Hardy soft corals?

[Donttouchthebutt]

I'm going down to my lfs tomorrow to get some corals for my tank. It's a 25 gallon. I love the look of the soft corals but I'm not sure what else to get that I won't kill. I already have some Zoas and mushroom any other suggestions??

 

[LetItReef]

Neon green Nepthea, Toadstool and Rics.

 

[Mikedawg]

Lot of reefers like xenia's; they are hardy, have an intriguing pulsing motion, some are very colorful, and usually cheap.

 

[Donttouchthebutt]

How hardy are frog spawns?@letitreef

 

[Donttouchthebutt]

I've had Xenias but they died for no apparent reason. I've heard they are hit or miss so I didn't think much of it

 

[Mikedawg]

How hardy are frog spawns?@letitreef

Not as aggressive as other Euphyllia I think although you've got to give them plenty of room, and have same requirements of moderate flow and light. Only problem I've encountered is getting them positioned and flow set right; couple of good YouTube videos showing preferred flow. I also feed some mysis, calanus and dry pellets.

 

[Mikedawg]

I've had Xenias but they died for no apparent reason. I've heard they are hit or miss so I didn't think much of it

I'd try to find aquacultured ones; hardier I think

 

[thaitopher]

Zoas and green star polyps. Super hardy

 

[Katrina71]

Gsp!

 

[norfolkgarden]

Neon green sinularia from LiveAquaria, ORA aquacultured section.

The larger frag (1.25") in the middle of the picture.

 

[norfolkgarden]

Blue Anthelia

 

[norfolkgarden]

Super (Palau ?) Neon green Kenyan tree.

 

[norfolkgarden]

Try to avoid the regular weaker neon green Kenya tree.
It is still very pretty, but a huge disappointment if you've been fortunate enough to find the better version afterwards. [emoji6]

 

[norfolkgarden]

Thin branching coralline algae on the left and thick branching coralline algae on the right from either reefcleaners.com or Gulf Coast ecosystems. And those were under $10 when we bought them.

The grandis paly's in the center of the picture are awesome but contain paly toxin what you will want to Google.
We have had the Grandis paly's for five years with no issues whatsoever (my bare hands in the tank, etc) and they survived a terrible tank crash. Just be aware of the poison potential. Don't try to boil the rocks in water on the stove! (google, youtube)

[emoji2]

 

[norfolkgarden]

Sorta kinda not really.
[emoji19]
The beautiful orange sponge on the right is called an elephant ear sponge and you can acquire them from Gulf Coast Ecosystems. We had one about a year before the tank crash and it slowly was going downhill the entire time. Contrast that with the beautiful red tree sponges that look like miniature red Saguaro cactus and last for less than a month.

The blue encrusting sponge on the left was just a lucky hitchhiker from 3 years ago. It hasn't really grown that much but it has grown maybe 20% since I've had it.

The pretty yellow ball sponge in a previous picture is a new attempt for me. I have only had it for a week. But so far it still looks okay.

Honestly there are almost no sponges that have a good survival record other than some random encrusting hitchhikers.

 

[LetItReef]

How hardy are frog spawns?@letitreef

From Euphyllia, Frogspawns is my favorite. IME, it is not as delicate as Hammer and Torch when it comes to flow.

 

[rgaston]

I got a neon green sinularia a few months back. It is easy and beautiful. It was about 6 inches tall and spread out that wide. Cost was $79.00 but some of the best money I have spent on corals.

 

[CPL376]

Gorgonian. (Eunicia) is a fairly hardy choice and has nice movement

 

[A Toadstool Leather]

Grandis palys and purple death palys are nice. Both seem to like lower light. My grandis palys have created a few new polyps since I got mine. Wear gloves and even eye protection when handling zoas/ palys.

 

[ItouchedThebutt]

How hardy are frog spawns?@letitreef

Im fairly new to reefing and my first corals were a hammer coral and octo frog spawn and they are doing great. Mines in a 10 gal nano with moderate flow and lighting and my hammer has even grown bigger in the month ive had it.