corals

Question
Thanks again for answering my question about the health of my brain coral. Will corals eat brine shrimp? I have a star pollup and several other types of coral. Do most corals eat meat at night? Do protein skimmers and uv sterilizers remove any desirable things from the water that corals need?

Answer
Hi again. Small polyps benefit from a regular feeding of fine particulate matter like plankton drifting in the water. Their polyps are extended during the day to catch these things and closed up at night so they do not benefit from being fed at night. If you feed your fish frozen meaty marine foods the liquid that you thaw them out in is enough to feed them and it is not necessary to direct feed them. If you are feeding your fish a flake or pelleted diet you should definitely switch. Brine shrimp is not a good choice to feed because of its low nutritional content. A much better choice is mysis shrimp, clam, squid or a frozen food made especially for marine fish. Large polyped stony corals, like your brain coral, will keep their feeding tentacles in during the day and put them out at night. This is when they usually feed. Depending on the size of the coral and its tentacles you may want to choose a food that is a little larger in size than what a typical small fish would eat. When you see the tentacles out place a small amount of this food close to the tentacles and see if it will grab them. If not you may have to try a different food or a smaller size. It may take several tries before it eats and you do not want to push the matter if it doesn't want the food. Just be persistent. If you can get the coral to start feeding then it may start to come back for you. As long as there is still some living tissue it is still alive! Protein skimmers are an essential part of any reef tank and really only takes out waste products from your tank before they get a chance to pollute your tank. As for a U.V. sterilizer on a reef tank there is no problem with utilizing these units either. In a well maintained reef tank they are not a necessary piece of equipment but they won't harm your corals if properly installed and taken care of.