Do corals care about being in small tanks?

[revhtree]

We see a lot of talk about the tang police and forum questions about certain fish in smaller tanks, but what about coral? Do corals care about being in small tanks?

My vote is no. While a coral is an animal they are not swimming and moving about...for the most part. What do you think?

image via @Biota_Marine

 

[AydenLincoln]

No! Corals are not as intelligent as a fish or invert! Because they can’t move all they care about is light, water quality, and food!

 

[Sean Clark]

No. They usually have 3 windows to keep them entertained.

 

[Hats_]

if you keep your water quality good (which is the hardest part in these tanks) they wont care, might become a problem when they start growing tho

 

[Fish Styx]

Nope! Only water quality, light, and nutrition.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Nope!! Unless you start getting a bunch of coral, or they get so big it becomes overcrowded

 

[StatelineReefer]

Corals absolutely do care about being in small tanks and it all boils down to water flow.

Someone needs to make a mini-micro-pico-nano circulation pump for these tiny, tiny tanks.

 

[brandon429]

I would enroll this stinky vase in the corals-per-gallon pageant
I honestly believe there's over a thousand polyps in there.

when pico reefs started they were harshly rejected as fake/trick sumped/corals would never survive being that packed/due to allelopathy. corals aren't supposed to habituate to this many nematocysts floating around, repellent chemicals, but they do.

any animal that is reproducing is getting a surplus in vital nutrient in order to do so, corals wouldn't care if they're in a teacup if the water was changed regularly and the feeding was strategic. the fact the corals reproduce I feel is proof they don't mind living in mighty cramped quarters.

 

[elysics]

I don't consider corals to be thinking beings, they don't have much to think about, nor brains, but they do grow misshapen in small tanks.

As was said before, problems with flow. Also if you don't upgrade or leave the hobby in time, they'll just outgrow the tank

 

[brandon429]

pico reefers do prune... snips and cuts work the same. it's merely coral bonsai.

the corals in my friend's bowl: pruned regularly, ten years old all top shelf specimens (meaning they grow slow by design, not like red mushrooms that would overtake in 13 mos

that vase is not leaving the hobby soon for sure

Maritza The Vase Reef Nov. 2021

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youtube.com

the blue ridge coral is taking the same shape as oceanic specimens but is micro'd down in scale for the bowl. the sandbed in this system hasn't been manually cleaned, it's self balancing. that makes it rare among ten year old pico reefs

 

[Lgriff]

We see a lot of talk about the tang police and forum questions about certain fish in smaller tanks, but what about coral? Do corals care about being in small tanks?

My vote is no. While a coral is an animal they are not swimming and moving about...for the most part. What do you think?

image via @Biota_Marine

I think it’s absolute beautiful

 

[Character85]

Corals absolutely do care about being in small tanks and it all boils down to water flow.

Someone needs to make a mini-micro-pico-nano circulation pump for these tiny, tiny tanks.

I have a 1 gallon pico on my desk... Easiest tank I've ever had... 2 yrs no water change just weekly filter floss replacement and monthly replacement of marine pure packet and poly filter... All softies including 3 diff colored xenia, green, purple, and brown kenya, gsp, and a few zoas along with 1 dwarf hermit, 2 nassarius snails, 5 or 6 and a few asterina stars doing beautifully... I have two small pumps about 32 gph in the tank... I bought them as spare parts through PNW Custom Aquatics.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ive seen many in micro systems and look as happy as it giant tanks

 

[Tired]

Corals aren't animals capable of feeling distress at a lack of enrichment and room to move. Fish need space for enrichment, as they have brains and a need to move around. Corals, like plants, move only when they're forced to by necessity, and most are completely stationary.