Feeding Brain Coral

No, I was hoping to avoid that but it looks like that will be my next plan of attack. Thanks!

 

I disagree (only with the target part). Broadcast feeding if done right is just as effective as target feeding. I personally hate target feeding and feel many do more harm then good when attempting it. If you over load a coral with food it becomes a net negative in regards to their DEB (dynamic energy budget).

 

Potentially. I was saying to target feed based on a few things I've learned and noticed about them.

First, the tentacles on an open brain aren't too sticky, and they take a bit of time to get the food to their mouth, so they're very likely to get their food stolen by a shrimp or fish, especially compared to something like a pearl bubble.

Second, they tend to like lower flow, so they don't always get the opportunity to grab as much food as something in even moderately higher flow, such as a torch or frogspawn. That's really if you decide to put it where it's in a spot as close to a natural flow as you can. If the particulars of the flow don't favor food falling on them, you (actually, it) are SOL.

Third, the tentacles are very small compared to most other corals. Even my 2 goniastreas have tentacles 5-6 times longer than the trachys, and doubly as thick.

Fourth, there's much less food put into the system to have to siphon out later when you target feed, if you're tall enough to reach into the tank lol.

Also, I don't know about DEB theory, but I can say with confidence that regardless as to how much an organism eats, unless it expels the food without digesting it, it may lower the amount of energy available to the organism temporarily, but it will also lead to a higher amount available later. In other words, the "DEB" may go negative, but the long-term average will never be below zero.

 

Wow, I'm glad this topic is opening up so much debate and different opinions. It's great to read all this!

 

Alright, got my brain to eat 1, maybe 2, pieces of mysis last night!! He looks happier today!

 

good just keep it up every few days, it will learn the routine. I alwayed unpluged powerheads, and used the 2liter bottle top trick. used the same deal with my purple candy canes for a while to get them back healthy.