| Very nice tank Brucey, it looks really healthy. SpS have been know to digest rotifers, but thier main source of food is of coarse thier Zoox algae and the carbs and sugars they produce. They however do suppliment thier intake (about 5 to 10 %) with natural food. It takes alot of energy for a SPS to capture food using nemacysts (little harpoons) and a sps's neamcyst are poorly developed. What they mostly do for supplimental is to farm. They produce a slime that they lay out from thier cicla (sp?) bacteria mostly, but possible rotis attack the slime to eat it and the coral then sucks it back in, capturing the critters that are still attached to it. LPS will be alot more likly to take in roti's for sure same with softies, although with softies alot of nutrient come in via transfering through tissue. On the clams. All clams require feeding of Phyto when they are young and haven not developed enought zoox in thier mantles to be able to sustain them. Usually when the hit the size of about 2 inches they have enough and thus dont require as much if any. Now in saying that some clams will always need feeding via phyto. Clams such as durasa's and gigas I believe, but maybe some one else could chime in on that. The easiest way to figure it out is that if a clam has a high requirement for light its doesnt require much supplimental food source, and if it requires less light then it requires more, that make sence, lol.
Brucey I am not saying that you are doing wrong my friend, at all. Your feeding of phyto could be feeding other critters that may eventually feed them. Its just that Phyto, is such a strong concentration of phosphates that you must keep an eye on water quality. If I was in your position tis is what I would do. Go ahead and feed the things that need the phyto, just cut back a bit and then make sure you skim well to not allow the stuff to die and rot in the tank. With the rotis I would broadcast feed in the dark periods of the tank (at night no lights). So concentrate more towards the roti's, far more better then the other way around.
MIke |