Let's talk Leptoseris

[Knight420]

Hey, I'm still new probably about 8 months in on my tank. I can't help but want to add more coral. I have a 40g breeder, so far I have Pavona, a disco, 2 kinds of tree leather, GSP, 3 kinds of zoa, 1 pally, Liptastria, and Cyphastria.

Now I have my eyes on some Leptoseris. This will be my first coral that has sweeper tentacles. I have just a few questions.

1. can I put 2 liptoseris together or will they sting each other?
2. I heard the tentacles are about an inch long. Is there any coral that could survive it's sting?
3. Will the sting hurt the fish in any way?


here are the 2 I wanted next to each other.

 

[KrisReef]

Coral sweepers move downstream in tanks with unidirectional (gyre) flow. Putting these sweeper corals on points where the tentacles don't contact things you want to keep alive is generally a good idea. The reach of many corals isn't always obvious until the upstream decides to eat the downstream, ime. Sometimes corals leave their neighbors alone for a long time and then one day the war is on and something gets ripped to pieces. If you are going to get two warrior corals, get your buds to bet money on the outcome of which coral wins. As the house you keep back a portion of the winnings to buy replacement frags, and you will be ok.

 

[Knight420]

Coral sweepers move downstream in tanks with unidirectional (gyre) flow. Putting these sweeper corals on points where the tentacles don't contact things you want to keep alive is generally a good idea. The reach of many corals isn't always obvious until the upstream decides to eat the downstream, ime. Sometimes corals leave their neighbors alone for a long time and then one day the war is on and something gets ripped to pieces. If you are going to get two warrior corals, get your buds to bet money on the outcome of which coral wins. As the house you keep back a portion of the winnings to buy replacement frags, and you will be ok.

So that is a no on putting them next to each other? I heard torch and hammer are ok next to each other and have even seen them touching in people's tanks.

 

[KrisReef]

The chalices seem to play for keeps when they are extending sweepers. I have seen them eat their neighbors overnight on a frag rack, while at other times they seem to keep to themselves. My Pavona sometimes throws out seepers to 3, 4, even 5 inches downstream to attack other corals growing nearby. Best time to see what they are up to is to take a flashlight to the tank at night and see what corals are putting out sweepers. Sometimes they play nice I don't know what makes them reach out and eat their neighbors?

 

[Saltyreef]

Hey, I'm still new probably about 8 months in on my tank. I can't help but want to add more coral. I have a 40g breeder, so far I have Pavona, a disco, 2 kinds of tree leather, GSP, 3 kinds of zoa, 1 pally, Liptastria, and Cyphastria.

Now I have my eyes on some Leptoseris. This will be my first coral that has sweeper tentacles. I have just a few questions.

1. can I put 2 liptoseris together or will they sting each other?
2. I heard the tentacles are about an inch long. Is there any coral that could survive it's sting?
3. Will the sting hurt the fish in any way?


here are the 2 I wanted next to each other.

They shouldnt sting eachother.

My jack lepto didnt stand a chance versus my jawbreakers growing near it. Thats the only warfare i saw with it.

The fish should steer clear so no worries there.

 

[Saltyreef]

So that is a no on putting them next to each other? I heard torch and hammer are ok next to each other and have even seen them touching in people's tanks.

Generally two of the same species can touch without stinging eachother. Those are two euphyllia. Crowding is another issue.

 

[Saltyreef]

The chalices seem to play for keeps when they are extending sweepers. I have seen them eat their neighbors overnight on a frag rack, while at other times they seem to keep to themselves. My Pavona sometimes throws out seepers to 3, 4, even 5 inches downstream to attack other corals growing nearby. Best time to see what they are up to is to take a flashlight to the tank at night and see what corals are putting out sweepers. Sometimes they play nice I don't know what makes them reach out and eat their neighbors?

I was surprised at my hollywood stunners sweepers @ 9" :eek:

Where does it keep em??!!

 

[KrisReef]

I was surprised at my hollywood stunners sweepers @ 9" :eek:

Where does it keep em??!!

I thought "Space Invader" Pectinia was named after an old video game until I saw the sweepers clearing space around it. :)

 

[thamnasteroid]

Generally two of the same species can touch without stinging eachother. Those are two euphyllia. Crowding is another issue.

Actually, Hammers are Fimbriaphyllia.

 

[Saltyreef]

Actually, Hammers are Fimbriaphyllia.

Thank you for the species reclassification lesson lol.

Same family though.

 

[Wasabiroot]

While Leptoseris is likely related to Pavona ( and may be reclassified some day) in my experience the tentacle extension on Leptoseris is fairly minimal and I would not classify them as an "aggressive" coral like chalices or Galaxea. I have two leptos growing in close proximity and don't see any physical aggression. That's not to say they wouldn't- leptoseris can be fast growing once happy and it can encrust real estate. This is based on my own experiences though. There are several species in the genera

 

[thamnasteroid]

Leptoseris, along with Pavona, are polyphyletic but closely related, and will probably be reclassified in the future. Most of the leptoseris in the hobby are of the species L. mycetoseroides, so they should be fine close to each other.

 

[Knight420]

wow, thank you all. Such a wealth of info. I feel comfortable on getting my Liptoseris now.

 

[exnisstech]

I thought "Space Invader" Pectinia was named after an old video game until I saw the sweepers clearing space around it. :)

That's for sure . This is mine from over 2 years ago. It has gotten huge and now has an entire corner of a tank to itself.

 

[Wasabiroot]

wow, thank you all. Such a wealth of info. I feel comfortable on getting my Liptoseris now.

They are very hardy and can be fast growing once they are happy, so plan their spread like a can of spilled paint.

They can handle med high light but do well in shaded areas or overhangs.

 

[Tcook]

Great corals. I recently picked up these two.

 

[John Bolden]

My hammers are touching each other and one is closed where the other is touching and retracting. One is a branching and one isnt is that the issue?

 

[Wasabiroot]

My hammers are touching each other and one is closed where the other is touching and retracting. One is a branching and one isnt is that the issue?

Did you mean to post in another thread?

 

[John Bolden]

Did you mean to post in another thread?

yeah sorry... my computer was glitchy.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey, I'm still new probably about 8 months in on my tank. I can't help but want to add more coral. I have a 40g breeder, so far I have Pavona, a disco, 2 kinds of tree leather, GSP, 3 kinds of zoa, 1 pally, Liptastria, and Cyphastria.

Now I have my eyes on some Leptoseris. This will be my first coral that has sweeper tentacles. I have just a few questions.

1. can I put 2 liptoseris together or will they sting each other?
2. I heard the tentacles are about an inch long. Is there any coral that could survive it's sting?
3. Will the sting hurt the fish in any way?


here are the 2 I wanted next to each other.

You can as I have two but with coral - spreading 3-4" apart often alleviates stinging from other coral. Ive rarely see the stingers from mine