Feeding Sun Coral with Brightwell Zooplankton !

[Acrohunter]

Hey fellow reefers ! I would like to apologize if this is posted on the wrong topic of discussion. I am rather new here and are clueless where to find a discussion for sun corals etc !

TLDR ; Feeding sun coral brightwell zooplankton, will they actually be able to eat anything or they just lowkey gonna get hangry overtime ?

I recently acquired a 5-head sun coral that are just beautiful when opened at night ! After placing them in my nano tank, they seemed to be doing great with amazing polyp extensions ! In the past few days, I have been experimenting with feeding them minced frozen peeled shrimp and also Brightwell Zooplankton. Here comes an issue i have, with the heads spread wide open, when i feed them the minced shrimp, i can physically see them taking it into their mouth (?) and it was fun to watch. However, when i tried to spot feed them the Brightwell Zooplankton, i cannot seem to see/get a similar reaction but i am able to occasionally spot that they have this strings of translucent slime coming out to trap the zooplanktons.

I am not too sure if they are actually able to consume such small particles with the Brightwell Zooplanktons or if its just better for me to continue spot feeding them minced shrimp. Besides that, if i broadcast feed/dose the Brightwell Zooplankton everyday, will it eventually seed and grow the zooplankton population in my nano tank or is it not actually "live" zooplanktons in the bottle ?

Thank you for taking your time to read through and help in advance !

 

[tzabor10]

I hope it goes well. Would love to see those corals

 

[twentyleagues]

Hey fellow reefers ! I would like to apologize if this is posted on the wrong topic of discussion. I am rather new here and are clueless where to find a discussion for sun corals etc !

TLDR ; Feeding sun coral brightwell zooplankton, will they actually be able to eat anything or they just lowkey gonna get hangry overtime ?

I recently acquired a 5-head sun coral that are just beautiful when opened at night ! After placing them in my nano tank, they seemed to be doing great with amazing polyp extensions ! In the past few days, I have been experimenting with feeding them minced frozen peeled shrimp and also Brightwell Zooplankton. Here comes an issue i have, with the heads spread wide open, when i feed them the minced shrimp, i can physically see them taking it into their mouth (?) and it was fun to watch. However, when i tried to spot feed them the Brightwell Zooplankton, i cannot seem to see/get a similar reaction but i am able to occasionally spot that they have this strings of translucent slime coming out to trap the zooplanktons.

I am not too sure if they are actually able to consume such small particles with the Brightwell Zooplanktons or if its just better for me to continue spot feeding them minced shrimp. Besides that, if i broadcast feed/dose the Brightwell Zooplankton everyday, will it eventually seed and grow the zooplankton population in my nano tank or is it not actually "live" zooplanktons in the bottle ?

Thank you for taking your time to read through and help in advance !

They tend to react to "larger" foods better. I always fed mine mysis and brine sometimes pellets. They seem to react to smaller planktonic foods but more like a dog drooling when it smells food. Never saw them actually catch any microscopic foods.

 

[Acrohunter]

I hope it goes well. Would love to see those corals

I will be sure to provide a picture once i am home ! (if i rmb ofc)

 

[Acrohunter]

They tend to react to "larger" foods better. I always fed mine mysis and brine sometimes pellets. They seem to react to smaller planktonic foods but more like a dog drooling when it smells food. Never saw them actually catch any microscopic foods.

Thats what i am noticing too. When i spot feed the zooplankton, all i see is the mucus corals "shoot out" to net them but i must say, i do see them pulling it back into their mouth and close up for abit. However, the satisfaction of them gulping a slightly "larger" food is definitely up there !

 

[Acrohunter]

Hence, i am not too sure if i should continue spot feeding them Brightwell Zooplanktons due to the fact that they MAY not actually get enough from it and starve out eventually.

 

[twentyleagues]

Hence, i am not too sure if i should continue spot feeding them Brightwell Zooplanktons due to the fact that they MAY not actually get enough from it and starve out eventually.

I wouldnt bother unless you fail to see a normal feeding response. Some times they need a little coaxing to come out to feed. Most of the time once they feed regularly in a tank there is little issues as long as you feed the regularly at least every 2 days. Lighting can play a roll in whether or not they will eat too. Sometimes you can get them to feed in daylight with the right motivation. Sometimes there is no issue at all . I had a 90g full of sun corals dendros, and rhizos ( only 3 of these unfortunately) only lighting was a single t5 actinic mine were open all the time.

 

[Acrohunter]

I wouldnt bother unless you fail to see a normal feeding response. Some times they need a little coaxing to come out to feed. Most of the time once they feed regularly in a tank there is little issues as long as you feed the regularly at least every 2 days. Lighting can play a roll in whether or not they will eat too. Sometimes you can get them to feed in daylight with the right motivation. Sometimes there is no issue at all . I had a 90g full of sun corals dendros, and rhizos ( only 3 of these unfortunately) only lighting was a single t5 actinic mine were open all the time.

That is super ! I wish i could get mine to open all the time. Perhaps it just needs more time to adjust to a new feeding schedule in the afternoon but so far no problem opening up and begging for food at night (they are nocturnal naturally so, no surprises there) !

 

[twentyleagues]

That is super ! I wish i could get mine to open all the time. Perhaps it just needs more time to adjust to a new feeding schedule in the afternoon but so far no problem opening up and begging for food at night (they are nocturnal naturally so, no surprises there) !

Yeah I wish I could get my hands on some of the stuff I had 15 years ago. The success I had with them too. The dark tank with only actinic lighting was great for viewing they were open most of the time, and if not just "chum" the water a bit.