Feeding Corals - Day or Night, does it matter?
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PaulKreider
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Depends what type of coral honestly.
Anemones(not really coral but for sake of discussion) for example are best fed at day.
Sps noticeably have feeder tentacles out at night.
Zoas & palys (don't necessarily need to be fed) may only be open in the daytime.
Lps don't seem to care in my experience, if you feed them at day they send feeders out as soon as food hits the water, or at nighttime they already have them extended.
If you plan on broadcast feeding things like baby brine or "coral food" night time may hit more than daytime.
Target feeding really shouldn't matter.
Anemones(not really coral but for sake of discussion) for example are best fed at day.
Sps noticeably have feeder tentacles out at night.
Zoas & palys (don't necessarily need to be fed) may only be open in the daytime.
Lps don't seem to care in my experience, if you feed them at day they send feeders out as soon as food hits the water, or at nighttime they already have them extended.
If you plan on broadcast feeding things like baby brine or "coral food" night time may hit more than daytime.
Target feeding really shouldn't matter.
PaulKreider
Valuable Member
In my experience nothing compared to like they do at night.
eatbreakfast
Fish Nerd
Most corals more actively feed at night, however many will put out feeding tentacles when they sense food in the water, so can be fed at these times.
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TbyZ
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From http://successfulreefkeeping.com/learn/about-corals/what-corals-eat/
DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATTER (DOM)
Dissolved organic matter contains various elements: Dissolved organic nitrogen, DON, which includes amino acids and urea and dissolved organic carbon, DOC, which includes carbohydrates. All of these molecules are taken up by corals. Observation on natural coral reefs show the coral’s urea uptake is much greater than nitrate, a possible adaptation to the urea producing fish found on the reef.. Scientists also found that urea and amino acids are more actively taken up during the day and may be integral to building the organic matrix that aids the formation of aragonite crystals, increasing the density and strength of the coral skeleton. Other evidence of uptake is observed in reef and marine tanks with noticed polyp expansion after feeding plankton or plankton supplements containing dissolved organics.
ReeferMadnessfragandco
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L
During day when all the corals seem too be looking happy! And it does matter if the coral is photosynthetic or not as well!
GoVols
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I feed my corals about an hour before lights out with "Reef Energy" and switch the skimmer off for about two hours.
Flatlandreefer
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In my experience it doesn't really matter especially with lps. I feed during the day because that is when I am messing with my tank. I will say the one coral that I have noticed that prefers to feed at night is my trumpet coral, it is rare that it will extend feeding tentacles during the day even when food has been in the tank for a while.
Good discussion here. I've often wondered myself what time is best when feeding corals. I know there are corals like scoly and open brain corals that feed at night. Many euphyllia corals seem to close polyps at night. I usually feed in the day but now I'm thinking about trying some night feeding. Perhaps right before lights go out.
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I can't keep scoly's happy anymore because my flow is too high now. When I kept them I used to suck up "Reef Energy" A/B in a syringe and shut off all the pumps. Then I'd hover over the scoly's and just shoot out a little of the "Reef Energy" and wait for the scoly's to start to open up. Them I'd juice up their mouths really good and they loved it.
My fish and CUC would go nuts because (lol) they could smell it but they could not steal it away from the scoly's.
When the scoly's were full and closed their mouths then I'd fire back up all the pumps and let the remaining "Reef Energy" feed the other corals.
So Yes... There is away to spot feed corals with "Reef Energy".
You are right about the cuc. The shrimp I have come out of nowhere when I feed my scoly and try to eat the reef energy. I have to use the feeder to keep it back.I can't keep scoly's happy anymore because my flow is too high now. When I kept them I used to suck up "Reef Energy" A/B in a syringe and shut off all the pumps. Then I'd hover over the scoly's and just shoot out a little of the "Reef Energy" and wait for the scoly's to start to open up. Them I'd juice up their mouths really good and they loved it.
My fish and CUC would go nuts because (lol) they could smell it but they could not steal it away from the scoly's.
When the scoly's were full and closed their mouths then I'd fire back up all the pumps and let the remaining "Reef Energy" feed the other corals.
So Yes... There is away to spot feed corals with "Reef Energy".
Interesting read... thanks!
Mike Elmore
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Good read, also supports another paper I read on micro aeration. I believe I will be feeding in light only until a credible source disputes these findings.
I'm a 20 minute guy. Have you found that two hours reduces decomposition and
Lower nitrates？
GoVols
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I handle my nitrates with a outside of the box method.
Weather I let the Reef energy stay in for 30 min / two hours / or overnight before I turn the skimmer back on/ Over the long haul my nitrates always come in at about 4ppm - 5ppm with the Salifert nitrate kit.
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