Hey guys, I have a couple torches that I want to grow a little faster if possible. Do you all think spot feeding is worth it? Some people say it just increases nutrient’s. I would appreciate any input!
Feeding is a difficult one. Personally, I do it as it’s the best way to get corals growing and colouring - they have an excess amount of energy through feedings, so there they go, able to colour up and show growth within a few weeks. It also seems to be the best way to get them settled quicker. I bring in several coral colonies each week because of being in the trade and feeding corals? I’ve had Acros land and whilst usually it **** or miss if they strip, the recent ones I’ve brought in have taken food and thrived from day 2.
I’ve taken green torches and turned them 90% yellow - now that was part of the corals strain however, it changed it much quicker than if I left it to do it slowly over time. Here’s the torch in question (this is about half of the polyp extension I get from this torch now)
And this torch below, I have had go from much more green to quite bright and well, I now nickname it firework in my own mind due to just how much colour has come in within the last few months of weekly feeds.
Another reason I do it? I run high nutrients, and to keep them consistently high, feeding is the quickest way. And I have LPS and Acropora (SPS) both in the same system, thriving - I removed most of the softies as I didn’t like how they were just moving around constantly in the tank with the SPS in - I found about 3 Acro frags with softies growing on the base. But I’ve had some torches flesh bands go from being maybe half an inch thick, to about 2 inches thick (which when I want to cut the torches into single head frags, it’s not the easiest as I’m now waiting months before the flesh has moved out of the centre of the split).
And finally, I do it because my corals? They’re hungry. Constantly wanting to be fed! I used to only feed once a week due to how much food I pumped into the system, now I sit and feed them twice a week. Once on Wednesday/Thursday and again on Sunday.
The main cultprits to being hungry are these two, the Elegance and Trachy.