How to target feed LPS with agressive eaters in tank?

[pammy]

How do you keep aggressive eaters (fish, shrimp, etc) from stealing the food when you try to target feed your LPS ? The only LPS I really target feed, is my Sun Coral and my Duncan.
I have a Coral Beauty that just goes nuts trying to steal the food from the corals when I target feed them. I target feed the LPS as soon as I put food in the tank for the fish, but the CB still goes nuts trying to steal the food as I'm giving it to the Sun Coral and Duncan. He'll ignore the food in the tank to get whatever I'm putting on the coral from the turkey baster, even when it's the same food. I try to stand guard and bat him away, but nothing deters him, and he's not afraid at all. Very bold feisty fish! I've tried covering the coral with a tupperware container with holes poked in it, but I can't even get it on fast enough after I put the food on the coral with the CB. I also have 1 shrimp in the tank....a peppermint shrimp. He has taken up permanent residency next to the Duncan. He knows I feed it every other day, and I can feed the duncan mysis, and the duncan closes up and takes the food, but the shrimp goes digging inside the duncan to steal it away. I even feed the shrimp itself with the turkey baster, and he happily pulls the food right out of it, but the second I turn around, he's still digging in the Duncan to steal the food. I tried once pulling the Sun Coral out of the tank and put it in a tupperware with tank water, and some food, but it didn't really open up and take any. And it's kind of a pain since I have the sun coral and duncan in a nice spot on the rocks. Anyone have any other tricks that might help? I did see a video where someone fed their Anemone using 1.5" diameter tubing, and I thought if I could find a really wide tube, that could work. That Coral Beauty drives me crazy enough when I try to feed the corals that I have thought about bringing him back to the LFS, but boy is he hard to catch!! He is really beautiful though and he doesn't bother any of my corals other than stealing the food at feeding time. I don't have a problem with my other fish when feeding my LPS.

Thanks!
Pam

 

[roscoe]

You can use a small tuperware and drill small holes in it, so when you feed what ever lps you are feeding you can use the tuperware to keep it covered until it consumes the food before your shrimps can get to it.

 

[Ed Hahn]

http://www.aquacave.com/seasquirt-feeding-tubebr-by-kent-marine-1006.html

I recently saw a friend using one of these. They are great for target feeding corals.
You can put fish food inside them and shoot it directly at coral. I never saw it any easier.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

I have one of those and love it. Still need to cover some to protect against hungry carnivores

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Cut the bottom of a 2-liter pop bottle off about 2/3 way up from the bottom. Leave the cap off and put cut bottle over/around coral you're going to feed. Stick one of those thingies Ed Hahn linked to through the cap opening and feed away. Even pesky shrimp can't get in there.

 

[Anthony Calfo]

if you are really diligent about hand feeding, there are a range of tips and tricks. but most everyone gets tired/busy/lazy over time and the corals suffer (dwindle and may slowly starve to death over a year or even +2 before attrition wins). The scary part is you might not recognize the starvation happening. Hungry corals inflate their tissue larger to pan for more light from the reduction of organismal feeding ops. They look "fine" or even like they are "growing" despite being fed less.

The real issue here, to be blunt, is incompatibility. I recommend less aggressive motiles... or move the corals to a refugia where you can target feed them easier abnd more successfully, my friend.