Question on a coral

[grendl]

Hey guys, I have been lookin at tanks here & there, kinda putting together some of the things I would like to see in my tank. I came across this pic when I was pricing base rock :

The pink & purple "stuff" in the middle of the tank really caught my eye, & I think I have it tracked down to being Montipora capricornis.. does that sound/look right to you guys?

Is this a difficult coral to tend? Does it require special attention?

 

[odoprelude]

It is an sps coral that will thrive under mh's, though I have heard it can survive under pc's (place up high, if so), Needs great water quality and good calcium levels. I have orange, green w/ purple rim, pink edged, and purple monti caps. I love them, but they can be touchy even though they are supposed to be hardier in comparision to other sps. I love mine and highly recommend them. They grow in a swirling pattern, so you need to be careful in setting them as they will shade the lower areas.

 

[MattG]

I think Chris summed it up pretty well.

I will add thats it's pretty tough to id past montipora. Might be capricornus but foliosa and others all look very similiar. I just call them plating/whirling montiporas. Typically a great starter SPS.

 

[firefish2020]

Will also add that this is one of the few SPS that can be kept successfully under PC lighting but it has to be a lot of wattage. I had a frag of purple rim green I got off of Cliff a few years back that thrived and colored up great under PC but it quickly bleached under halide. They seem very sensitive to chemical water chemistry changes and lighting changes, it also seems to me that the smaller the frag of these guys the better chance you have of getting a huge colony.

 

[grendl]

Sweet, thanks alot for the input guys. I really like the look of how it grows out into leaves/plates. Hopefully I can manage a piece of this one day!

 

[fishmon]

I have some orange I have had for a few years in various tanks, you could drop it on the floor, kick it around then glue it to a rock w/ elmers glue and it would live.

 

[grendl]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7226648#post7226648 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishmon
I have some orange I have had for a few years in various tanks, you could drop it on the floor, kick it around then glue it to a rock w/ elmers glue and it would live.

Hrm.... I am still not sure *I* could keep it alive. hehe

 

[H.crispa]

My 2 cents..... You CAN keep SPS under CFs quite successfully. However, by the time you cram a gazillion PCs into a hood, you could have done MH cheaper.

Also, my dad kept a few SPS under a fairly cheap PC setup in his 20 gallon reef for a couple years with fantastic growth etc. But he has a "wet thumb" and his lights were REALLY CLOSE to the rockwork and corals. Sometimes we do things we "can't do" just because we don't know we "can't".

All that said, progress in a way you are comfortable with and err on the side of caution. Now that I have stirred the pudding, let the beatings begin!

Oh boy. I'll just go ahead and go to time-out.:rolleye1:

 

[coralreefer]

Chris
Is the pink rim the frag I gave you a while back? If it is I may need to get a piece back from you

I have some orange I have had for a few years in various tanks, you could drop it on the floor, kick it around then glue it to a rock w/ elmers glue and it would live.

I had a partial tank crash week before last. Lost and losing several of my caps, along with other sps.
Of the three "types" of orange cap I have...Hiller, Playfair and fishmon's yours looks the best right now.