Is GSP and Xenia bad for SPS?

[eyedoc]

My LFS said my green star polyps and Xenia are among the worst softies that give off chemicals that are bad for sps in the tank. I heard about soft corals, especially leathers, but not GSP or Xenia. I never read anything especially sps unfriendly about GSP or xenia.
Is my LFS correct?

 

[The DOC]

GSP's bad...can keep em in same tank just don't let touch other sps...they are weeds! can get out of controll..I keep mine all in softy tanks..they are nice!

Xenia...I have NO softies in my 180 acro tank..BUT i keep a whole 30 gallons of xenia as a nateral filter plumbed into my main acro tank....xenia arn't bad for sps...(at least I think...?)...been doing this way for years...

Doc

 

[The DOC]

NEVER believe LFS employees...lol..well most...

Doc

 

[eyedoc]

So GSP and Xenia do NOT give off chemicals that are bad for SPS?

 

[dvanacker]

Not at all......the are however intrusive on SPS space. They are fast growers and you really have to watch placement and think long term if you are to keep them with SPS. Also they both can be really hard to get rid of if you decide as they always seem to find a way to survive.

 

[The DOC]

yes good advice from spongy!

Doc

 

[Serioussnaps]

whooaaaaaaa......GSP's are noxious to SPS...they CAN exist in the same tank....must moderate it though through carbon, heavy skimming, weekly water changes and lots of flow.......

xenia arent even noxious...however they succumb very easily to those that are like GSP's, leathers especially

This is why they get lumped into the same category---one succumbs easily and one is very noxious...GSP's very noxious...u can do it but I wont because i dont even want to risk it

 

[Serioussnaps]

Good job getting a second opinion from the LFS...they mostly are noobs..however there are some LFS folks that are very knowledgeable ..dont get me wrong

 

[dvanacker]

snaps ...I've never heard of anyone having a problem keeping SPS with GSP. I do it....and I never run carbon. Never had a problem either...at least I dont think its a problem.

 

[mikeatjac]

I agree GSP is not a good tank mate for SPS. GSP is very toxic. In a perfect SPS tank Xenia would have a hard time surving because of the low nutrient levels we seek in a SPS tank.

 

[dvanacker]

Ok....I thought GSP was just a bad with SPS because of the fact that they grow fast and can be evasive to SPS colonies. ARE THEY TOXIC to SPS?? ...I've never heard that before.

Anybody else??

 

[Amphiprion]

Both animals are capable of releasing noxious compounds to deter the growth of other corals. Some species are worse than others, but pretty much all Xenia sp. are capable of doing it. Overgrowth is another concern with GSP and Xenia sp., though it is the primary means of competition in GSP. If anything, Xenia sp. are more noxious in terms of allelopathy than GSP.

 

[Victoria]

I have all of the above. The GSP can be a pain as they grow so fast. They also sting my SPS. I just keep some on the sand bed and contain them there. Some SPS can tolarate GSP as my monti's do, I think its because they can out grow the GSP. As far as the Xenia goes they don't seem to bother my SPS except that they grow and shade some of my coral. I also keep them trimmed back. I do run carbon 24/7. I think I read once the Eric Boardman says that If you cut the Xenia it can release toxins.
Victoria
to see my tank see my gallery.

 

[addicted_2_reef]

I have all of the above in my 10 gal tank and have had no problems. I keep them all away from each other the best I can.

 

[jay24k]

I will have to completely disagree. I have had 0 issues and my growth is very high.

I have over 4 square feet of Xenia growing on my glass and I do have about a 7 inch diameter colony of GSP. Now I hate the GSP because of the pain they are on stopping their growth. However, they have never added any problems to my tank.

I have not run carbon mainly due to laziness in over 6 months and I would say probably 9.

Here is a pic from the middle of november of just one piece.

Here it is today on the right side only 7 months later. I moved it a little over as the coral is getting insanely big. I've also broken off about 4 to 5 large frags of it too.

Here is a blue tort that I got in the same time frame. If you look in the above pic near the yellow tang you can see it now. It's about 6 to 7" tall now with over 15 branches. I would say from a 3" frag in november to somewhere around 40 inches total.

This is an aticnic pic from January. Check out the slimer size which I broke a large piece off by accident and the green cap. You can kind of see pretty decent growth. I have a big patch of GSP on the other side segregated and I try my hardest to trim the right side with a butter knife lol but is a PITA.