WTB: Good hardy beginner corals (suggestions?)

[Indy597]

Hey Everyone,

Looking to begin stocking my new 29gal BioCube. Parameters are solid and stable, I've got good growth of these blue cloves all over the rock so I'm looking for some corals to ad. Something reasonably hardy that a reef newbie like myself can handle.

I've always liked the look of frogspawn, of course various zoos, star polyps and maybe a colt coral or some shrooms...I'm sorta looking for suggestions but also looking for people who have some for sale.

as I mentioned in another thread - I cant be at the frag meetup this weeked but I'll be around next week and am happy to travel to pick up some nice frags.

Thanks,
-John

 

[Bebo77]

you can do mushrooms also...

 

[jerburton]

I have a big kenya tree coral you can have for 10 bucks

 

[DjScibbity]

Ive got neon green frilly shrooms, a metallic blue shroom, and some beginner SPS (Tri color Nana, orange digi, birdsnest, and some others). If youre going to the meeting on Saturday let me know and we can work something out.

-JP

 

[zippopunk1]

acans are pretty easy

 

[OwenInAZ]

Stay away from kenya trees and/or xenia in your tank, no matter how much someone tells you they're great. They'll take over your tank in no time flat and they're next to impossible to get rid of.

Run with zoanthids (lots and lots of cool ones out there), some mushrooms, palys, maybe some of the hardier SPS (digi's, birdsnest), even some acan's could work. You'll find there are a lot of options for you out there. With your blue cloves you may find you're able to trade for some stuff right off the bat if you can get them fragged

BTW welcome to FRAG if you haven't gotten it somewhere else already!

 

[psimitry]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14842794#post14842794 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by OwenInAZ
Stay away from kenya trees and/or xenia in your tank, no matter how much someone tells you they're great. They'll take over your tank in no time flat and they're next to impossible to get rid of.

LOL I tried multiple times to keep kenya tree but it always died. Yet I had no problems keeping difficult SPS alive.

 

[scorpiocasper]

I would take a peek at the for sale thread for the meeting.

We have some great beginner corals available...
2 small heads Neon Green Candy Cane - $10
3 baby Purple Mushrooms - $3 each
Yellow polyps (just keep it on it's own rock)
Anthelia - again same as above with it's own rock

 

[captain639]

I have got some frogspawn, mushrooms, and zoas I can sell. I sent you a pm.

 

[Fish4us]

Find us we'll have some extra Candycane I'm sure that you can have for free as a welcome to Frag

 

[vanillagorila]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14842821#post14842821 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by psimitry
LOL I tried multiple times to keep kenya tree but it always died. Yet I had no problems keeping difficult SPS alive.

I can't keep xenia alive.

 

[KarlBob]

I think I'm having a Xenia collapse right now, all three pieces in the tank are closed up tight and starting to wither away. On the other hand, my Anthelia is still chugging away unaffected.

Your blue polyps are near the top of the invasive coral list, as you've already seen. Xenia, Anthelia, green star polyps, and yellow polyps all act like your blue polyps - they spread across a rock and then attach to neighboring rocks.

Kenya tree is different - it pinches off its own "branches", which drift in the current until they land somewhere. Then the "mini-trees" attach to whatever they land on and start the cycle again.

Me, I like the invasive corals. I'd like to buy or trade for a frag of your blue polyps, if possible.

 

[0rbital]

I'd like some of those blue polyps too. I'd trade you something for them kenya, xenia, yellow polyps, daisy polyps, etc.

My Xenia is still growing like crazy. It's gotten much more under control lately as I have been cutting it back every two weeks and giving away stalks of it. Now it's attached to the back glass and is starting to grow up it. Much better place for it then all over my rock.

 

[Indy597]

at the risk of sounding like a total newbie, how would I go about "fragging" these to share w/ people. I'm happy to, but they are primarily growing on the central piece of rock for the tank. Should I drop in some small pieces of live rock and let them migrate to it? (I'm sure they will, it just might take a while) I dont see how to break any off without really stirring everything up and disrupting the tank.

That being said - you have had some good suggestions and I'll be in touch with some of you next week when I'm back in town to meetup and buy/trade some frags.

 

[landy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14846109#post14846109 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Indy597

at the risk of sounding like a total newbie, how would I go about "fragging" these to share w/ people. I'm happy to, but they are primarily growing on the central piece of rock for the tank. Should I drop in some small pieces of live rock and let them migrate to it? (I'm sure they will, it just might take a while) I dont see how to break any off without really stirring everything up and disrupting the tank.

That being said - you have had some good suggestions and I'll be in touch with some of you next week when I'm back in town to meetup and buy/trade some frags.

the easiest way would be to put something by/on/around the polyps so they can grow onto it. Next option is to break a piece of rock off that they have already grown over.

As for xenia, it LOVES dirty water. You want them to grow? Ease up on the water changes and turn off the skimmer.

landy

 

[0rbital]

Yeah just put some rocks against them and they'll spread. Can't say my water is dirty but my Xenia still grows quickly and on everything it can attach to. Even on the sand bed tiny chunks of rock have them growing on them.