Thanks so much you guys! Green Slimer seems happy - what is the next SPS I can try?

[Angel*Fish]

Thanks to you guys in this forum I now have some success with SPS. Thanks so very much!

Quick review -

• I have 26 small fish in a 100g --- and they're well fed
• Monti caps and echinopora/oxypora types doing fine
• Bought a lovely cultured Acropora which promptly died - didn't know why
• As you guys predicted, phosphates were off the charts
• As you guys recommended, reduced phosphates and bought a Green Slimer frag
• The green slimer's doing great!

My question now is are there other similarly hardy Acros or other SPS like the Green slimer? What could I try next?

 

[Wiskey]

Stylophora
Policipora

These are both very hardy.

Then of course any frag you get cheap.

Whiskey

 

[Angel*Fish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8459537#post8459537 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Wiskey
Stylophora
Policipora

These are both very hardy.

Then of course any frag you get cheap.

Whiskey

Hi Whiskey,

Are you saying I should stay away from the other Acropora's for now?

 

[prop-frags]

I think what Whiskey's saying is that you should continue to learn with hardy SPS species like the ones he recomended. There are many SPS that are more temperamental (and expensive!) so it's best to go slow and stick to hardy species at first until you get more knowledge and experience. Like Greg's tagline says: SPS = Stability Promotes Success!

 

[Angel*Fish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8459807#post8459807 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by prop-frags
I think what Whiskey's saying is that you should continue to learn with hardy SPS species like the ones he recomended. There are many SPS that are more temperamental (and expensive!) so it's best to go slow and stick to hardy species at first until you get more knowledge and experience. Like Greg's tagline says: SPS = Stability Promotes Success!

Thanks,
I guess I was also wondering if the green slimer is the only "hardy" Acropora... I am happy to try the recommended corals. Also, for now, I'm going to stick to the more "stabilized" frags as was suggested to me on my previous thread.

My 1.25 inch green slimer is the pride of my tank -lol - I know you all can't wait for the pictures.

 

[teen]

ive had a lot of luck with my green montipora digitata, it grows really fast and it looks nice too. i also have a pavona cactus who is doing really good, both are relatively easy to care for imo.

 

[Wiskey]

If you can get tank raised Acro frags cheap go for it IMHO.

Whiskey

 

[iamquockie]

monti's digitatas and caps are purdy tuff

 

[JamesJR]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8466951#post8466951 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by iamquockie
monti's digitatas and caps are purdy tuff

I agree. A lot of the Montiporas are pretty easy, some even easier than the slimer. I had a brown cap in 30 gallon tank that grew like a weed.
Tank raised acroporas can be surprisingly resilient. I had the best luck with acros when I got frags from fellow hobbyists or tank raised frags. IME, wild colonies of sps corals are a big gamble.
I had a pachysiris rugosa that was pretty hardy, and Hydnophoras did well too.
IME, the hardest sps corals to keep are wild acropora colonies-especially the types with really thick branches or those that grow-flat table top varieties.

I think birds nest coral can be tricky.

 

[MrPike]

Most ORA corals will probably do well. They are notoriously tough and quick growers.

 

[MiddletonMark]

Agree about the ORA stuff, I've had good luck with it ... the only Acro I've added in a long time was one of theirs, recently.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8467799#post8467799 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JamesJR
Tank raised acroporas can be surprisingly resilient. I had the best luck with acros when I got frags from fellow hobbyists or tank raised frags. IME, wild colonies of sps corals are a big gamble.

...

IME, the hardest sps corals to keep are wild acropora colonies-especially the types with really thick branches or those that grow-flat table top varieties.

I think birds nest coral can be tricky.

Couldn't agree more.
Of my nicest Acropora, 6 are multi-generation aquaria frags, two are ocean mariculture [Bali]. I have a couple wild varieties that I'm still growing out ... but the ones I got from other reefers generally outshine the rest IMO.

In my experience, Seriatopora/Birdsnest can be somewhat picky, a little tricky to get the right conditions for. Not always, I'd go with tank-raised esp.

Montipora comes in great variety, color ... and is a hardy, often fast-growing coral that I very much enjoy.
Pocillapora and Stylophora have also seemed to easily thrive, grow + color really nicely IME.

Take it slow. If adding more than one variety of a Genus [esp Acropora and Montipora] ... read up on pests, consider accordingly, and seriously consider quarantine.

 

[Angel*Fish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7161376#post7161376 target=_blank>Originally posted here on this link to my old thread</a> by Whiskey

You don't list phospate, that is a SPS killer, what is it?

My phosphates did indeed turn out to be off the scale! - Reducing them has made a difference for my tank in general in addition to the SPS issue - Thanks!

 

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

good going angel*fish...

 

[prance1520]

Phosphates inhibit SPS calcification, which usually send pickier SPS into panic mode (which you saw already). If I were you, I would still be careful, as 26 fish, even small ones, means a lot of feedings. The more feedings, the more phosphate produced. Make sure your export on phosphate is stable, which it sounds like your on the right track for.

From what I've seen, the slower growing corals have more problems fighting phosphates than the faster growing. I have no idea why, but I've noticed this.

That being said, I agree on the fellow reefers corals and ORA.
Even though ORA uses natural salt water and sunlight, their corals seem very happy in artifical tanks. Maricultured have always been hit or miss with me. They never die on me right away, but never seem to make it more than 8 months. If you have a vendor that gets ORA corals, I'd say thats a great place to start.

 

[toothman]

Consider the pet store. upscale fish.com. I can say the orange digitalis is amazing and absolutely one of the easiest corals to grow. Orange, Green Monti cap. They have a nice frag pack 5 frags for $100. I also think most of their frags are tank raised making them easier than wild frags from broken large pieces.

 

[Sk8r]

Try to find a reef shop and get a frag off an old established piece for your first acropora. I have some 'bought' frags from the internet and some I've acquired locally. The growth rate on my 'local' acros is huge, compared to the online frags. I don't know why this is so, but I suspect the long trip and darkness, even express, may drive the online frags into withdrawal from the start. It may be a non-issue, but this is what I've observed in my own tank.

Also: test nearly daily as these pieces start to grow. The sudden increase in calcium and buffer demand can be very interesting.