With so many feeding options are you sure you’re giving your corals exactly what they need?
If you want your corals to thrive grow be colorful and resilient to changes
Here’s some food for thought
Hi guys and welcome to Red Sea Insights about coral nutrition
The vast majority of corals are considered “photosynthetic” because they
host millions of Zooxanthellae algae inside their soft tissue
They have a symbiotic relationship
The symbiotic relationship is simple
Zooxanthellae are photosynthetic algae that use light as an energy source
They metabolize Carbon Dioxide Nitrogen and Phosphorus
which are waste products from the coral
In return the Zooxanthellae provide the coral with their photosynthetic byproducts:
Carbohydrates
Amino acids
Fatty acids
And vitamins
All of which are coral nutrients
But photosynthetic corals need more energy than these algae can provide
The Zooxanthellae provide up to 85% of the corals’ energy needs
so it’s up to us to supplement the remaining 15%
In fact in most cases we need to provide more than 15% of the corals’ energy needs
Why?
Because we all want amazing colors!
While the Zooxanthellae provide vital energy to the coral
in high densities they also shade the coral’s pigments
So to get more vivid colors
we need to reduce the density of the Zooxanthellae algae
We do that by reducing the levels of Nitrate and Phosphate in the water which are the algae nutrients
But less Zooxanthellae means less energy available to the coral
That means we need to compensate for the energy loss
In the case of “non-photosynthetic” corals like Gorgonians or Sun Corals
that don’t have any Zooxanthellae
we’ll need to cater to 100% of their nutritional needs
So you want to give your corals the exact coral nutrients
they would have gotten from the Zooxanthellae
for them to grow faster thrive and be more resilient
Our long-term research found that corals need four specific carbohydrates
which they use to synthesize amino acids
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins
including chromo proteins or in other words pigments
That’s what we’re all after- color!
Fatty acids are used as a fuel source and building blocks of cell structures
And last but not least vitamins
Vitamins are essential because they play an important role as precursors in many biological processes
So now that we know which nutritional components we need to supply
let’s talk about maximizing the energy corals get from the food
Research has shown that corals absorb nutrients in the most elementary form
commonly referred to as building blocks through their entire soft tissue
To optimize consumption they inflate and expand their surface area or polyps
These simple building blocks come from dissolved organic matter
or particulate matter that is usually decomposed and broken down
by bacteria and other marine organisms
Decomposition also applies to the occasional capture of solid particles by their tentacles
like frozen live or dry food
which require a lot of energy and some luck
Reef Energy Plus delivers the complete and exact nutritional components
needed by Soft LPS SPS and non-photosynthetic corals
in the form of simple building blocks
That means they’re ready for immediate coral consumption
providing the highest energetic efficiency
since the corals don’t need to break them down to use them
Every single component of Reef Energy Plus is used up
The corals use them for metabolic processes
such as coral protein production and soft tissue regeneration
The result is that there’s no residual waste
So it’s not going to spike up your Nitrate and Phosphate
and cause an algae outbreak
And a fun fact
Reef Energy Plus delivers an even faster growth rate
than the previous two-part formula
Now between you and me
I love seeing my corals catch a larger pray
like a juicy piece of shrimp
But let’s face it It’s like giving candy to your kid
We can do it once in a while
as long as the rest of the time
we give them exactly what they need
Check out the Tips and Tricks video about how to make the most out of your Reef Energy Plus
Comment below if you have any questions or suggestions
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Thanks for watching!