Feeding a Long Tentacle Plate

Any ideas or hints on feeding a LT Plate? I have tried pieces of mysis and raw shrimp, on the end of a feeding spear, directly feeding with hand(dont like putting my hand in the tank too often), syringe, and the Kent Feeding Prong. Not having too much success.

 

Try offering brine shrimp with a turkey baster or syringe!

 

Hey Tom, Thanks...I have tried that as well, keeping the Cleaner and Coral Banded shrimp away is a task in itself. LOL

 

I used to feed mine thawed out pieces of silversides. I would put them on the plate and let the coral take over from there.

 

Hey Brandon, Thanks...i just picked up some silversides last night. Tried that his morning, enter the CB and Cleaner shrimps once again..LOL. I am going to keep at it....

 

Oh yea when I feed my Sun Coral it's the same business. The fish go and peck the food right off of it. It makes me mad but what do you do, ya know? They're wild animals and are just acting on instinct. You could try covering the plate with some kind of plastic bowl. Also try and get the silversides as close to the plate's mouth as possible so it can maybe have a better chance at getting it eaten before the fish have their way. One more thing is you could feed the fish immediately after you put the silverside down there to try and keep them distracted. The problem is the plates are so SLOW in eating.

 

Hey, thanks again, Brandon. Yeah, i use a cup over my orange Tubastrea, especially when feeding cyclop-eeze. I take an unused plastic cup with a whole cut out of the bottom and then with my Kent Feeding prong begin feeding. I have thought about that with the LT Plate but it is so large, about 9" in diameter. I am not sure what to use.

 

Cut a 2 liter pop bottle in half and use the top half

 

Thank you...I am not sure that it will be big enough...I will, however, give it a try...

 

So I finally tried the 2 liter soda bottle. So tonight after 2 weeks of trying to feed it with out my peperment or cleaner shrimp stealing the pc of krill, out came the soda bottle. So I cut the bottom off and took my Kent pinchers and got the plate to take it...I then placed the bottle over the plate and then screwed the cap back on...took the plate about 50 minutes it put it in his mouth and close its mouth. I said ok i am safe and removed the bottle....but I was like I am going to watch the plate for a bit as there was still maybe a 1/4" of the mouth still open....low and behold the damn cleaner popped out went straight over to the plate took his pinchers spread the mouth open and took the pc of krill right out of him!
I caught it fast enough and placed the bottle over it again. I then took another pc of krill and gave it to the cleaner shrimp so as to occupy it and take its mind off the plate...he ate the krill in minutes and now is hanging out by the bottle over the plate and is looking like just let me get to that baby! So I am now on 2hrs and the plates mouth is still slightly open.....the pc of krill I gave it maybe was a 1/4 of an inch and they just are very slow eaters......

Do you think 2 or 3hrs with the bottle over the plate will harm it?