What par would you estimate your lobo is at?
I'm trying to get my lobo (as seen above in this thread) to brighten back up as it is darker in color now.
How to love your Lobo: Tips for success with Lobophyllia
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What par would you estimate your lobo is at?
I'm trying to get my lobo (as seen above in this thread) to brighten back up as it is darker in color now.
nick0206
Active Member
I don't think the light level is the problem. During this time, my light changed several times.
I have 4 T5. There was one Kessil 360WE, and to this I added Kessil 360X. At the moment I have 250 pairs on Lobo, but there were 170. I did not notice any changes in color. My colors improved after stabilizing the water parameters.
I love these coral but have had bad luck with them. I always get them from you but I I am sure you are not to blame espially after reading this article! I was about to try it again because at one time i had dinos so I thought that is what killed them plus I have just had bad luck in general with sand bed corals! Would it just be a waste of time and money to try again if my reef stays around 80 to 81 degrees in the summer? I live in florida so even indoors I know the humidity is higher. I keep my ac set between 77 and 78 so I am sure that is not out of the norm but my tank still stays over 80! What a shame! Maybe I will give it another try but this time with a cheap one to see how it goes before investing in a costlier piece! The dinos are gone so maybe thats why!How to love your Lobo: Tips for success with Lobophyllia
Hi Everyone,
Have you ever kept a Lobophyllia? These are great "LPS" corals with terrific color patterns and shapes that look great in reefs! If you're like a lot of reefers, you may have kept one before, and either had moderate success, or perhaps had a bad experience. Was thinking about this the other day, because we work with a lot of Lobos, and seem to enjoy much success with them, as do most of our customers who purchase them. it made me think about what the keys to success are with Lobos. I decided to offer a little bit of our learned experience here, in the hope that it will spur other Lobo lovers to share their success stories!
Source: Like many corals, it all starts with where the coral was selected, and how it was handled after collection, during shipping, and at the dealer. I would have to state that, categorically, the most successful Lobos in captivity are generally those which come from Australia.I'm not beating down other sources...We obtain Lobos from other countries that do very well, but the quality just isn't quite what it is with Aussie stuff. Let's face it: The Aussies do it better! These corals are collected with care...you can just tell, particularly by observing how the animal was removed from it's surrounding substrate, or how the surrounding rock was taken off. It's obvious that the Aussie ones are carefully removed from the reef and substrate. They are also subject to quotas and accountability, so these relatively modest-growing corals are not randomly whacked off of natural reefs, to the detriment of the surrounding ecosystem.
Once collected, most Aussie outfits pack them well, to assure that they are not banged around and damaged during shipping. And, in fact, in my opinion/experience, shipping is where a lot of damage occurs with these corals. Once the tissue is damaged, the coral is stressed and potentially vulnerable to a number of maladies, ranging from bacterial infections to predation by fishes and inverts. Seems like the resident fishes and crabs can literally "hear the dinner bell" (an old and accurate Anthony Calfo quote!) when one of these guys is damaged, and they'll happily chow down on the coral, finishing the job.
So it's of paramount importance that you obtain a specimen that is undamaged to begin with. This will give it a much greater chance of success. Also, I highly recommend a mild coral dip for about 3 minutes on arrival, which will disinfect the coral and hopefully rid it of any unwanted hitchhikers that may damage the coral or its neighbors.
Placement: Thee corals are found in a variety of environments, but seem to be most common in lagoonal or back reef areas. They are not getting blasted by waves, and typically do not do well when subjected to strong laminar flow from a powerhead or pump. They categorically do better in more randomized. moderate to strong water movement. Place them in an area of your reef structure where they can expand and contract without excessively abrading their tissues, rendering them susceptible to infection as touched on above. if the animal comes in on a small rock, you would be wise simply placing the rock on the sand in an area where the coral can grow. Also, place the Lobo far enough from neighboring corals so as to avoid any allelopathic issues or coral aggression.
Environment: Like many corals, stable alkalinity (around 8-10DKH) seems to be a big help in keeping them happy and colorful. These guys don't seem to tolerate wildly fluctuating parameters well, which is a bit surprising to me, because I'd imagine that lagoon corals are more tolerant of such fluctuations...But not in my experience. They will definitely let you know when they are not happy. Also, keep them in temps on the lower side of your "reef acceptable" temp range (like 76-77F). In my experience, these corals are among the first to fade when temps get out of hand, so think about this when entertaining the thought of keeping one.
Feeding: Yes, these are hungry corals, and really should be fed a couple of times a week. They demonstrate a strong feeding response and are pretty easy to feed. Use small, meaty marine-based foods, such as Cycolp-eez, Oyster Eggs, or finely mined seafood and Mysis. Gently squirt food in the direction of the corals' mouth, taking care not to blast full-bore into the coral. It goes without saying that you should shut off the flow while target feeding. If you have aggressive hermit crabs, shrimp, or Dwarf Angels, they can be a bit of a pain when target feeding these corals, so keep this in mind. I have personally tried the old trick of removing the specimen from the tank and placing it in a container of tank water while "marinating it" in food for 15-20 mins, so the coral can feed uninterrupted. Although excessive handling of this coral is not the best thing in the world, neither is having tons of shrimp and corals picking at the coral while it's attempting to feed!
Etc.: These are very cool corals, and can do quite well if you follow a few basic tips on their care. Don't be afraid to try one, but make surethat you are up to keeping one. Unlike say, Acros, they are not a "set and forget" coral. They require some active participation on your part in order to make sure that their needs are met. They are most "communicative", and will show you very clearly when they are not happy! Dont fear them, however, as they are colorful, interesting, and rewarding to keep!
In the interest of us all becoming better reefers, please share your tips, experiences, and thoughts on these beautiful corals here, so that we can all learn! This was the most cursory of dialogues about them; let's build on the body of knowledge available, so that more reefers can benefit from the experiences of our peers!
Thanks for stopping by!
Stay Wet
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
Love how this old thread still has life 
Tres Lobos!
Still little fellas for Lobos (the largest polyp is only about 1-1/4" in diameter). Not as overtly gaudy as some of the more recent Aussie imports, but I find the subtle color blending from orange to purple to green just awesome! The trick is to try and keep it from outgrowing my small nano, but it seems to be growing right before my eyes!
These have a backstory of having fallen into a Chalice coral, but recovered well enough to be sold by a LFS. These are tough survivor corals, that's for sure!
Tres Lobos!
Still little fellas for Lobos (the largest polyp is only about 1-1/4" in diameter). Not as overtly gaudy as some of the more recent Aussie imports, but I find the subtle color blending from orange to purple to green just awesome! The trick is to try and keep it from outgrowing my small nano, but it seems to be growing right before my eyes!
These have a backstory of having fallen into a Chalice coral, but recovered well enough to be sold by a LFS. These are tough survivor corals, that's for sure!
I have had Lobos for 5 plus years. My tank been running for almost 6 years. I keep them on sand bed and they have grown quite well but slow. My par is in the 50-80 range at the bottom of my 24 inch deep 150. I actually placed a two headed smaller lobo up in a rock around 200 plus par level and it thrived, if I hadn’t re-scaped it would still be up there, but it is now under a rock no light and it is also doing great? I run temp from 77-80. They keep their color very well and I’m a dose here and there with no dosing system. My Alk is about 8-9.5 but I have caught it in low 7s when been busy. Here is my latest addition and placed it on a rock somewhat shaded from direct Radion LEDs on the bottom, I’m guessing par around 50 in this spot.
Susan Edwards
5000 Club Member
I have a lobo that I've had since end of Nov. I seldom see feeding tentacles on it. It is on the bottom of the sand bed. alk 9, ca 400 (it had gotten too low), mg 1500 PO4 .05-.08, no3 5-20. Temp 77-78 I dos AB+ plus RS Coral Trace Colors.
Sleeping Giant
Proud Canadian Reefer
Mine died this weekendI have a lobo that I've had since end of Nov. I seldom see feeding tentacles on it. It is on the bottom of the sand bed. alk 9, ca 400 (it had gotten too low), mg 1500 PO4 .05-.08, no3 5-20. Temp 77-78 I dos AB+ plus RS Coral Trace Colors.
Susan Edwards
5000 Club Member
oh no! So sorry!
nick0206
Active Member
I don't think this is a problem. I had a weak chiller connected for 3 years and in summer the temperature rarely dropped below 80 degrees.
1.5 years ago I just changed my cooler. In summer, it turns on for cooling when the temperature reaches 78.8 degrees.
nick0206
Active Member
I really like LOBO. Due to the relatively small tank (25.6 inch cube), there was almost no free space at the bottom. Occasionally, our LFSs are on sale Lobos of stunning beauty, but due to their high aggressiveness, you have to keep him at a distance from other corals.
I don’t have a sand bed, and in the free space below, at the bottom (not on rocks), I still have a large Elegans coral, 2 Euphylia Frogspawn, Acanthastrea echinata (also a very aggressive guy), 2 Fabia, 2 Chalices, 4 Goniopora, one Alveopora, 2 Scoli and 2 Fungia.
So I can only dream of adding another Lobo.
I don’t have a sand bed, and in the free space below, at the bottom (not on rocks), I still have a large Elegans coral, 2 Euphylia Frogspawn, Acanthastrea echinata (also a very aggressive guy), 2 Fabia, 2 Chalices, 4 Goniopora, one Alveopora, 2 Scoli and 2 Fungia.
So I can only dream of adding another Lobo.
charliethetuna
Well-Known Member
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