Do Brain Corals Need to Eat in a Saltwater Tank?
Most Tropical Marine Aquarium Corals Should be Target Fed Weekly
Jun 27, 2008
There is a lot of contradictory information regarding whether or not brain corals need to be fed. The bottom line is that brain corals do need to “eat,” although the way they eat may surprise you. It is best to research the individual coral species in order to learn about its dietary needs, but in general terms, plan to target feed your tropical marine aquarium brain corals once or twice a week.
What is Target Feeding?
To target feed, you want to mix the food with some system water and perhaps a vitamin supplement like Selcon and then, using a turkey baster, broadcast the food toward the coral using the aquarium current to bring the food in contact with the coral’s feeding tentacles.
Feeding Tentacles? Where?
Most brain corals will exhibit a feeding response by extending feeding tentacles into the water column. Some corals will only do this at night, some will do it whenever a food source enters the water, and still others will appear to always have their feeding tentacles out. These feeding tentacles are not to be confused with the long sweeper tentacles that many larger polyped stony corals possess. The feeding tentacles on most brain corals are quite short and located around the polyp’s mouth or mouths.
They Have Mouths?
“Yes, they have mouths,” says Mark Martin, director of marine ornamental research at Blue Zoo Aquatics, a leading online retailer of marine livestock. “Most brain corals are nocturnal feeders, and they change their appearance dramatically at night by partially deflating their tissue and extending feeding tentacles located around each individual mouth. Some brain corals have many mouths while others are sold as pieces of a larger colony (e.g. Lobophyllia) and usually have only one mouth. “
What Do I feed Them?
Brain corals are carnivores and they will consume zooplankton-based foodstuffs such as very small pieces of meaty marine flesh (shredded, chopped or blended), Mysid shrimp, krill, baby brine shrimp, or the very popular commercially available Cyclop-eeze. There are also commercially available liquid invertebrate feeder foods that work well.
A Note on Lighting
In addition to target feedings, most brain corals will need reef-ready lighting, as they host a special kind of symbiotic algae within their tissue. In part, the symbiotic algae provide food energy for the brain coral, and this is why some people claim you don’t need to feed your brain corals. Even with healthy populations of symbiotic algae, however, brain corals in the aquarium benefit greatly from supplemental feedings such as those described here.
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