is not as simple as i thought. it is a bit more complex but at least i have some data to go with. i have tried cup up frozen table shrimp, brine shrimp but i'm not sure it's benefiting anyone in the tank. i have noticed it makes the cyanos grow as it increases nutrients. anyway, i was looking for a simple way to feed corals (LPS) and fish at the same time and stock up on frozen food of some sort. it sounds like cyclops wins out on this one.

thx guys
 
C

calaxa

Jay,

When you say you are feeding cut up table shrimp...how cut up is it and how are you feeding? Corals you will most likely have to target feed. I forget what your livestock are except for the YT and shrimp isn't his most favorite food (at least from my experience). Don't pin all your hopes on peeze either. It's too small for a lot of fish like your YT. He'll ignore it.
 
J

jtravapd

are cyclopees and rotifers kinda of the same stuff? they look similar when i am feeding...the cyclopedes looks like there a little bit bigger in size...
 
C

calaxa

Cyclops is closer to being a copepod as it's a mini crustacean. I don't know the exact taxonomical differences that distinguish rotifers vs. copepod. The only thing that sticks out in my mind is the difference in size. Copepods are also higher in the food chain and reproduce sexually vs asexual in rotifers. That's why rotifers don't make good foods later on.
 
J

jtravapd

calaxa said:
Cyclops is closer to being a copepod as it's a mini crustacean. I don't know the exact taxonomical differences that distinguish rotifers vs. copepod. The only thing that sticks out in my mind is the difference in size. Copepods are also higher in the food chain and reproduce sexually vs asexual in rotifers. That's why rotifers don't make good foods later on.
Click to expand...

so would you think rotifers would be better for corals and cyclo for fish ect? i usually mix it all together anyway, but im just curious...the rotifers are smaller so i would think it would be easier for smaller organisms to eat..
 
C

calaxa

This is a tough one. I think in general, cyclops is the better food as it is nutritionally more complete. Because of its size, not all corals will be able to feed on them. Rotifers can come in handy for those corals/fish that have smaller polyps/feeders/mouths/whatever. I mix both but I think your statement is probably one I agree with. The only problem is most of my fish actually can't see the cyclops (too small for them).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top