Feeding Zoanthids
Zoanthids and Palythoas typically receive all the nutrition they need from your aquariums lighting, however, many Zoanthids and Palythoas thrive with some meaty foods added to their diet. Feeding them often leads to improved colors and quicker multiplication. It is likely that they are receiving supplemental nutrition from uneaten fish food and the excrement produced by your fish, but we have found that target feeding your Zoanthids and Palythoas two or three times a week can lead to some amazing results.
Probably the best thing to feed your Zoanthids and Palythoas is cyclop eez. The cyclop eez is very small and easy for your Zoanthids and Palythoas to catch and eat. We like to turn off the pumps and power heads in my system when feeding cyclop eez to my polyps. It is important to remember to restart the flow about a half hour later.
We've also had a lot of success feeding Formula One Marine Pellets in the small size. These have a high protein content and neutral buoyancy which makes them very easy to target feed to individual Zoanthid or Palythoa polyps.
There are some downsides to target feeding your Zoanthids and Palythoas. The first is the extra nutrients that you are adding to your water. Any food that goes uneaten will break down and could possibly foul your water. If you are feeding your Zoanthids and Palythoas you should ensure that your filtration is sufficient and a good protein skimmer and phosphate removal media is highly recommended.
A second problem that you may face when target feeding your Zoanthids and Palythoas is that your fish may begin to see the polyps as an easy source of food. Your fish will try to steal food from the Zoanthids and Palythoas and may develop a habit of picking at the polyps throughout the day. This may irritate the polyps and cause your Zoanthids and Palythoas to stay closed. We've avoided this problem by feeding the fish frozen brine shrimp at the same time I target feed my Zoanthids and Palythoas. We have found that if I can keep the fish busy and with full bellies they are less likely to try and steal the small bits of food given to the polyps.
