<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7923101#post7923101 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by phishlet
So anybody else have success with the Scleronepthea corals? Thanks for the comments reefnewbie but I'm not really inquiring about true dendros here. I'm hoping somebody has info about the Scleronepthea I pictured above.
If it's what I think it is (Umibenitosaka), I have an orange one. I have never seen the term Scleronepthea used here though, but classification is extremely fuzzy here, unless you are going by Japanese names. Here is a pic of the common orange one:
(pic courtesy of online corals guide)
They're extremely common here and considered "B" difficulty. "A" being easy and "C" being for experts. Many SPS are C and many carnations are C.
When I ordered mine, they forgot to pack it with ice, so the water was extremely hot when it arrived. I was pretty sure the thing was melted and not going to survive. At the very least, I thought I could keep the rock in my tank. So I stuck it in my tank, slimy as it was, near a powerhead, expecting nothing. (Mailorder company sent me a pineapple brain coral as an apology gift.)
It has not only recovered, but the polyps open nice and wide at night and when I put food in the tank. Granted, I haven't had it very long, but I'm amazed that it recovered at all. That water was hot by human standards, much less coral standards.
I also have one of these (birodo togetosaka):
(pic courtesy of random mail order co.)
Which is related to carnations (Togetosaka). Considered difficult, but it was on sale for less than $17 US dollars and very pretty, so I gave it a try. It has grown in my tank so far and actually though it came with no rock, it has rooted itself on the live rock I put it on and stands up straight by itself now.
Being that I'm quite the newb, I'm not sure how long I can keep either, but they're already doing pretty well. And everyone has different experiences with these ratings. Plenty of people do keep carnations here in Japan, but I think in general the attitudes on keeping stuff here is much laxer.