Got my first first and coral!!!!need help with feed

[Lynn]

It's been five weeks and my 20 gal has been perfect from the second week on. I bought a orange cup coral today!! (Tubastraea faulkneri)According to the book by Horneman on corals they must be fed. Can you tell me how much shrimp I should feed? The coral has maybe 10 polyps, so it is quite small. I then bought 2 fish!! both are only 1/2 inches long (they're sooo cute!!) one citron goby and a rock blennie. Is he eating the algae or the copepods? How much should I be feeding them? Thanks so much

 

[esmithiii]

I would suggest feeding brine shrimp to the tubastrea. They gererally open at night. A turkey baster works well to gently spray the food into the polyps. You will see them close up over the food. Most people consider this coral difficult since you have to feed it regularly for it to survive. I would suggest a couple of times a week. I suggest using frozen brine shrimp (thawed, of course!) Soak a cube in tank water and then use the baster to feed the polyps. My wife wouldn't let my baster go back into the kitchen, though.

As for the fish, I don't have any experience with those species.

Good luck, and keep us posted. I would also wait at least a month before considering adding any more fish.

Ernie

 

[Anonymous]

hey lynn,
as ernie said, feed the turbastrea at night. just a pointer, you'll have more luck if you dramtically lower the water flow when feeding.
good luck.

 

[Anonymous]

It would also be a good idea to research the animals before you buy them.

 

[SPC]

Lynn, the citron goby is one of my all time favorite fish. As Chris has mentioned their toxic if eaten by others (protection for being so small). I have never had trouble with them eating brine shrimp soaked in Selco. They can however be bullied to the food so make sure they get their fare share. How much to feed? If you sit and watch while you feed (not just throw it in and walk off), you will be able to tell in a short time how much they need.
Steve

 

[Lynn]

He was sold as a citron, but actually I believe that he is a yellow watchmen goby. He has no blue streaks. He seems pretty active after the white lights go out? What time of day do you feed yours?
My rock goby is really digging into the algae! He grabs it with such force! They are so neat!!

 

[Anonymous]

I'll post in second to moe and Ernie's advice

Citron gobies, Gobiodon citrinus, are moderate zoobenthos (copepod, amphipod, etc) feeders. I can't vouch for whether they are easily weened onto other prepared or offered food sources, as I've never kept one in captivity. On a further note, they do produced (relatively) dilute amounts of toxic mucus if continually harassed.

Re: the rock blenny, Entomacrodus chiostictus. It dwells in relatively semitropical, shallow rocky waters (southern California and northern Panama), with average habitat temperatures about 25*C/77*F. They are omnivores and probably would except things like brine or mysid.

 

[TooFar2Sea]

My experience with tubastrea is that you can train them to open at the same time each night. That being said, they are really training you to be there and feed them. Try and make sure that each polyp gets fed.
If everything is going well, good for you, but slow down. I have heard of people who have tanks a year old and have not yet added corals. That is extreme, but so is adding them too soon.