Mr. Saltwater Tank

Mr. Saltwater Tank Friday AM Quick Tip #147: How to Make Sure Your Corals Actually Eat


Except for a couple of specific corals, or corals in specific situations, I’m not a fan of feeding coals. Sometimes corals have to be fed and here’s how to do it such that they actually get to eat what you feed them.

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Comments for this article (14)

  • Maria says:

    Mark, what do you feed the corals ?
    Why do you use cooked shrimp instead of raw shrimp ?
    Look forward to your quick tips every Friday, thx

  • Mike says:

    Not sure why but every video I try to watch of yours I can’t hear the sound if I open from my email on my iPhone

  • Chris Goddard says:

    Im glad im not they only one that doesnt use coral food. I feel that get enough when I clean the glass. I do target feed my Duncan though.
    Mark thats just teasing the poor hermits. Poor things lol

  • Kirk says:

    How do you keep the fish away? I use similar distraction techniques for my shrimp, and I don’t keep hermits, but, the fish always scarf up what I have fed them quickly and immediately go to the coral within seconds of having fed them.

  • Duncan says:

    I use the top third of a 20 oz water bottle with a badger inserted through the hole. Put food in basted, cover coral with bottle & squeeze out food. Fish go crazy picking at the outside of the bottle but can’t get to it!

  • Duncan says:

    Sorry, should have been baster not badger.

  • Roei says:

    Great trick. I have a nice way of feeding non-photosynthetic corals too…

    basicly you use a bottle to seperate your coral from the other live-stocks in the tank…

    http://www.oceans.co.il/attachment.php?attachmentid=3963&d=1319105329

  • Wade says:

    That’s agreat idea Duncan! My fire shrimp picks the candy canes clean whenever I feed them and this will be a good way to keep him out. I’ll probably cut the top out a little bigger so I can get my long tweezers through the top.

  • Kirk..I feed my corals at night when the fish are sleeping.

  • Maria…I feed Fauna Marin LPS pellets and Aqua-Tech Azox.

    You can use raw shrimp. I just grab the frozen stuff since it is in a bag.

  • david decarli says:

    that’s a good idea but this is what I do for my picky/hard to feed corals. I cut the top off a soda bottle making a funnel any size or shape will work as long as you don’t choke it off. but squirt the food in the funnel and the fish and other pests are off with their shrimp you are getting almost 100% food to your coral. I find I feed less due to the direct feeding of the coral. and if you are quick you can scoop up the remains if you want.

  • BRIAN says:

    How can you tell a synthetic coral from a non synthetic coral?

  • Steve says:

    Feeding shrimp, shrimp. Those cannibals!

  • Nicole says:

    Thanks for the tips, and letting us know that coral food is not necessary. Great videos!

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