Softies & LPS living together?
- Thread starter HPiranha
- Start date
Lpsfanatic338
New member
A lot of people house softies and lps together. Never heard of the "mysterious chemical."
Jive Turkey
New member
It is very true. Sometimes referred to as "chemical warfare or competition", or known as allelopathy.
MCsaxmaster
New member
Yeah, do a search on allelopathy. Very well documented and very real. If you want to see a Euphyllia spp. deteriorate before your eyes, just put a little bit of Sarcophyton in a blender and add it to the tank.
Chris
Chris
wld1783
Premium Member
Carbon, ozone, frequent water changes and dont put your Sarcophyton in a blender and you'll do fine. IMHO allelopathy is a problem when space is scarce. As long as you have a large enough tank you should have no problems with LPS and Softies...Some SPS may be a different story.
Bill
Bill
MCsaxmaster
New member
Acropora commonly grow next to Sarcophyton, Lobophytum, Cladiella, etc. in nature. Euphyllia rarely if ever does. That isn't mere coincidence. The terms "lps" and "sps" are totally and utterly useless when talking about tolerances, behavior, requirements, etc. Actually, they're totally useless terms for anything I can think of.
Everything mentioned certainly helps, but sometimes corals will not coexist no matter what one does. Typically the dwell times for water on reefs is only a few hours yet allelopathy works very well there. Do we really think we're going to undo these interactions with meager water change schedules, activated carbon, etc.? I really doubt it, though we might be able to create an analog of nature by using these methods.
Chris
Everything mentioned certainly helps, but sometimes corals will not coexist no matter what one does. Typically the dwell times for water on reefs is only a few hours yet allelopathy works very well there. Do we really think we're going to undo these interactions with meager water change schedules, activated carbon, etc.? I really doubt it, though we might be able to create an analog of nature by using these methods.
Chris
brettandlyndi
New member
I've got a bunch of softies and LPS living together in my 55 for almost a year now. Just make sure not to place softies and LPS right next to eachother, and they should be fine.
brettandlyndi
New member
I haven't seen or maintained anything but the 55, but I wouldn't see a problem with adding a torch coral as long as you give it some room. Torch corals are beautiful, but they develop very long sweeper tentacles that can sting other corals.
My current tank is about 24x18x18. So, when you say "very long sweeper tentacles", just how long do you mean? I have an are on one side of the tank that has moderate flow. If I put it there (as opposed to right in the middle of the tank), wouldn't this effective cut its reach in half? I'm interested in keeping a torch, but I'm even more interested in giving good care/living conditions to those animals already under my care.
zukihara
New member
Is there an LPS that is more nasty than a torch?
Some LPS are just much more aggressive than others. A 2 foot sweeper from some lps would not be uncommon. But that doesn't mean it's going to kill what it's touching with a sweeper like a Vulcan death grip.
Although, honestly, I won't get a torch because of the aggressiveness that doesn't mean jack to you. Get the smallest frag of one you can find, set it with room to grow and go for it. If it gets unruly, you will have time to react imho.
Also, look on this site for pics of torches and I'm sure you will see how others have positioned them with regard to other corals.
Some LPS are just much more aggressive than others. A 2 foot sweeper from some lps would not be uncommon. But that doesn't mean it's going to kill what it's touching with a sweeper like a Vulcan death grip.
Although, honestly, I won't get a torch because of the aggressiveness that doesn't mean jack to you. Get the smallest frag of one you can find, set it with room to grow and go for it. If it gets unruly, you will have time to react imho.
Also, look on this site for pics of torches and I'm sure you will see how others have positioned them with regard to other corals.
That sounds reasonable, the small frag approach. My understanding is that they are not difficult to frag/prune. If I'm understanding you, you are saying I can keep it under control in that fashion. I suppose keeping it relatively small would be good for the sake of my bi-color blenny, too. I'll search the site for pics...
Salamander
Active member
Its better to find corals that are happy together. It'll make you happier too in the long run when you don't have to deal with the hassle of trying to strategically place your pieces. You will also need a "no mans land" around the torch that could be occupied by friendlier corals.
