torch corals

Id like to get a couple od torch corals. Are they high maintenebce? I know they like low light & need to be kept away from other corals but what about feeding? Can I get some feedback on their nutritional needs?

 

Hi. I have a few torch corals. I find them very easy to look after and although started out vey tiny with 2x weekly target feeding I have now managed to frag 2 of them within 6 months ! They seen fairly tough in my experience. They enjoy a feed of mysis/brine and feed well ! Hope this helps ! p.s. Make sure u turn power heads off for about. 20 mins as they are sloe eaters and food will all blow away. Lol

 

so I put the mysis/brine on them with a feeder? or they cath it as it floats by during normal feeding?

 

I actually use a syringe and gently release it into the tentacles. They will actually grab the food and move it to their mouths themselves. Don't blow it into their mouths or u will damage them. You will learn what the difference is between fear retraction and feeding retraction the more u do it. Some people use a turkey Baster but I found it to hard a 4 ml syringe does a great job ! Turn off power heads for about 20mins. They are slow eaters and food will blow away. Lol

 

IME,torch corals are somewhat more difficult then say hammers and frogspawn.I have a toxic green torch doing really well and a gold torch die for reasons unknown.Some torches will eat and some won't readily accept anything.My green shows no reaction to feeding.

 

Thank you. So in normal reefs in the ocean torch corals just wait for something to float by & grab it? I mean since there is no one to feed them in the ocean what do they survine on?

 

They are mostly photosynthetic or actually their zooxanthella is. They have a symbiotic relationship with the algae. Basically the coral offers zooxanthella a place to grow and be protected. In return, the zooxanthella produces nutrition through photosynthesis for the coral to feed on.

 

Lps corals are very easy to take care of, that is if you can keep water in your tank. They are beginner corals, not saying experts don't keep them, but they take a beating and keep going. Yellow torch corals are the expensive torches because they take a lot longer to reproduce. If you want to feed them because it gives you that fuzzy feeling in your heart, then feed them but it isn't a requirement. Low to medium flow and low level in your tank. They will tell you where they want to be on how extended they are.

 

Is the Frogspawn in that catagory? I have a couple of frogspawn doing really well and I don't feed them. They seem to like alot of light.

 

Yes, frogspawn is lps. Depending on light source and current will show how the coral responds. Pass on those PAR meters, place the coral in a spot and leave it for 15 days. This will tell you more if the coral is happy. PAR meters don't tell you if the corals is in the right spot. I love frogspawn, they give the tank great motion as well as all lps.