Feeding Phytoplankton to Green Star Polyps and Zoas

[Gordon Cashmore]

I took a few ml out of the Seachem Reef Phytoplankton bottle and dropped a bit on my Zoas and Green Star Polyps. It's been three days since and the Zoas are still closed and the green star, in the areas that I applied it, are not coming out.

Has anyone ever heard of this? I know changes, small changes like water temp and lighting etc., could affect these, but I did not think feeding them would.

I tried to feed this because I was recently given some of this. It was just purchased and the expire date is 3 years out.

thanks
Gordon

 

[eatbreakfast]

I've never bothered spot feeding gsp or zoas. They seem to get enough just absorbing through the water.

 

[Gordon Cashmore]

I tried this because they are not growing at all. Palyos are growing fine in my tank, but GSP and Zoas are not. They are barely maintaining.
I think it might be light, but when I let my light stay on longer, they just shrink at least the Zoas do. It seems with less light they at least open more.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Perhaps feed it in the water column instead of spot feeding.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I don’t belive it’s meant to be directly fed to the coral like that.

 

[SDReefer]

I don't think that GSP has the ability to directly accept spot feeding. Perhaps your nutrients are too low for growth?

 

[John3]

Maybe too much light? I bought this product back in the beginning and don’t use it. I found it was too easy to over do it and cause algae issues. I don’t think the seachem is your issue though. Check your water paremeters. I find that we do so many things with our setups that it is very easy to think one thing caused it when it’s really another.

Rule 1 with corals(for me anyway) When something looks wrong test your water parameters first.

How long have you had these corals? Did you have a period that they looked good or always had issues from the beginning?

 

[Doclight]

I do a spot feed green star polyp a general coral food a couple times a week. Most of their food comes from the tank. Phyto is for corals that depend on light for food. My gsp is growing fast. T5 lighting , and I have them in moderate flow. Enough to move them but not enough to bend them over..

 

[Gordon Cashmore]

dhk is 9.6 calcium was high last time I checked. PH is a bit on the low side. Nitrates nitrites all 0

 

[VietExtender]

I’ve heard you shouldn’t spot feed with the seachem phyto or zooplankton. The stuff is so concentrated that it can kill your corals.

 

[Gordon Cashmore]

Uh oh. Hopefully not

 

[Doclight]

I feed zooplankton a couple times a week. Seems to like it... ph could be a problem, but not a 0.1 low.. more like a 7. Number instead of an 8.3

 

[Doclight]

Interesting.. I have been doing it for months, and they are growing like the weed everyone said they were.. LOL.. Used to feed it to my other corals with no adverse effects...

 

[VietExtender]

Interesting.. I have been doing it for months, and they are growing like the weed everyone said they were.. LOL.. Used to feed it to my other corals with no adverse effects...

Were you broadcast feeding or spot feeding?

 

[Doclight]

I feed directly.

 

[eatbreakfast]

The nitrates are low for gsp and zoas. They do better with some nutrients in the water.

 

[Garbonzo]

I used to use Ocean Nutrition Oysterfeast and ON Live phyto in 6 of my tanks dedicated to coral, and the response was immediate as LPS puffed up and extended feeders and GSP would instantly react; however, even though the growth rate was tremendous, the broadcast feeding of this product seemed to cause an abundance of nuisance algae as well so use at your own risk.

 

[User1]

The product isn't meant to spot feed, it is water column based similar to other products just like it. From their FAQ:

Q: Can I spot feed with Reef Zooplankton or Reef Phytoplankton?

A: With any supplements that are concentrated such as Reef ZooPlankton or Reef PhytoPlankton, it is best to disperse them into the aquarium and “blanket feed” rather than direct feeding as the components or even force applied from spot feeding can induce stress in sensitive coral tissue. They are really designed to be dosed into the tank itself and for the plankton sources to be taken in by the coral polyps from the water column versus target feeding.

 

[recess62]

Your tank is too clean. I run my zoa tank with a Nitrate of 50. The Zoas and Palys love it. Can’t even tell you what the phos is. I do have some algae growth but very minimal. Using Radion gen 4

 

[DSC reef]

Ditch the seachem and look up reef nutrition, much better quality of foods. Any concentrated food should be broadcast fed in the water column. If you want to direct feed then dilute it with tank water first.