There are several factors to consider when it comes to feeding a Plate Coral. This type of coral needs live rock to grow, as well as fish as food sources and organic matter for the organism. This type of coral can also be semi-aggressive, sending out long sweeper tentacles to attack other species. Generally, you should give the Plate Coral around 6 inches of clearance to move around freely. The following information should help you choose the proper feeding strategy for your particular species.
Contents
Calcium, strontium, and other trace elements
The exact amount of calcium, strontium, and other trace elements that a coral needs may require careful measurement and adjustment. While one would think that adding ground-up coral skeletons to a CaCO3/CO2 reactor will provide the corals with sufficient amounts of strontium, this is not entirely true. There is no single source of calcium carbonate that contains the same amount of strontium as another. For instance, the ratio of Ca to Sr of Korlith and Super Calc Gold was 15,385:1 and 7143:1 respectively.
Some gastropods have a specific requirement for strontium in the water. Artificial seawater that lacks strontium results in deformed shells and missing statocysts. Some invertebrates have statoliths, which are small, solid granules made from calcium carbonate. They look like microscopic sea urchins.
Typical water changes
Typically, there are several water changes that happen during plate coral feeding. The corals grow out into the water column, shading underlying corals. This competition for space leads filter-feeding organisms to migrate, resulting in a loss of habitat for these slow-growing animals. Typically, feeding tentacles open at night and close during the day. In some cases, new plate corals will emerge from broken mother polyp fragments.
To avoid damage to the coral’s delicate flesh, change water as frequently as possible. It needs to be fed often to grow properly. Corals grow up to 12 inches (30 cm) per day. If they don’t grow long or expand fully, the weight of water in the polyp can damage the coral’s flesh. If you find that the coral’s polyp is inflated, shake it gently before removing it from the water.
Placement on a sand bed
If you have a tank full of plate corals, one of the first things to do is place them on the bottom of the tank. Because these stony corals have the ability to move and inflate their flesh, they should be kept on the sand bed instead of on the rock scape. This is because they have a hard time keeping still on rock scapes, and they can easily jump up.
If you’re trying to keep plate corals in your tank, remember to place them on a sand bed, not on rocks. Sand irritates their fleshy skirt, halting their growth and eventually killing them. Because of this, they were once considered impossible to keep. Instead, you should place them on flat rock, where they can easily walk on and tumble from the rocks.
Aggressiveness
While plate corals are not considered aggressive, they are not the least bit docile. While they are not particularly aggressive, they can be quite vulnerable when fully expanded. Even so, other plate corals do not seem to mind touching them. In some instances, you can feed them by slipping medium-sized morsels under them. Frozen brine shrimp and mysis are both good options for feeding plate corals.
If you are looking to keep a reef tank for this species, you should avoid feeding them on rocks. Because they are physically delicate, it is best to add them later so new corals won’t accidentally fall on them. Also, avoid feeding plate corals if you plan to keep sleeper gobies around because their cast-off sand may cover them. While plate corals are compatible with most reef-safe animals, their extra activity can be tiring to them.
Sexual reproduction
Female plate corals have an unusual reproductive system. They undergo decalcification to reduce their size and produce smaller versions of themselves. These smaller versions are known as anthocauli, and they have a better chance of survival than the original. But how is sexual reproduction achieved? This article outlines the basic steps involved. Also, learn about some of the benefits of breeding these corals. You may be surprised to learn that they can reproduce without any help from humans!
Male and female plate corals reproduce sexually by spawning, while asexual reproduction occurs by producing polyp buds. The latter is similar to the anthocauli of other corals, but it does not cause the parent to shrink. Instead, it is a normal form of asexual reproduction. A flesh bud forms on the parent, grows a skeleton, and is pinched off to start life on its own.
Polyp buds
Placing Elegance coral on a sandy bed is ideal, but be careful not to let rocks scrape its tentacles. Its skeleton is typically cone-shaped and may be buried in the sand. Feed it a small amount of meaty food twice a week. The polyps of this coral grow on branching tubular stalks. Both Elegance coral and Candy Cane coral are easy to maintain, and they require little in the way of water flow and lighting.
The Fungia spp. coral is another excellent choice for plate coral feeding. These creatures have large mouths and tend to grow to a diameter of 12 inches. They are brown in color, with pink outer edges and sporadic patches of color. Polyp buds are the preferred food source of plate corals, because they grow so rapidly! The Fungia spp. coral is one of the most common types of plate corals.
