Recommended "wavy" corals?

[kyley]

Hi All,
Perhaps an odd question, but most of the corals I've picked out to get for my tank don't move much with the flow (mushrooms, zoanthids, scolymia, brains, acans, etc.). What wavy corals that move around with the flow a lot would you recommend? I want to try to avoid corals that will spread like crazy throughout the tank. Here are some I've considered (and questions I have about them):
1. White / Pom Pom Xenia - I really like these, but leaning towards not getting them b/c this (and regular Xenia) sound like they spread throughout the tank quickly, can take over, and are hard to get rid of.
2. "Evergreen" Star Polyps - Will these spread throughout the tank or just around the rock they're on? I know they grow quickly...
3. Toadstool leather coral (maybe not real wavy, and I know it grows big / quickly, but I like it - it won't *spread* to other areas of the tank though, will it?)
4. Anchor / Hammer or Frogspawn Coral
5. Duncan? I haven't seen these in person - I assume they move quite a bit with the flow?
6. Does something like a Lemon Tree Coral flow?

What other corals would you recommend to add some movement to the tank? Thanks,
--Kyle

 

[sir_dudeguy]

I wouldnt recommend xenia unless you plan on liking a lot of it. IMO it looks cool with a lot of it...but it will take over.

Never heard of "evergreen" stars...

Correction...i just googled it lol. Its the same as regular star polyps IMO. There are a couple different types of stars...mostly just from different seas...but they're the same thing really. I have noticed that when i took my stars out of pc light and put them in t5's, the color improves greatly...so to me it just sounds like someone made the name cuz they had good color in them?

Sorry for the rant...green star polyps will spread rapidly...HOWEVER... if you keep them on their own secluded rock away from everything, they really dont have much choice but to stay put and look very nice covering a rock of their own.

Toadstools....possibly my absolute favorite soft coral, the greens in particular. If i can figure out my freakin photobucket password, i'll post some of my old toads lol. They grow quick under high lighting and high flow, but they dont spread through the tank like xenia does.

Hammer corals are probably next in line lol. Again, under the right conditions they can grow quick, but being that they're a stony coral, they're not gonna overrun a tank by any means.

Duncans dont really move a whole lot... the skirt part of them (or fingers/lashes/whatever the heck you wanna call it) move a little, but the entire coral does not really move (they're also a stony coral that branches).

Frogspawn is another good one. Oh, and i just remembered my favorite lol. Fiji yellow leather. Again, i'll post pics if i can.

For whatever you get, make sure you give it lots of good light and flow in order to get the best color and growth.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

 

[sir_dudeguy]

 

[sir_dudeguy]

well thats pretty much all the pictures i seem to have on my photobucket...i know i have newer ones that show a bit more growth and color, but there ya are for now i guess...

 

[gflat65]

Tree corals are good choices, too. Some grow more quickly than others (Colt's and Capnella near the top in growth, IME). I'm calling these Nephthea, but haven't looked under the hood yet.

Closed up neon green

More toads

Pulsing Sinularia

Some Xeniids are pretty cool, too. These have the capacity to overgrow a tank like other Xenia, but have been behaving. The shoot a runner off of the side and it attaches and takes off. Keep them away from things they can reach out and attach to trim them off when they start to run, and they aren't too bad. Anything with the ability to overgrow rock goes on it's own island, as sir dudeguy mentions.

 

[kyley]

Thanks for the great recommendations (and pictures!) everyone. I like the hammers and such, but due to their aggressiveness only have one spot to reserve for them. Since they are similar species, would they sting each other or leave each other alone? i.e., if I put hammer and torch coral to where they're almost touching in a corner of the tank, would they get along? Or destroy each other? Probably a dumb question, but if I don't ask, I won't know...

On the tree corals... "Stereonepthya" look like ones I'd like to consider. Would they spread to other areas of the tank (like Xenia and star polyps) or would they stick to the rock they're on? And would they sway in the current? I've only seen pictures - either of these - Lemon Tree Coral and Purple Passion Tree Coral.

Same questions for a "Capnella" variety - Neon Pineapple Tree Coral.

I looked at the "Pulsing Sinularia" - they look cool as well. Do they spread around the tank much / easily (like Xenia) or stay put? I'm pretty sure I'll get a toadstool leather of some sort. Thanks for your thoughts,
--Kyle

 

[jasonrp104]

Anthelia? (sp) Glove polyps is what I've always called them. They look like xenia, are easier to keep alive, and they don't seem to spread as fast. I've had a colony on a 5"x5" rock since feb and I've only had to frag once.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

your'e gonna get different answers with the hammers being aggressive. I've never had an issue. My hammer is touching a green toadstool and was previously touching a torch and a ricordia and i've never had any problems. I do find that running carbon seems to help though. I'm assuming it pulls out some of the chemical warfare going on.

 

[gflat65]

Foster and Smith say they are maintaining a mother colony and that they are photosynthetic, so they would seem to be a good choice. Many corals that bear a resemblance to those (striking colors and visible sclerites) are non photosynthetic, which don't do well in captivity (Dendronephthea, etc.). I'd plan to feed a little something to keep them flourishing, though.

 

[stevejrnc]

i also vote Anthelia brown is very common but if you look there is a red sea purple very long wavy coral

yellow colony polyp or yellow star i think cant remember once they mature they become very long and wavy plus they are yellow

 

[crank2211]

I think duncans look great in any tank and are quite easy. Mine are kind of big during the day and sway nicely in medium flow.

 

[Crustman]

Anthellia and yellow polyps wave like crazy. My Galaxea is constantly in motion and extends sweepers.

 

[Roadkillstewie]

Colt, Kenya's.. Nephthea(sp?) are pretty good... kenya's I think can occasional toss/frag a piece off and start growing somewhere else.

Anthelia... personaly I found it to grow/spread faster than xenia, the short stalk xenia seems (for me ) to grow/spread the slowest.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

xenia growth has a lot to do with placement in the tank. They grow towards the light...meaning if you start it at a low point in the tank, its going to work its way all the way up your rock to the top, leaving babies behind and thus creating a forest.

But i've found that if you think ahead of it and place it where its going to go anyways....problem solved...slightly. YOu're still gonna get a bit of spread everywhere, but it will be much slower and they tend to just brake off the longer branches which you can pull out, rather than spread on the rock