Let's talk about the true Hardy coral

[Pridedcloth3]

Whenever someone asks what should be their first coral is always is always the same few softies. Xenia, gsp, zoas,etc. But nobody ever talks about the true bulletproof coral that happens to be an sps. I'm talking about pavona.
I've had quite a few different species from xenia to some pretty tough acros, and nothing stood up to abuse as well as pavona. This thing has survived alk at 16.5 for a week, temperatures in the mid 60s and is even the sole survivor of a temperature crashthat brought the water to 99°f. It simply tanks it and bounces back.
It's also a relatively fast grower that can be controlled, has nice movement, color and is easy as spreading butter to frag. Although it does have sweepers they are limited in reach making it not as much of a threat as other coral even though it still can serve a ko.
I just can't wrap my mind around why something so versatile never gets recommended when it's literally the definition of versatile. Hard to kill, looks good, easy to deal with, interesting growth patterns, while introducing beginners to sps while being (I'll say it again) nearly indestructible. The pics are a couple months post crash and the current state a week ago. And it started as a tiny half inch frag.

 

[edsbeaker]

I agree with you!
I recently added my first one that I’ve ever had. Until a couple months ago, I had never heard of them, and I’ve had tanks for 30 years. I also find it to be a very forgiving coral. Maybe it’s not mentioned a lot because it isn’t as well known or easy to find as some others and you need to make sure you maintain Alkalinity and Calcium, which you don’t need to really get involved with keeping the softies. As an SPS, I personally think it is the easiest of them to keep, and also easier than many LPS’s.

 

[Pridedcloth3]

I agree, but in the beginning I can still see it doing fine considering most week be performing water changes which will help with major elements and keep it happy. Maybe I'm oversimplifying it because of my bias. It really should be a more common thing because in my opinion, if you manage to kill a pavona you an xbox achievement needs to pop up lol. With growth speed i really don't understand why is so unknown. The one I have was the first time i heard of it and is been with me since. I've given away a few frags but the original portion and it's frag plug that's under there somewhere is still with me today.

 

[amygetsalife]

Was one of my first corals....didn't last, but I've done pretty well with other corals. So who knows?

 

[liddojunior]

Pavona is the coral I have struggled with

Goniopora and Duncan are bullet proof for me

 

[Pridedcloth3]

Pavona is the coral I have struggled with

Goniopora and Duncan are bullet proof for me

My Duncan and goni both died in my tank crash but that pavona refuses to go out. Funny thing is it was my least favorite and moved up to my number 1 after that.

 

[Pridedcloth3]

Was one of my first corals....didn't last, but I've done pretty well with other corals. So who knows?

You sound like me with galaxea.

 

[Canned55]

I should give them a shot.
I’ve always seen them and wondered what they are.
Learned something today

 

[Pridedcloth3]

They're pretty cool in my opinion. They branch and encrust so it's something to watch out for. I'm hoping to come across a few cookie variants and doing a small system with nothing but pavona of different variations.

 

[rusty shackleford yes]

Pavona is the coral I have struggled with

Goniopora and Duncan are bullet proof for me

My Duncan is the same way :D

It survived summer Armageddon when my tank got up to 97 degrees Fahrenheit

 

[davidm777]

Thanks for sharing. I will give pavona a try. I guess it also depends on the tank. I have heard people who keep softies and LPS that shrooms are pretty easy... well they pretty unhappy on my tank and I keep mostly LPS.