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For the vast majority of reefers, the goal is to end up with some kind of mixed reef to varying degrees. That means having a combination of softies, LPS, and SPS. However, one thing I would like to know is, how common are “mixed reefs” in the wild? Do these different types of soft and stony corals congregate together in the wild, or are we a lot more likely to see softies congregating with other softies, LPS congregating with other LPS, and SPS with other SPS?
I would imagine that the whe concept of the “mixed reef” might not be as common as we think in the wild due to the various flow and sunlight requirements necessary for these different kinds of corals to grow, and I would imagine that below a certain depth the amount of sunlight will not be enough to sustain large colonies of, if any stony corals (maybe 250-300+ feet), so all we find are softies and NPS at those depths.
Of course, I could be wrong though. But so far, every time I see large colonies of SPS (especially Montis and Acros) they always tend to be in relatively shallow, sunlit reefs above 100 feet.
From the few images and videos I’ve seen of deeper dives beyond recreational scuba depths, stony corals tend to be a lot more spread out, and at around 300 feet are mostly gone.
The really deep dives I’ve seen in videos by people like Brian D. Greene, the rock scapes are pretty much FOWLR by that point with the exception of some softies and Gorgonians (I assume non-photosynthetic filter feeders) here and there. This is 400+ feet.
Some videos I’ve seen of uber rare deepwater fish kept by Japanese hobbyists are also kept in these semi-reef / FOWLR reef tanks more than full-blown reef setups.
Could it be that for these species, most corals are unnatural to them?
(Ignore double post)
I would imagine that the whe concept of the “mixed reef” might not be as common as we think in the wild due to the various flow and sunlight requirements necessary for these different kinds of corals to grow, and I would imagine that below a certain depth the amount of sunlight will not be enough to sustain large colonies of, if any stony corals (maybe 250-300+ feet), so all we find are softies and NPS at those depths.
Of course, I could be wrong though. But so far, every time I see large colonies of SPS (especially Montis and Acros) they always tend to be in relatively shallow, sunlit reefs above 100 feet.
From the few images and videos I’ve seen of deeper dives beyond recreational scuba depths, stony corals tend to be a lot more spread out, and at around 300 feet are mostly gone.
The really deep dives I’ve seen in videos by people like Brian D. Greene, the rock scapes are pretty much FOWLR by that point with the exception of some softies and Gorgonians (I assume non-photosynthetic filter feeders) here and there. This is 400+ feet.
Some videos I’ve seen of uber rare deepwater fish kept by Japanese hobbyists are also kept in these semi-reef / FOWLR reef tanks more than full-blown reef setups.
Could it be that for these species, most corals are unnatural to them?
(Ignore double post)
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