Frogspawn

[Tennyson]

Hey everyone. Frogspawn area all time favorite coral, I just can't find a nice one around here. Anyways, before I buy one, I want to know everything there is to know about their care. I already know they need calcium, but what else is there to know? I want to know about lighting, will they do good under 90 watt lighting in the middle of the tank? How much flow do they need? What foods do they need to be fed?

In the case of when nitrates are high (5-20 ppm) are they ok with these levels? And if a commensal is bought and lives in it (sexy shrimp) will the frogspawn be ok with them hosting, if the shrimp get hungry, will they snack on it?

thanks for everything, feel free to include other information or pics of frogspawn.

 

[sardonicscorpio]

I love my frogspawn...and so do my clowns. They take turns hosting the frogspawn and hammer.

Very easy to care for, mine was most happy high under pcs. It didn't like my 150w halide. I have it under T5s now and its happy. Grows about 1 head every 3-4 months. I feed it cyclopeeze and mysis a couple times a week when I feed the rest of the tank. Yours should do fine, its just a matter of finding a spot that they like. You do want to get your nitrates down to zero before adding anything.

<a href="http://s189.photobucket.com/albums/z68/sardonicscorpio/tank/?action=view&current=IMG_1476.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z68/sardonicscorpio/tank/IMG_1476.jpg" border="0" alt="clown n euphyllia"></a>

 

[Tennyson]

Thanks sardonicscorpio! How bad is there stinging on other corals? What if just the edges of their branches are touching another coral a little when the current blows it? And would feeding them silverside pieces be ok instead of mysid or both?

 

[sapphiredonna]

sardonicscorpio -- I've got some frogspawn I'd love to grow, not just maintain. I've got two questions:
1. how big is your tank and how strong are your lights?
2. do you dose your tank for anything (calcium, etc.)?

thanks!

 

[sardonicscorpio]

I had it under 2x96w PCs (which it loved but grew SLOW), 150w halide (which it hated, both 10k and 14k), and now under 4x39w T5s, which it seems happiest under. I dose calcium, kalkwasser (my alk is around 11, a little high but better than too low), and I spot feed it cyclopeeze once a week with th rest of my corals. It wont take silversides, but loves mysis etc. Both of my clowns host in it, and luckily they dont beat the crap out of it, but they do keep it from inflating as much as it used to. The pic above is early in the morning, after I turned lights on. In the afternoons its at least twice that big.

 

[sunfish11]

They are very hardy but will sting the heck out of anything close to it. Keep them away from other coral for sure. The only thing I have seen touch a frogspawn and win out is an elagance coral so far. They will be fine with a little nitrate so don't worry about 5-20 ppm for frogspawn. I don't target feed mine but you can. They grow like crazy. Mine are under 3 X 250 watt 10K MH in a 210 gal tank. I have gone from one head to 12 in a year. They are in pretty good random current as well.

Lisa

 

[Tennyson]

Thanks, I just found an lfs that carries neon green frogspawn's very often and found one with two heads for $36! I really wanted to buy it but held back to check here on what a healthy one looks like.

So what does a healthy branching frogspawn look like? The one at the lfs had a little bit of white skeleton showing so I was uncertain about buying it. What should I look for when frogspawn shopping? Any bad signs on the tentacles or branches to look for? Any good signs to look for like color or tentacles ect?

Thanks

 

[kawicivic]

White skeleton is usually a sign of receding. Not always terrible if your tank is stable and in good condition it should be fine.... although healthy specimens are always better to start with. My frogspawn has gone from 2 or 3 heads to at least 10 heads in about 6 or 7 months. With that being said its branches have not grown up huge they are coming along. I keep it out of direct flow and would say that moderate flow and lighting are needed. I keep mine in mid tank. I bought mine for $20 at a swap. Sorry I dont have any very good pictures of it though. All are old and not very close up on it. good luck with your search.

O yea... stinging.... frogspawn will sting other corals but can touch hammers or other frogspawn. If you like frogspawns you might like torch corals too (although nice ones are hard to find...) but they pack an even worse sting!! here is a picture of mine:

{disclaimer: new tank and not against glass so all of that algae is gone... }

 

[Tennyson]

Nah, I'm not into Torche's that much, but thanks anyways. I would go with a hammer coral, Its just that there are about 6 other lps corals that I want to get so I need room in my 46 gal. But very nice Torch Coral, I've never seen one with green tentacles.

You said they have a really strong sting, is it that bad that gloves should be worn when handling them?

And how much calcium do they need. Around 400 ppm to 500 ppm should be good and make it grow really fast right? I'll have to find a way to raise it. My levels are around 350-410, but I'm not sure. Thanks anyways.

 

[kawicivic]

as long as you maintained those levels you should be fine.... from what I hear 450 ppm is premium but I know mine is not that high.

I have never had any effects from a coral *knocks on wood* but the torch starts to show effects on other corals even if it just brushes them a few times. I have never let my frogspawn touch anything so I can't really say anything about it. the torch is more difficult because it lets out sweeper and feeder tentacles more.