Publishing it in R2R is a start,
I agree with that...I'd just be overwhelmingly proud to have something of mine in print after working so hard on it but I'll definitely publish on R2R regardless
What’s the current diet?
DM me
The live rock I've been getting is covered with coralline algae but unfortunately I rarely get a sponge on them so yeah I've been spot feeding them although once in a while when a piece does come in with an encrusting sponge they feed on it
So after they’ve moved on the sponges have been eaten entirely or are smaller? Are they actively eating the oysters?
They seem to take the pigment out of the sponges so they'll turn from purplish to whitish after they've eaten and yes, they actively eat a variety of foods that give off a strong scent including Masstick notably. However, just because they're attracted to the food doesn't mean that they're able to digest it or that it provides adequate nutrition. They don't turn down much, although I haven't attempted to feed a wide variety of foods because I think it's important to spend a reasonable amount of time assessing the impact of each food source on health which means feeding the same diet for an extended period of time. One of the stars I've had for 9 months now and he seems to be doing ok...not great, not bad, just ok which isn't optimal but I'm hoping to turn that around...if you'd like to know more about my study, feel free to DM me...since I plan to write a report and attempt to publish it I'd prefer not to give every detail of my study publically on the forum at this point until I compose my report and post it for all to see (which I will). Like I said though, if you have any other specific questions DM me and I'd be happy to address them!So after they’ve moved on the sponges have been eaten entirely or are smaller? Are they actively eating the oysters?
What have you tried feeding that they didn’t eat?
Thanks for taking the time me to study these starfish, all observations (good or bad) is helpful.
Right now I'm using an isolation box to determine what foods are adequate for their nutrition (without competition from fish, crabs, etc. that'll try to steal the food) based on weight gain, time taken to right themselves after being turned over, and a couple other tests since up to now we really aren't sure what it takes to meet their nutritional requirements. Sorry it's taken so long to write up the report, i have started composing it actually but working/studying 7 days a week makes it hard to find time. I don't want to release anything prematurely and mislead anyone so I want to be at least relatively sure that the feeding regimen is adequate (which weight gain seems to be a positive indication of so far although these are relatively young stars in their aquarium lives). As far as food being stolen from them, before I started using the isolation box, healthy individuals seemed to be able to make it to the food pretty quickly and wrap their bodies around it to protect it after they begin eating to protect it from most fish (of course probably not all fish depending upon the fish species)...crabs can be a different story I've found though. This is my next challenge (feeding them without the isolation box involved). First i just need to be relatively sure their nutrition is being adequately met though.
Been following along and wondering how the report is coming along? Keen to read your results.
That’s really good news, unfortunately it seems that we need to buy the magazine to be able to read it.
Only $5 for a digital issue...i can give you the link
No tank you! What happened to make it an article on reef2reef and make it available to all aquarists?
