sianeds
Fish Addict
Some Quick Tips For feeding Sun Corals
Tubastraea aurea, Tubastraea faulkneri
Sun Corals are beautiful additions to your reef tank if cared for correctly.
This is my advice for keeping a healthy specimen and is based on my experience.
It is intended to be a quick guide, not an essay.
Please feel free to add anything that may be useful.
Sun corals require feeding frequently, no less than twice a week. I would recommend feeding every other day
Feed with Mysis shrimp, chopped Octopus, diced raw fish or adult Brine shrimp. I use frozen prepared foods thawed in a little tank water
You may find it easiest to use tweezers to target feed your sun coral. They simply cannot catch enough food in the water column during normal feedings. Be careful not to jab the coral or touch it with the tweezers
Put the food into a glass or on a saucer and pick up individual pieces. Make sure no piece is bigger than the mouth of the polyp you are going to feed
Pick up one piece of food with the tweezers and gently brush it against the open polyp of the coral. The food will stick to the tentacles. Take care not to pull it once it has stuck
Where possible feed your fish 30 minutes or so before attempting to feed the coral. The presence of food in the water will encourage the coral to open and will also deter hungry fish and inverts stealing the corals meal
Feed the bottom polyps of the colony first. This will avoid touching parts that have been fed and causing them to retract
Do not feed every polyp at each feeding. The sun coral will only open when it is hungry. If you overfeed it it will stay closed up for days afterwards. Try to feed 1/3 of the colony every other day for the best results
When a polyp has been fed it will appear bloated for a day or so. Try not to feed the same head at 2 consecutive feedings. This will ensure you have a nice even display
If you are going on holiday or going away for a few days then you can give your sun coral a bigger meal and feed every polyp
As it grows the sun coral will produce new polyps. Don’t worry about trying to feed the little ones, they will get enough nutrition from the rest of the colony
If your coral doesn’t open up to feed you can place it in a small bowl with some tank water and add lots of solid food. Move the water gently around the coral and hopefully it will respond. You may need to do this every day or two until the coral starts to open enough to feed properly
Watch for any tankmates stealing it’s food. Cleaner shrimp and crabs are the worst culprits. As the pull the food out of the corals mouth they can damage it
Most importantly enjoy your sun coral
They are wonderful to keep and great fun to feed if you have the time and patience
Tubastraea aurea, Tubastraea faulkneri
Sun Corals are beautiful additions to your reef tank if cared for correctly.
This is my advice for keeping a healthy specimen and is based on my experience.
It is intended to be a quick guide, not an essay.
Please feel free to add anything that may be useful.
Sun corals require feeding frequently, no less than twice a week. I would recommend feeding every other day
Feed with Mysis shrimp, chopped Octopus, diced raw fish or adult Brine shrimp. I use frozen prepared foods thawed in a little tank water
You may find it easiest to use tweezers to target feed your sun coral. They simply cannot catch enough food in the water column during normal feedings. Be careful not to jab the coral or touch it with the tweezers
Put the food into a glass or on a saucer and pick up individual pieces. Make sure no piece is bigger than the mouth of the polyp you are going to feed
Pick up one piece of food with the tweezers and gently brush it against the open polyp of the coral. The food will stick to the tentacles. Take care not to pull it once it has stuck
Where possible feed your fish 30 minutes or so before attempting to feed the coral. The presence of food in the water will encourage the coral to open and will also deter hungry fish and inverts stealing the corals meal
Feed the bottom polyps of the colony first. This will avoid touching parts that have been fed and causing them to retract
Do not feed every polyp at each feeding. The sun coral will only open when it is hungry. If you overfeed it it will stay closed up for days afterwards. Try to feed 1/3 of the colony every other day for the best results
When a polyp has been fed it will appear bloated for a day or so. Try not to feed the same head at 2 consecutive feedings. This will ensure you have a nice even display
If you are going on holiday or going away for a few days then you can give your sun coral a bigger meal and feed every polyp
As it grows the sun coral will produce new polyps. Don’t worry about trying to feed the little ones, they will get enough nutrition from the rest of the colony
If your coral doesn’t open up to feed you can place it in a small bowl with some tank water and add lots of solid food. Move the water gently around the coral and hopefully it will respond. You may need to do this every day or two until the coral starts to open enough to feed properly
Watch for any tankmates stealing it’s food. Cleaner shrimp and crabs are the worst culprits. As the pull the food out of the corals mouth they can damage it
Most importantly enjoy your sun coral
They are wonderful to keep and great fun to feed if you have the time and patience
