Teach me Please!

[caldwellm]

hey guys!

So I have been keeping a FOWLR 55 gallon tank for about a year now, and it has gone swimmingly! I have really enjoyed my fish, and just recently- as many of you know- i aquired a 75 gallon tank. Before posting it for sale, i took most of the rock and coral and upgraded my 55 with it This was atleast 3 weeks ago, and all of the coral (and the one anemone) have been thriving!

I have no problems with how to feed, treat, or keep corals- i am simply curious about them! Before this aquisition, i had never really taken the time to learn about them, and so I know very little except how to keep them lol.

For example, when you guys are talking about Soft corals or Hard corals, I have no idea what the difference between the two is?

Anything you guys could teach me would be AMAZING! Thanks for taking the time to read guys!

God Bless and I look forward to seeing each of you at the meeting tuesday!

 

[blind1993]

well i say the dif between soft and hard corals is soft corals will feel and wave like grass or seaweed. also soft corals grow faster, need less lighting, and are much easier to keep.

hard corals are divided into 2 secitons.

1.sps (small polyp stony)

2. lps(large polyp stony)

both need very intense lighting and correct feeding. i would say u NEED metal halides or t5s to keep them. and all of them have to fed cetain things.

 

[caldwellm]

Someone should really tell my corals about those halide things... they seem to be thriving under a DIY home depot fixture and coral bulb!

 

[caldwellm]

Thank you for the quick layout of the differences though, very helpful!

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Michael,

If I could suggest a book for you it would be: http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Corals-Selection-Husbandry-Natural/dp/1890087483/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-5335886-3419159?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186931060&sr=8-1">http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Corals-Selection-Husbandry-Natural/dp/1890087483/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-5335886-3419159?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186931060&sr=8-1</a>

It is really hard to "teach" you about corals but this book starts at the basics and moves to the advanced pretty easy.

 

[mojo]

blind1993;67458 wrote: well i say the dif between soft and hard corals is soft corals will feel and wave like grass or seaweed. also soft corals grow faster, need less lighting, and are much easier to keep.

Umm... no. Just a note to everyone else- you CANNOT distinguish hard and soft corals this way. Many euphillia sp. (hammer, frogspawn) and other hard corals wave like grass, but are indeed hard corals.

The distinction between a hard and soft coral is the calcareous base (calcium based skeleton). Although it is true that some soft corals have calcium in their tissue, all hard corals are built upon a calcium framework of some kind.

 

[flyingarmy]

Also a great source for knowledge and previously answered questions is:

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