List of soft corals that could cause problems to SPS

[robrich342]

Does anyone have a list of soft coral NOT to have in a tank with SPS and LPS ?

Thanks

 

[Allmost]

they are all safe to have .... as long as you run GAC to over come any chemical war ... and not place them too close to each other so they can sting.

 

[MammothReefer]

eh, it's all relative to your husbandry and your rock work. I personally try not to have any softies in an sps tank. They will either cause you a headache w/chemical warfare, sting or eventually smoother your acros...but other people have had success combining them. I've tried it a few times and it never works out.

 

[deezmarine]

zoos are about the only thing i have in my sps tank, i even have some of them growing on some of sps

 

[battplus]

I run a mixed tank with a lot of success. Just run carbon in a reactor and stick to a regular water change schedule.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Does anyone have a list of soft coral NOT to have in a tank with SPS and LPS ?

Sinularia dura
Sinularia dura
Sinularia dura

 

[Brian Chong]

I have only one softie, a tree coral and it stung the crap out of one of my acros. bye bye tree coral

 

[aurora]

I have a mixed tank. Lots of SPS. I also have 3 different types of sinularia (green, red and tan), big mat of green star polyps on the sand, Tonga mushrooms (blue and red), several lps such as acan, trach, elagance. The key is to provide plenty of space for your corals and keep them separated. Most of my softies and LPS are on the sandbed and does not come close to my sps. The other key is to keep a nice balance of nutrient to keep both the sps and softies happy.

Personally, I think keeping a nice mixed tank is more challenging than a pure sps tank since the nutrient balance can be quite delicate.

 

[NYCBOB]

xenia is bad. they will grow everywhere and smother the sps. the worst purchase i have ever made.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

xenia is bad. they will grow everywhere and smother the sps. the worst purchase i have ever made.

some suggestions

Xenia can be a great indicator species.
"Clean up" your water and Xenia will not thrive.
Go after organics, nitrates, phosphates etc.
Aluminum based (white colored) PO4 remover can be extremely effective in getting rid of Xenia.

Sinularia doesn't need to actually touch other corals to affect them.

research allelopathy

 

[DopeCantWin]

xenia is bad. they will grow everywhere and smother the sps. the worst purchase i have ever made.

I had pretty much my whole tank taken over. I started using it to get store credit and just giving it away to people. I've now gotten rid of most of it by doing water changes and an MP60 for flow.

 

[thebanker]

Would you say that all species of sinularia are aggressive, allelopathically? Or mainly sinularia dura?

 

[SPSEMPIRE]

All soft corals can propose a potential threat to SPS corals. After years, they will easily take over stony corals. Stay away from all leathers, xenia, and even a lot of zoanthids. LPS tend to be a little bit easier to keep in an sps system.

 

[SPSEMPIRE]

Personally, I think keeping a nice mixed tank is more challenging than a pure sps tank since the nutrient balance can be quite delicate.

+1 You notice a lot more growth in an SPS only system.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Would you say that all species of sinularia are aggressive, allelopathically? Or mainly sinularia dura?

yes and yes

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

All soft corals can propose a potential threat to SPS corals. After years, they will easily take over stony corals. Stay away from all leathers, xenia, and even a lot of zoanthids. LPS tend to be a little bit easier to keep in an sps system.

whether they're softies or stonies, different coral species propose a threat to each other. If you manipulate environmental conditions to favor them, stony corals can overtake softies.