LPS Corals: Are they your "thang" and which ones do you like best?

[danieyella]

I would consider my tank softie dominated. I do however have 2 acanthophyllia (my favorite), 6 or so blastos, 5 acans, and a baby duncan. No Euphyllia, my clowns harass them and after a few attempts I feel bad.

 

[rusgum]

Akanas and Filki

 

[fish farmer]

1. What's your favorite LPS coral? Get specific and share a photo if you have it!

This one

This coral got me back into running my tank better. I picked this euphyllia up as a tiny pencil sized frag about 4 years ago. It grew like a weed in less than optimal tank conditions, wasn't testing anything at the time, when I did the nitrates were 30 ppm and phosphates were 1ppm. It filled out to 12 heads a couple years ago, nice and round (my profile pic). I've had a few issues with it the last few years, some head bailouts and not as full as it once was, but it is still growing.

I also like a good dome shaped brain coral. I had a nice centerpiece platygyra in my first reef that really brought the tank together. I'm limited with bottom space so I have a small green favia that is growing off the disc now.

Duncans and candy canes I like as well.


2. What are your pros and cons to LPS corals?

Pros

They aren't invasive, they stay where you place them and as long as you give them enough space, they shouldn't bother neighbors. I like branching types which if do well can be easily fragged and have more appeal for trading away.

Cons

Depending on what it is, they can send out sweepers so placement is key.

 

[X-37B]

Mostly into sticks but
I like my frogspawn and so does my clown.

 

[Bob Weigant]

My problem is I like so much that I look for ways to make things work. My tank is much more sps but when I see a colorful lps that I must have I will look for a way to keep it

 

[Chayo]

New to the reef, Scolymia LPS is my favorite
But trachy as well! Best part of the lps is the feeding responses! Little baby goni love the color

 

[ZipAdeeZoa]

I don’t think I’ve ever obsessed over a coral quite as much as I do hammers. The shape, movement and colours are so incredibly unique, I spend hours just watching my two hammers in my QT tank. I can’t explain my attraction to blastomussa but I have 4 varieties at the moment and will most likely have a few more. They were my first LPS coral and for that will always have a special place in my heart. My duncan has always fascinated me and I’m very proud that I’ve grown it into the small colony it is today, I started with three head and now its has at least 12 (Very jars to count its heads because its always so exteneded).

pros: Amazing colour and movement, not invasive, forgiving and relatively easy to frag. Also most have an awesome feeding response!

cons: It’s a challenge in my nano to make sure nobody stings each other and that has been quite limiting but all that really means is that I need to upgrade at some point ;Hilarious

 

[sp1187]

1. What's your favorite LPS coral? Get specific and share a photo if you have it!

2. What are your pros and cons to LPS corals?
pro's
variety of shapes, sizes, colors, parameter requirements.

con's
aggressiveness of some

 

[Reeferbadness]

I am most fond of my elegance coral (don't have a pic of the elegance though) , then second probably my Trachy. Micromussa is pretty cool too

 

[Reeferbadness]

I am most fond of my elegance coral (don't have a pic of the elegance though) , then second probably my Trachy. Micromussa is pretty cool too

i love my elegance coral.... this one was double the size until my red haired hermit crab aka Dr. Destructo (since returned to the LFS) ate half of it.

 

[Jarvisffc]

Tank only just over a month old but loving them, Duncan was bought 2 weeks ago, 6 heads now turned into 9 and he’s thriving

 

[customdyna]

I prefer LPS over SPS and they are easier to care for. I like Hammers and Torches because I like the way they move in the current.

 

[design.maddie]

I used to be such a huge fan of torches/hammers/frogspawns. Then I left the hobby for a couple years and came back to everyone drooling over them and paying amounts for them that I can't even justify or fathom. They are now my least liked corals. Maybe I'm just that type of person though.

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

I've only had softies before (and the easiest softies at that) but I'd really like to try cyphastrea, euphyllia, and maybe a duncan in the new tank. Fortunately it's nowhere near ready for coral yet because I admit I know little about these corals and need to do some research still but I think they look awesome!

 

[Billdogg]

I got a duncan that I got as a single head at the 2013 CORA swap. We call it Cousin It. I got the frogspawn and elegance at the same time. The frogspawn was a few heads, the elegance was maybe 2"x3". They've all done pretty well. The elegance has been a favorite of mine since I started.

I like them for their motion and color.

 

[design.maddie]

I've only had softies before (and the easiest softies at that) but I'd really like to try cyphastrea, euphyllia, and maybe a duncan in the new tank. Fortunately it's nowhere near ready for coral yet because I admit I know little about these corals and need to do some research still but I think they look awesome!

I have a meteor shower cyphastrea that I love watching grow. In the flesh (green) you will see a tiny dot of pink then it grows wider and wider then pushes up and up.

 

[Jarvisffc]

What softies have you got?

 

[CCauthers]

1. There's soooo many to choose from. My favourite is acanthophyllia (meat coral) - especially the colourful ones! I am also a huge fan of blastos and acans (esp Bowerbankii) and torches .... ahhhhh so many!!

2. Pros: They tolerate and thrive in low levels of nitrates, and can be fed which is fun to do! Cons: Some don't tolerate bright light so difficult to keep with SPS and anemones, can be nip'd by some angels

Same, I've got a few nice ones

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

What softies have you got?

I have Kenya trees, Xenia, branching BSP, and a toadstool. I suspect many LPS corals will be a bit more challenging but I'm looking forward to giving them a shot.

 

[rogersb]

Euphyllia and bowerbanki. This has a couple torch colonies. The green with purple tips is 30+ heads.