Zoanthid Polyp Feeding

[@tidalgardens]

Zoanthids and Palys grow super fast once they start growing. I've had colonies that didn't do anything for 12 months then suddenly explode.

[@tidalgardens]

I've noticed that some are easy to tell if they are eating while some of the smaller ones are very difficult to see if they are taking food in.

[@KlimovArtem1]

I feed mine with regular pellets. Just drop it on top of each polyp. They catch pellets and close.

[@bseppo]

Stop the Pumps while feeding 😂😂😂😂

[@willfriar8054]

I've kept oysters and Barnacles alive and a 55-gallon tank for over a year. I collected them off a floating dock used sea water to fill the tank. Experimenting with different things to see what they like I found out that just a little bit of milk in the tank they start feeding like crazy thereafter that fat particles in sugars. You can watch the oyster start pumping really quickly trying to get as much of that milk out of the water as they can. Half a shot glass twice a week. It makes the tank cloudy but the filters and under gravel clear it up rather quickly. Bacteria in the gravel take care of everything leftover.

[@josephcraig2511]

In my experience, they seem to simply shy away, I do believe that enough food in the water column is sufficient. Using just water without food gets the exact same "shying away" response. Mine grow beautifully either way. I use phytofeast live and oyster eggs liquid coral food and it works perfectly in the water column. Another note is I began using Red Sea reef energy and after about a week I can honestly say I started to see much better extension, color and coroline algae growth. Just my 02!

[@hustlecoralvlogs7675]

hows the redsea reef energy doing? I was thinking about trying them out

[@josephcraig2511]

Josh Duval still using it in my 130 gallon system and frag tank and love it!

[@hustlecoralvlogs7675]

awesome!! anything else recommended?

[@josephcraig2511]

Josh Duval keep nutrients low and keep aminos in the system. I've been able to keep everything from high end sps to zoas happy doing that. A lot of factors in successfully implementing this method need to be taken into account.

[@markryan5493]

I think zoa's get enough food from the water column. I have never target fed mine & they are growing nicly.

[@mwsteffen]

mine too

[@SirPaulB]

Mark Ryan that means you have slightly elevated nutrients where sps would have no way of surviving. I have mixed reef system and zoas and palys are the only corals that do not grow

[@vtecbanger3180]

I have a very old established tank. I have a skimmer, algae scrubber, live rock sump, deep sand bed, kalk water ato. I have always fed lightly and hardly change water with no issues. lately I have added 5 fish and a few more zoa frags. As a personal experiment I have started feeding heavily and changing water weekly. I spot feed reef chilli twice a week, mysid twice a week and a mix of presoaked omega1 and hiakari pellets the other days. growth, color, and spread is fast. I added a bottle of live tisbe pods and increased this heavy feeding over the course of 3 months. the home reef is like your muscles. you can eat the same work out the same and just maintain your body. If you eat heavy and work hard to get soar every day your gonna look sexy.

[@dustinmcdonald6612]

a product called reef roids. specifically designed for gonipora i also find that my zoanthids love this stuff and ive never had a problem

[@KillerKev1961]

Thats all I feed mine, and Reef Chili

[@AKjohndoe]

Want to see zoa's eat? Reef roids nano.. it is abundantly clear they're scarfing it down and loving it, also great color improvement over when I brought them home from the LRS. (I have Rastas and BamBams)

[@timesplit--ter2742]

I only put plankton. I feed directly at least once a month. The next day after feeding I clean my filters. I have a 16gal tank so the fluctuation in very crucial. Most at times is just good lighting and you're good.

[@Liberty309]

I have never fed mine once and they are thriving like crazy !!! :-)

[@MawisaAnimation]

I have been keeping lots of Zoa's for just over a year. I buy small frags and colonies and place them in a variety of positions in my RSM 130. Will split a colony and put three pieces in different positions. Some thrive and others just stay the same. I can't say feeding makes a big difference but my gut feeling is it is good if nitrates and phosphates are in check. Nearer the top of the tank (more light) improves growth. Flow is important. Proximity to other corals is important. Just trial.

[@bigeflashgordon]

After a few months of having some zoas I've started to only feed with phytoplankton.. I'll turn off my return pump so the plankton isn't skimmed off with my skimmer found in my sump then I'll leave it off for a couple hours but turn my pumps up a little to keep the good circulation.. This seems to help all of my corals in the tank, not only my zoas and palys.. Its like spot feeding, but over a longer period of time and it seems to be working pretty nicely from what I've seen

[@sharkbait894]

Sorry for the other two comments but I do believe that feeding them the cloudy stuff helps , I've seen my zoas possible double in size in 2 mouths after feedin them the cloudy stuff

[@ArthurDoesThings8960]

Like the chalice corals; reluctant/slow eaters, the Zoas, while being nicely zoomed in and time-lapsed, will spotlight the feeding characteristics that are not visible in real time. Maybe not even then lol, being that they feed at a microscopic perspective.

[@DeeFromBrooklyn]

personally I found that mixing small amounts of food and adding to the water column when cleaning the aquarium rock has had the best results over target feeding. after turkey basting the rock work the corals open very wide and this keeps my phosphates to a minimum.

[@lynnmw1208]

I never feed my zoanthids directly and they still hold their brilliant color in my tank. I assume that they catch whatever food is floating around in the water column as I feed my other corals and fish. I know they are eating though because I do in fact see them release waste from time to time. As long as they appear happy, I don't worry about it :)

[@tidalgardens]

It's not so bad really, but then again, I tend to have oversized skimmers on my systems. The largest being an 8' tall RK2.

[@hektor3100]

I have green mushroom that I feed. Sometimes it's very easy to see they are eating because they close up around the food. Other times it's not so easy. But I think their little feelers stick food. Either way food is in the water & they can eat at their own pace. But don't over feed. Over feeding the tank is very easy when you have 10 corals that you want to feed. If they are eating you can see are at best only garbing 2% of what your providing to them as the rest floats away.

[@tidalgardens]

best of luck Kay!

[@jt411]

Feed cheap zoanthids with a turkey baster, feed expense ones with a thick paste of reef roids using a syringe injector on each polyp (same ones used in food service).

[@kayhoward2286]

I have a 35 gal tank. i do not feed them but i do put reef snow and other froms of stuff n there and my polys have grown and look great. the only problem i am having is my green emerald crab is turning over my stuff and busting open my sea squirts. he eats 24/7 and is HUGE. going to tie some food to a rock or something. i also do not have protien skimmer or any of the fancy stuff that people have and so far tank is great. has been up for 4months. holding my breath!!!!!!!

[@AquaticCastle]

Based on my literature research and not actual testing myself, zoanthids do well in tanks with lots of fish. This implies that adding cloudy stuff to the water should help them. I don't think I'd bother feeding over them though because when they close, I thing it is stress rather than them eating. I think they eat bacteria anyway. This means they don't eat the cloudy stuff but the stuff that eats the cloudy stuff. That would mean liquid plankton should work too.

[@dowphantom3792]

I think they are actually eating as my mushroom coral do the same thing by not doin anything when you feed them but then a few min later I look and they have a ring of food stuck to them in the slime coat that's on them and around the mouth area.

[@goldslinger]

[DOW] Phantom That is a great observation! I think You nailed it. I bet they draw in the slime coat as there is not much in way of tentacles.

[@dowtish1]

might need mentioning that dissolving store bought frozen food has a ton of phosphates in it. I thaw mine in a loose leaf tea strainer first, then place it in my tank water to be used with a baster. I wonder if I'm not getting the cloudy goodness this way?

[@tikkiman87]

Great looking footage! It's hard to find a decent quality video for marine aquariums. Keep up the good work.

[@Daniella3d]

Palythoas can eat larger particles but small zoanthids don't eat like the palys do. When zoanthids are closing fast like that it is not a feeding response but a defense response. One of the best food for zoanthids is Chromaplex. They grow very fast when feeding this food. I am now trying Fauna Marin Ultra Zoa but I am not sure at this point if there is any benefit. A feeding response usually is when the polype bring its tentacles to its mouth and swallow the food, not closing rapidly.

[@jxp56646]

hi Than, hope you can do some video on beginner, intermediate and advance corals that can be captive.

[@dougnight44]

i dont target feed my zoanthids at all.but i do feed the tank something called reef bugs and they say it will cause polyp extention and i still see no differents but some zoed extened and some dont.i have some orange and pink zoeds that extened about a inch and some green that stick right to the rock.i prefer the short stuck to the rock look of the zoeds the most.only target feed my dendros

[@elzen1017]

zoanthids really does benefit from feeding...colours really shows up under atinics more...now the way I feed is by using zoo-plex by kent marine. I do it once a week, the fish and filter feeders benefit from this too

[@TonyVtheITPro]

Meh - pretty sure zoas, like all micro/nano filter feeders can draw plenty of nutrients from feeding "the tank" without feeding them specifically. I let mine take leftovers floating around and give the concentrate to those that eat it. Do the same for the xenias.

[@fishfan2]

What's the Zoa from the thumbnail

[@canonxsi79]

I feed mystis shrimp with ro water and i add small pellets oyster feast mix in a food prossecer

[@adamschaafsma5839]

I think supplemental feeding is a good idea. Though not sure about the fats of terrestrial animals. Though it seems to work fine for you. I believe zoanthids eat very little. Mostly just feed of the energy from the zooxanthelae

[@mikeramos8914]

Great explanation... I feed my Zoas the same way.

[@DeeFromBrooklyn]

Like John, I too believe in a natural environment there's no one with a turkey baster squirting them therefore the food in the general water flow should accomplish the same thing

[@tidalgardens]

Have you seen the pest control video yet? Some preventative dips and a little cleaning may help: v=mFk2xWYywtM

[@karinsdad1]

I can't really speak from experience, just my theory. I am a saltwater beginner. Alls going well. Check my vids. I'm about to start with the Zoas. And I would like to think that the excess food from feeding the fish would be enough for them. And if they started to show any signs of decline, then add whatever may be needed at that time. Just my idea of how a stable system should work. I believe in letting nature do all it can first. Can't wait to see how it works for me some day. Love your piece of nature you are caring for. Looks awesome!

[@micecdnwo]

I can't stop from wondering what it would be like 2 billion years from now if jellyfish were to become terrestrials :D

[@MatteoMicheletti]

Great video. I just started a series of my own with the corals in my tank. Keep it up!

[@markevans2280]

Why is there so much difference ? Some say they need feeding, others say they get it from light ? Who do I believe, I want to have Zoas but can’t get any reliable info about care

[@That_Bender]

There's really not much difference. Zoa's don't need to be spot fed, they're probably the easiest corals to maintain. They just pull their nutrition from light and the water column, and they seem to LOVE "dirty" water (lots of phyto, bacteria and particulates floating around). Spot feeding them can be done, but is no where near necessary.

[@chapag3tti]

by the way snails usually like to eat things that die, it helps keep your tank clean and free of ammonia and nitrates.

[@rhettherring4846]

I have never feed Zoas... but sadly I'm a bit of an over feeder so I guess they are getting their fill from the water column.

[@annieoakley9810]

I don't specifically feed mine. There's enough in the water column for them and they always seem to be the healthiest and happiest in the tank at any given time.

[@saliva911]

ive been keeping zoas and palys for 4 years and what ive noticed is zoas didn't eat the food. only the palys like candy apples god of war sunny ds ecs...the only zoa i saw eat was the miami vice.i think if your trying to feed your zoas your just dirtying your tank.thats when you'll get your red slime and algae bloom.

[@trisbeumer8513]

Sometimes i turn off my powerheads and (make-up)brush my rocks. After that i go about cleaning the sand with a sucker. This clouds up my water to some extent. When the powerheads go back on. Some species like the gorilla nipples they close for hours and seem to feed. But the watermelons do not. They both grow at the same rate. So it is anyones game i think.

[@xisotopex]

what is going on with my zoas, where the polyp is open, but the tentacles are curled up tight... is that indicative of anything?

[@ocnbrze2003]

first thing, you should probably turn the pumps and filters off to feed them. second i think they do benefit from target feeding. by turning the pumps off the food has a chance to settle. i target feed my zoa's with reef roids and they close up, not because of the blast from the baster or from shying away from the food, but because they are actually ingesting the reef roids. i do this twice a week and do not have any issues with the water quality.

[@deadbrother5355]

I have seen them eat flake food. Alot of corals I have had through the years have.

[@TheKenwiesner]

They do but only if you have good nitrate control of they will get smutherd in algae

[@TysoniusRex]

I haven't target fed any of my polyps; I dissolve the food by hand in the tank right in front of the power head, which tends to blow the food all over the inside of the tank. I would think this would eventually carry stuff to the polyps, not to mention the fish get their share, too.

[@matshapirimalesforever1821]

why not have 2 tanks with the same kind of corals you want to know about and feed one, one way, and feed the other tanks the other way and see witch does better? thats sounds like one of the only ways to really tell.. but then again you might need multiple tanks cuzz different things could happen maybe..

[@Rowow]

are you changing your water every month? if you are then a way to fix it is with saltwater plans, just put them in your filter and tada! I have my aquarium for over 2 years, and have never change my water, my filter is covered with alge and plants, and the nitrates is 0, and niitrate is 0, and etc is all 0

[@trexon1]

I feed mine reefroids, they love it. Only problem is stopping the shrimp pulling food out the closed mouths.

[@franklombardo227]

can we use this video in a classroom please ?

[@tidalgardens]

+frank lombardo sure

[@franklombardo227]

Awesome thank you

[@ShrimpZoo]

+Tidal Gardens Inc. checkout our youtube channel for our New ClownFish Documentary!

[@hotdj1979]

I"ve had my tank up and running for 4 months no water changes feeding 3 times a day to fish. Tank is stable. Have tons of zoas...!!! Got a sand sifting goby and man is he making a mess! The zoas I've never seen so open and i'm assuming feeding! They usually stay open at night most of them. They are all closed at night and open during the day now. So i think target feeding does help. But definitely not in excess or you will destroy your water parameters by over feeding the tank.

[@FullmetalAngyl]

I spot feed everything in my 10 gallon, including each fish. The yellow clown goby just died today in a powerhead accident but I was feeding him the prawn row and I'd get lots of that cloudy stuff. There's still the jaguar goby and the green banded goby and I'm replacing poor little Mikey with a shrimp goby, a barnacle blenny or another clown goby, but I still have lots of his "prawn caviar" so I'm going to try feeding the "cloudy stuff" to the zoos and kenya.

[@DeeFromBrooklyn]

I would assume your protein skimmer starts working overtime on feeding day. I had to plus one mine to offset the coral bio-load

[@goldslinger]

Turkey blaster clean the detritus off of your live rock once a week and you just cleaned AND fed the entire coral population. I do believe in feeding if You want maximum growth, especially LPS. If You start, take it easy at first to let the beneficial bacteria populate to the new demand.

[@pontigo1988]

hey so i only need to buy frozen food and do that thing with the turkey baster?

[@plantsunleashed1]

I've got a zoanthid that has been closed for about 2 weeks. what causes this and how can I get it to open. tank has been running for 3 months with other softies

[@tidalgardens]

+Dane Fisher Could be any number of things. It is often pests or disease.

[@TheWincod75]

+Dane Fisher Could it have been damaged or recently fragged? I had a fresh frag of Jokers that took almost 2 months to open, now growing like weeds.

[@timwdv]

+TheWincod75 when my zoanthids closed it was because my salinity was too high. It had crept up to 1.030 and after I did a slight water change with RODI water it brought my salinity back down to 1.023 they opened up fine a couple of hours later. Just my 2 cents

[@dowphantom3792]

+Dane Fisher ya my mushroom coral closed for about week n half but I moved him too different spot n next day he was back wide open, so ya I think it will be ok maybe try moving maybe too much light or flow.

[@robertlangford7637]

would so happen to know who makes an all in one fifty gallon ,the video is too short,but still nice

[@RheavyOmetalCjunkieK]

Feed all coral once a week with Coral Frenzy w/ sum drops of Garlic Power.

[@mika1980ABC]

but some also suddenly vanish for no apparent reason after they grow for some time. any idea why ?

[@zacharyscott1264]

I’ve been told that placing Zoas on the sand will hinder their expansion, growth and they often won’t grow out passed the frag plug..?? Is this true.

[@trisbeumer8513]

My watermelons grow over the sand. Even on my glass.

[@sergiodealba6424]

They do eat but really small particles, I honestly don’t feed them often, just every month and a little amount

[@CLINNYY_1]

You might have an easier time feeding if you turn off powerheads then you can be more direct and have less excess

[@michellevasiloff5214]

I have been feeding mine since I got them 6 months ago and they havent done anything. Nothing, I am still at the same 26 polyps that I bought and they dont look any bigger. I feed them a mixture of oyster feast and arctipods from reef nurtition. My SPS love them but not the zoanthids. Any idea on how to get some sort of growth would be great. Thanks!

[@jamesconrey]

It's really hard to tell if they are eating or not, I've been trying it with Reef Chili and they look the same, but my Eagle eyes have always had long extensions. Honest thoughts though, I think they are eating :)

[@controversial101]

Zoathids love the fish food first bites as long as the flow is off they will use their mucous too eat. You will see the orange dot form a circle then get eaten.

[@antropatico]

I've heard that dosing Iodine is more important than target feeding for zoas

[@RasoRas]

i just bought the green button polyps but they won't open up. My tank is new and just cycled after 2 weeks. Its been about half a day and the button's won't open up. Any idea why? They look alive.

[@direef6037]

They will usually only open up after they have gotten used to the tank, which may take up to 3 weeks.

[@RasoRas]

DiReef Really? I hope they do! I didn't know it takes that long. Thanks for the info. Great video by the way.

[@direef6037]

It isn't my vid, and your welcome! Raso Ras

[@DARKNIGHTFELIX]

check your sodium levels make sure that are there at 1.025 and give them at least 3 to 4 weeks to acclimate if all is well you will start seeing their patterns change

[@gordo864]

I'm not convinced they feed. I spray them with reef chilli a few times a week and they sort of close up but it doesn't look like they eat anything.

[@SampsonGizmo]

I do feed my zoas and frogspawn but I dont spot feed. I just throw in a good amount of coral frenzy and let my powerheads and "nature" take its course.

[@santamonicahelpassistant418]

Interesting video :). Sounds like it's a bit difficult to tell if they're eating. Is there no way to tell?

[@ryanbennett4718]

i once had a colony of zoas that were almost dead and i helped them recover ONLY by feeding

[@tcarabuena7965]

do you need to like feed all the head or 50 percent of them is fine

[@TheBWCKing]

help dead bristle worm in fish tank dont know what to do

[@visage535]

Remove it...

[@TheBWCKing]

ok

[@TrophyOSJ]

INeverDrank, Nigga Juice I got an Arrow Crab yesterday and he is actually eating a bristle worm right now. Also, don't over feed fish, corals. extra food means extra bristle worms. ( a few bristle worms are actually good for the tank they eat left over food and detritus.

[@DailylifePH835]

It's better when feeding zoas to off wave maker and return to let the food sink in the base of the zoa. That makes a bit more sure she eat. Just my opinion. ☺️

[@shilovending]

Hi, is that meat your feeding them?

[@kidsWearCrowns]

Does anybody have a good recommendation on the placement for zoas. mid, bottom or top of tank?

[@cali2400]

I never feed my eagle eyes but they are growing like crazy. In three months they doubled in size.

[@DailyLoner336]

My vampire zoa eat and they’re grown huge, but not all of them do eat.

[@Tom_T07]

what's the name of the zoas in this video

[@Havanero52]

Great video , can i remove the coral from the base ? and atach direct to the Rock

[@thunderfox53]

I too have trouble telling if my Zoanthids are eating

[@peterreid5315]

I think that they do but I think it’s too much work so I don’t feed mine

[@selygomezluvr801]

i dont like direct feeding as it dirties the tank! I have had good luck with DT's twice a week when the lights go out at night.

[@azafi69]

Dan...I'd like to think these things eat..I think they're shying away I have tried several times to feed them and you know what? they close up Everytime...I haven't fed them in about 2 months and they are thriving with just being in a good light the most also filter nutrients from the water for sure... but if they we re actually eating you would see it I believe.

[@AhmedMustafax]

how does that copperband fair in a reef tank?

[@RasoRas]

One more thing...can you feed corals while they are closed? Its been nearly a week that polyps wont open up and I feed them twice so far as I dont have anything else in the tank. Please let me know. Thanks

[@That_Bender]

Not really. Closed polyps are like closed businesses; something's going on behind closed doors, but NO CUSTOMERS! If your polyps are staying closed up, there's a good chance something else is going on. Check for slugs/worms or any rowdy neighbors with sweeper tentacles.

[@saliva911]

i feed my palys like the candy apples,sunny ds,god of war... they actually grab the food.the only zoas ive seen eat in my experience are the miami vice

[@ashleefffohaver4770]

Is misi shrimp okay??

[@mondraymondo]

i know they close up but "that cloudy stuff" usually gets blown away from the current. did the zoas catch anything?

[@apdroidgeek1737]

They do, i have 6 colonies of zoas, i feed them reef roid and in just 3 months they covered the whole rock i got lol.

[@mrscales9242]

What kind of pale was that that you were feeding

[@tylerpowell3616]

What mixture of food do you feed?

[@eviechang847]

I'm thinking of getting zoanthids. Can any of you guys give me some advice please?

[@ReiEraven]

mine enjoy squid it will hold the piece almost sucking on it till some flow or fish steals it