Corals gone Wild! Jin's guide to coral on coral interaction.
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Stylophora spp. vs. Everyone - From all indications these guys are pansies and lose from interaction with any SPS or LPS or nems. They're beautiful and a must have for any serious SPS keeper, but you have to keep an eye on them as they just don't seem to have much of a defense against anything and succumb easily. They are in essence the French of the SPS world...
Porites spp. vs. Acropora spp., Montipora spp. - Porites are an interesting genus of SPS and are most commonly seen as christmas tree rocks or as Porites cylindrica in yellow/green. True yellows are fairly hard to find amongst corals so the really bright yellow porites are wonderful to behold in a reef tank. I feel they are a must have for any well color balanced tank. Anyways, acros definitely win in any battles with the porites but the porites win in any battles with the montis. So acros > porites > montipora.
Clavuria spp. vs Acropora spp., Porites spp., Pocilipora spp, Seriatopora spp.- Clavuria is known commonly as clove polyps, these guys look like a cross between zoas and xenia as they have the look of xenia but with interesting coloration. They also grow fairly quickly and can be somewhat invasive although they are easy to detach from rock. It either has a negative effect on the SPS it comes into contact with or none at all. As such, I've seen it kill Pocilipora and Acropora but it has no effect on Seriatopora or Porites. I have yet to witness its effect on Montipora.
Hydnophora spp. vs. Everyone - Hydnos are interesting SPS with unique polyp structures called... surprise... hydnophores. These guys have a very potent sting and should be given wide berth from most of your SPS. They have a cool growth pattern though and an interesting "skin". Oddly enough, I've seen Acropora Millepora defeat a Hydno in close combat in Schwagg's tank. I've also seen Hydno kept at bay by LPS with long sweepers in Doug's tank. They're excellent SPS and relatively easy to keep for an SPS but you must be careful where you put em.
Discosoma spp. vs. Everyone - Discosoma include all sorts of disc anemones that we commonly call mushrooms and rics. They are pretty fiesty and can handle just about any other coral they come into contact with. I've seen them kill candy canes LPS and all manner of SPS. Typical interaction in tanks occurs where the Discosoma will slowly spread over the surface of the rock and slowly but surely kill things with in their path from the bottom up. However, many LPS can fend off their advances if their sweepers can reach the discosoma. I've seen frogspawn and galaxia in particular destroy mushrooms and rics with their sweepers. It's all about range when it comes to successful coral warfare. Zoanthus spp. appear to be unphased from Discsoma spp. but some zoanthus can be denied light and flow by the larger growing discsoma. Although Discsoma are sometimes commonly called disc anemones, make no mistake that they will get destroyed by real deal anemones. I thought they might have some sort of natural protection against anemone stings but in fact the anemone never even flinched while delivering death blows to a nearby mushroom.
Sarcophyton spp. vs Everyone - It is generally accepted that leathers fight each other and other corals with chemical warfare. As such they don't have any direct method of defense which makes them susceptible to just about every stinging coral out there. They are rather resilient though and can take quite a pounding and still be just fine. Mine get stung from BTAs, Hammers, and all manner of SPS without meeting its maker. Of course some corals will sting it harder than others and there is limit to its resiliency. As for their chemical warfare, I'm very sceptical as to how potent they really are reported to be. I have a mixed reef with 3 different types of leathers and lots of SPS, LPS, Zoathus and clams. I do run carbon on a limited basis. You would think though that if a leather really used potent chemical warfare in the great open ocean that it would be 1000x more effective in a small closed environment. So either they're pretty bad at chemical warfare or that carbon does a bang up job! Perhaps their toxins get skimmed out? Who knows... It's my opinion that they don't adversely effect SPS or LPS or anything for that matter.
Acanthastrea spp. vs Everyone - There are many different types of acans and even those in the same genus can and will kill neighboring acans of another species. Like most of these lessons, I learned this the hard way as I lost quite a bit of an Acan echinata to a neighboring Acan lord. Acans are also closely related to Micromussa but will also readily eat those when given the opportunity. Acans like most other corals are non aggressive to those of the same species and will not harm/eat each other. Dawgdude also reported that he witnessed an Acan lord strip an Acropora Milli down to the bone but oddly enough I've seen an Acan lord get killed by an Acropora Efflo. My acans also come in to contact with leathers and sponges with no ill-effects.
Euphyllia spp. vs Everyone - This genus includes the much loved frogspawn, hammer, and torch corals. They all look somewhat similar but some are more aggressive than others. I would say that torches are the most aggressive followed by hammers and then frogspawns. I base this simply off my observation of the appearance of sweeper tentacles. The longer the sweeper and the more active it is with the sweeper, the more likely neighboring corals are going to get killed. I've had some frogspawns for years but never see a sweeper and I also had a torch and hammer who would release the sweeper with regularity. I'm always very careful in positioning this coral and recommend you watch it at night to determine how far its sweeper's can reach. Keep SPS of all sorts away from that range as I've yet to find one that can withstand the stings. It doesn't seem to have much of an impact on Zoanthus though as they merely close up when touched and will open again the following morning. BTA interaction is interesting as the Eyphyllias seem to be able to hold their own against the advances of a BTA.
Final Note:
Some of the information above are based off heresay, so please take this info with a big grain of salt and realize that your results may vary. However, the vast majority of the information is from my personal observations over the years. All these observations were learning experiences that unfortunately resulted in the damage or death of many a coral. I hope that this document can help give you some guidance on coral placement and some insight into their interactions. Hopefully you won't make the same mistakes I did
.
Porites spp. vs. Acropora spp., Montipora spp. - Porites are an interesting genus of SPS and are most commonly seen as christmas tree rocks or as Porites cylindrica in yellow/green. True yellows are fairly hard to find amongst corals so the really bright yellow porites are wonderful to behold in a reef tank. I feel they are a must have for any well color balanced tank. Anyways, acros definitely win in any battles with the porites but the porites win in any battles with the montis. So acros > porites > montipora.
Clavuria spp. vs Acropora spp., Porites spp., Pocilipora spp, Seriatopora spp.- Clavuria is known commonly as clove polyps, these guys look like a cross between zoas and xenia as they have the look of xenia but with interesting coloration. They also grow fairly quickly and can be somewhat invasive although they are easy to detach from rock. It either has a negative effect on the SPS it comes into contact with or none at all. As such, I've seen it kill Pocilipora and Acropora but it has no effect on Seriatopora or Porites. I have yet to witness its effect on Montipora.
Hydnophora spp. vs. Everyone - Hydnos are interesting SPS with unique polyp structures called... surprise... hydnophores. These guys have a very potent sting and should be given wide berth from most of your SPS. They have a cool growth pattern though and an interesting "skin". Oddly enough, I've seen Acropora Millepora defeat a Hydno in close combat in Schwagg's tank. I've also seen Hydno kept at bay by LPS with long sweepers in Doug's tank. They're excellent SPS and relatively easy to keep for an SPS but you must be careful where you put em.
Discosoma spp. vs. Everyone - Discosoma include all sorts of disc anemones that we commonly call mushrooms and rics. They are pretty fiesty and can handle just about any other coral they come into contact with. I've seen them kill candy canes LPS and all manner of SPS. Typical interaction in tanks occurs where the Discosoma will slowly spread over the surface of the rock and slowly but surely kill things with in their path from the bottom up. However, many LPS can fend off their advances if their sweepers can reach the discosoma. I've seen frogspawn and galaxia in particular destroy mushrooms and rics with their sweepers. It's all about range when it comes to successful coral warfare. Zoanthus spp. appear to be unphased from Discsoma spp. but some zoanthus can be denied light and flow by the larger growing discsoma. Although Discsoma are sometimes commonly called disc anemones, make no mistake that they will get destroyed by real deal anemones. I thought they might have some sort of natural protection against anemone stings but in fact the anemone never even flinched while delivering death blows to a nearby mushroom.
Sarcophyton spp. vs Everyone - It is generally accepted that leathers fight each other and other corals with chemical warfare. As such they don't have any direct method of defense which makes them susceptible to just about every stinging coral out there. They are rather resilient though and can take quite a pounding and still be just fine. Mine get stung from BTAs, Hammers, and all manner of SPS without meeting its maker. Of course some corals will sting it harder than others and there is limit to its resiliency. As for their chemical warfare, I'm very sceptical as to how potent they really are reported to be. I have a mixed reef with 3 different types of leathers and lots of SPS, LPS, Zoathus and clams. I do run carbon on a limited basis. You would think though that if a leather really used potent chemical warfare in the great open ocean that it would be 1000x more effective in a small closed environment. So either they're pretty bad at chemical warfare or that carbon does a bang up job! Perhaps their toxins get skimmed out? Who knows... It's my opinion that they don't adversely effect SPS or LPS or anything for that matter.
Acanthastrea spp. vs Everyone - There are many different types of acans and even those in the same genus can and will kill neighboring acans of another species. Like most of these lessons, I learned this the hard way as I lost quite a bit of an Acan echinata to a neighboring Acan lord. Acans are also closely related to Micromussa but will also readily eat those when given the opportunity. Acans like most other corals are non aggressive to those of the same species and will not harm/eat each other. Dawgdude also reported that he witnessed an Acan lord strip an Acropora Milli down to the bone but oddly enough I've seen an Acan lord get killed by an Acropora Efflo. My acans also come in to contact with leathers and sponges with no ill-effects.
Euphyllia spp. vs Everyone - This genus includes the much loved frogspawn, hammer, and torch corals. They all look somewhat similar but some are more aggressive than others. I would say that torches are the most aggressive followed by hammers and then frogspawns. I base this simply off my observation of the appearance of sweeper tentacles. The longer the sweeper and the more active it is with the sweeper, the more likely neighboring corals are going to get killed. I've had some frogspawns for years but never see a sweeper and I also had a torch and hammer who would release the sweeper with regularity. I'm always very careful in positioning this coral and recommend you watch it at night to determine how far its sweeper's can reach. Keep SPS of all sorts away from that range as I've yet to find one that can withstand the stings. It doesn't seem to have much of an impact on Zoanthus though as they merely close up when touched and will open again the following morning. BTA interaction is interesting as the Eyphyllias seem to be able to hold their own against the advances of a BTA.
Final Note:
Some of the information above are based off heresay, so please take this info with a big grain of salt and realize that your results may vary. However, the vast majority of the information is from my personal observations over the years. All these observations were learning experiences that unfortunately resulted in the damage or death of many a coral. I hope that this document can help give you some guidance on coral placement and some insight into their interactions. Hopefully you won't make the same mistakes I did
.Jin,
I know you have the different variations of the candy canes and have said that one actually ate one of the others. I think it was the kryptonite that turned out to be very aggressive, but I can't remember for sure. I must be getting older... I don't want to make the same mistake. Thanks! Mike
I know you have the different variations of the candy canes and have said that one actually ate one of the others. I think it was the kryptonite that turned out to be very aggressive, but I can't remember for sure. I must be getting older... I don't want to make the same mistake. Thanks! Mike
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LOL. Sorry bout the delay. The kryptonite actually played nice with the other candy canes. The blue one, pink one, and kryptonite would all play nice with no worries. It was the purplish one with the very bright green center that would digest its neighbor candy canes... One of these is not like the others...
Great Thread.
A few to add:
Galaxia vs Monti Digi - Both perished.
Tri-Color Validia vs Monti Cap - TriColor wins but the monti cap just bleaches out a tad bit at the point of sting and survives and thrives fine.
Hammer vs Finger Leather - Finger Leather gets zapped but it doesn't seem to bother it. It survives and thrives and the hammer is unphased.
Thanks again for this thread.
Matt
A few to add:
Galaxia vs Monti Digi - Both perished.
Tri-Color Validia vs Monti Cap - TriColor wins but the monti cap just bleaches out a tad bit at the point of sting and survives and thrives fine.
Hammer vs Finger Leather - Finger Leather gets zapped but it doesn't seem to bother it. It survives and thrives and the hammer is unphased.
Thanks again for this thread.
Matt
Acanthastrea echinata vs. Acanthastrea lordhowensis - Keep them a good distance apart. A. echinata is vicious and will take out A. lordhowensis without much of a fight.
OK, clearly, many corals fight a lot. Check.
But what I don't understand is distance/spacing. Does this mean you shouldn't keep these corals together in the same tank or you should separate them by _______ inches/feet in the tank?
For instance, in this picture, the (new, angry) leather is about 7 inches above the frogspawn; about 4 inches separating them vertically.
Should I move the frogspawn? Should I take the frogspawn out and put it back in the 30 instead of this tank?
I'm just totally lost as to how to place them.
But what I don't understand is distance/spacing. Does this mean you shouldn't keep these corals together in the same tank or you should separate them by _______ inches/feet in the tank?
For instance, in this picture, the (new, angry) leather is about 7 inches above the frogspawn; about 4 inches separating them vertically.
Should I move the frogspawn? Should I take the frogspawn out and put it back in the 30 instead of this tank?
I'm just totally lost as to how to place them.
As you can tell from the thread, a lot of times it's trial and error. Frogspawn and hammers can have pretty long feeders that come out. Watch around feeding time and right after lights out, you should see one or two moving out farther than the rest. That should give you some idea of the range.
My frogspawn doesn't seem that aggressive. I have a branching octopus frogspawn about two inches below a really pink pocci and it hasn't bothered it yet. My bigger piece of fspawn is about four inches away from hammer, and five away from a birdsnest, neither have interacted yet. Probably because the leather is egging it on, is my guess. Try moving it near a less aggressive coral.
My frogspawn doesn't seem that aggressive. I have a branching octopus frogspawn about two inches below a really pink pocci and it hasn't bothered it yet. My bigger piece of fspawn is about four inches away from hammer, and five away from a birdsnest, neither have interacted yet. Probably because the leather is egging it on, is my guess. Try moving it near a less aggressive coral.
Frogspawn vs BTA
I have a GBTA that moved next to a Frogspawn. Whenever their tentacles touched the GBTA would snap back so I figured the Frogspawn had the stronger sting, however over time the GBTA kept doing it and eventually the head of the Frogspawn started shortening its tentacles. I separated them but that head of the Frogspawn died anyway. So seemingly the Frogspawn was winning the battles but lost the war.
I have a GBTA that moved next to a Frogspawn. Whenever their tentacles touched the GBTA would snap back so I figured the Frogspawn had the stronger sting, however over time the GBTA kept doing it and eventually the head of the Frogspawn started shortening its tentacles. I separated them but that head of the Frogspawn died anyway. So seemingly the Frogspawn was winning the battles but lost the war.
Galaxea vs Mushroom
I have a rogue rhodactis mushroom on the bottom of my 120G that I didn't want there so I moved a Galaxea right on top of it figuring the Galaxea would take care of it. After a few days I noticed the mushroom peeking out from under the Galaxea and the heads of the Galaxea touching it had died. It looks like the Galaxea could win from a distance but looses in close in fighting.
I have a rogue rhodactis mushroom on the bottom of my 120G that I didn't want there so I moved a Galaxea right on top of it figuring the Galaxea would take care of it. After a few days I noticed the mushroom peeking out from under the Galaxea and the heads of the Galaxea touching it had died. It looks like the Galaxea could win from a distance but looses in close in fighting.
I have some ORA Silver Xenia that keeps growing into a toadstool and an acan. Nothing closes up, nothing seems lost. Been doing it for a few weeks now, I keep expecting something bad to happen but keep leaving it to see if it can live in harmony.
Matt
Matt
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