pocillopora?

[fishfanv]

once my new 40 is set up i was interested in possibly having 1 pocillopora. i have read that they're difficult to maintain. is this because they are filter feeders only? or is there some other reason?

currently i only have lps, mushrooms and softies in my 4 reef tanks (the 40 will be an additional tank but will house the derasa clam & 2 gonioporas that are in one of my other tanks). i have not yet ventured into sps. would the pocillopora be a good beginner sps? i haven't seen any other sps that i was even interested in, looks wise.

any helpful suggestions and advice about the idea of pocillopora for an sps newbie would be appreciated.

tia.

 

[MiddletonMark]

IMO, Pocillapora would be a great starter SPS - was one of mine.

Not sure why you heard they're hard to care for - except as all stony corals would be.

I'd think you could get a nice captive-grown one as well - I've got a great solid green one that colors easily in nearly all light I've put it in and while not a visibly fast-growing coral [though constantly growing] ... seems to have handled every placement I've given it in my tank.

 

[ReeferMac]

Ditto what Mark said... Great coral to try your hand at SPS with. They're fairly hardy, readily availble captive raised, and do well under a variety of conditions.
Be warned tho... not many resist the addiction once swung over to the dark side.

- Mac

 

[MIKE NY]

I have a few different colored Pocillopora Damicornis colonies in my tank. My brown/green is by far the hardiest one, even reproducing leaving little ones all over the tank, IMO it's a good SPS beginner coral.

 

[Rodness]

I have a 12g Nano DX with a frag of Pocillopora that was the size of my pinky tip. 1 Year later it has grown to the size of my fist. Hardy and always fuzzy with many small pink polyps. I occasionally direct feed it plankton.. but very rarely. It thrives on its own. Great SPS beginner for lower wattage systems.

 

[fishfanv]

that's great news! they have quite a few in my lfs, always seem to have them actually, so once the tank is ready to go i shouldn't have any problem getting 1.

i just did a little research and read that they were difficult to maintain but there wasn't any particular reason mentioned why. probably as middletonmark said, because they're sps, so are more particular of water quality than lps and softies.

another ? would dt's live phyto suffice for feeding the pocillopora? that's what i use to dose my tank for the derasa clam & gonioporas.

 

[vanmle]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6840909#post6840909 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rodness
I have a 12g Nano DX with a frag of Pocillopora that was the size of my pinky tip.

Did you keep it with the standard PC lighting that came with the cube or did you upgrade the lighting? I have a nice pink Pocillopora colony in my main tank and would love to transfer a frag to the nano.

 

[Wiskey]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6841347#post6841347 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by vanmle
Did you keep it with the standard PC lighting that came with the cube or did you upgrade the lighting? I have a nice pink Pocillopora colony in my main tank and would love to transfer a frag to the nano.

You have a nano? When did you get that?

Whiskey

 

[clkwrk]

Van even with the dx lights 2x24 I was able to keep very very nice color with an orange cap . So IMO pocci up top will be fine . You would be surprised how bright it is 2" under the water.

 

[ReeferMac]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6841319#post6841319 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishfanv
i just did a little research and read that they were difficult to maintain but there wasn't any particular reason mentioned why. probably as middletonmark said, because they're sps, so are more particular of water quality than lps and softies.

Yeah, likely because SPS in general are a bit harder than other hard corals, and soft corals alltogether. They are a finicky lot, no doubt, not unlike getting some delicate terrestrial plants to flower. As for feeding, gut analysis of SPS polyps has shown them to be obligate feeders, but primarily carnivorous. So in other words, the phyto won't help them directly, but will help feed the infauna they feed on. I wouldn't sweat it all that much at this point however. SPS can do surprisingly well in clean water with good light.

- Mac

 

[MiddletonMark]

What Mac said

Phyto doesn't seem to feed many stony corals - a few, but most don't seem to eat it.

 

[vanmle]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6841565#post6841565 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Wiskey
You have a nano? When did you get that?

Whiskey

I got it from Fliger about six months or so ago. Set up a reef tank for my 2 year old niece. She loves fish. She goes and checks it out when she wakes up in the morning. Right now, it has some mushrooms, a ricorida and a small frogspawn. I was thinking of adding some SPS for her.

 

[cutsupremetrib]

i love my bright red pocillopora

 

[mrkrispy]

i have a green poci at the top of my tank, right underneath the outflow of my HOB aquaclear. Does great and I have to prune it occasionally.
I wish it was more vibrant green, instead of green and yellow, but it probably just my nutrient level...

 

[calvinreef]

good beginner SPS, even color up in shady area in my tank.

 

[DocReefer]

I've kept these under PCs and halides they're universally happy.

 

[GatorReefman]

I have a pink poci that started out brown when I had pc's. It survived all kinds of calamities with my tank bc I lost several sps frags and even one colony. Now under metal halides, it has grown more and colored up pink. In your nano, I am not sure if it will keep it's color but it should survive.

 

[damienkee]

ya! pocci consider easy to keep n growing quite fast in sps. i have a pink pocci b4!
but i will recommand pavona & stylo for beginner ( easier & fast grower) at least for me they r....

 

[impur]

I have read so many of these threads about pocci corals being so easy to keep. I had a nice sized frag in my tank for about 2 months. It either spawned or had a polyp bailout episode. A month later it died. BUT! I had 5 new baby frags growing. They all grew to about 2-3", then all died. I've tried this coral 3 seperate times and everytime they die. I don't know why. But this is one of the very few corals i've had a hard time with.

I hope your experience is positive!

 

[Sk8r]

I had a fool of a scarlet hermit in a 2 inch fighting conch shell climb up atop my p'pora during the dark cycle---perched there like an eagle in a sparrow's nest when the light went on. Wish I'd gotten a picture of it. I was aghast: this is a new specimen: the p'pora, not the hermit---but the moment the coral put out its fluff as the light went on, the hermit bailed, so fast he landed upside down. And the p'pora is undamaged.