softy to sps ratio??

dougers31 · Feb 18, 2011

So I know its not always recommended to keep softies(leathers etc) with sps but I know that some do. Is there a ratio of softies to sps that keeps them all healthy and thriving in the same tank? Also, are there some you want to avoid alltogether?

akabryanhall · Feb 18, 2011

I don't think there is a ratio to keep. Obviously leathers can really foul up your water if they get stressed. I would stay away from button polyps and mushrooms. Oh and xenia.

dougers31 · Feb 18, 2011

akabryanhall said:
I don't think there is a ratio to keep. Obviously leathers can really foul up your water if they get stressed. I would stay away from button polyps and mushrooms. Oh and xenia.

Do you say xenia since they can die off for no apparent reason an pollute your tank?

LILBUDDHA · Feb 19, 2011

No because they are so slimy and prolific reproducers . I consider them a weed . U will have no issues if you do regular water changes , have a decent skimmer and run carbon to remove the rest of the chemicals produced by softies .
Anywho softies prefer a dirtier water and SPS are the opposite .

HTH

coralfarm123 · Feb 19, 2011

My tank is a mixed reef, but is mostly SPS. I've got 5 different large leathers in my tank all 8-12+ inches along with various mushrooms and zoanthids. The leathers alone take up about 1/3 of the tank in my 210g. I haven't had any issues keeping them together, but I do run carbon along with regular water changes.

MimicOcto8 · Feb 19, 2011

I stay completely away from leathers in my tank but i do have shrooms and zoanthids and a small frag of clove polyps. do i need to worry about those? i keep mostly sps

dougers31 · Feb 19, 2011

MimicOcto8 said:
I stay completely away from leathers in my tank but i do have shrooms and zoanthids and a small frag of clove polyps. do i need to worry about those? i keep mostly sps

If it was me, the only mushrooms I would have in my tank are rics. Some of the others can be a real nuisance with how fast they can reproduce and take over.

RogerWilco357 · Feb 19, 2011

I used to have a 45 gallon corner bow that I kept the sinularia and some sps in but yeah they do slime alot when stressed and carbon is a must ..now I just keep the softies in that tank and moved all the sps to another just in case .