What one coral doesn’t thrive in your system?

[Townes_Van_Camp]

I have a pretty mixed reef. No crazy stuff, mostly classic corals. They all are growing fast, except one. All of my LPS (acanthestrea, cyphestrea, hammer, torchy frogspawny thing, candy canes, favia, and Duncan, chalice). All of them are growing adding new heads, new tissues spreading.

SPS, same story. Stylo, staghorn, monti undata & digitata, tricolor valida, all killing it. Measurable growth on a daily basis from all of them.

Softies, Zola’s, palys, and mushroom (yes singular, I’m not really a fan) zoas and palys are rapidly adding polyps; so fast I have decided they go in my pico so they don’t take over my mixed reef Nano. But that mushroom just sits no color change, no growth no nothing.

I’m not looking for an answer. I refuse to chase parameters or change my tank to better suit a mushroom when everything is growing and coloring nicely. Just a conversation starter.

what corals does your system struggle with?

 

[smol_reef]

Gonis for me. They'll do fine for 2-3 months and just suddenly go downhill for no reason

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

Gonis for me. They'll do fine for 2-3 months and just suddenly go downhill for no reason

I have had the same experience with them some time back. Tried twice. Then quit.

 

[TheDragonsReef]

Torches. Dont know why they get brown jelly everytime. Never right away but between 2-6 months in. All hammers, frogspawn, sps everything else does fine.

 

[Steve and his Animals]

Elegance for me, which is a real kicker because it's one of my favorites. Funny, because I have no issues with the supposedly difficult stuff (Acropora, gorgonians, fungia, ritteri anemones, etc.) as of late. I've had 3, and it always goes the same: it looks amazing for the first couple weeks, then starts to close up, and never really opens again.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

Elegance for me, which is a real kicker because it's one of my favorites. Funny, because I have no issues with the supposedly difficult stuff (Acropora, gorgonians, fungia, ritteri anemones, etc.) as of late. I've had 3, and it always goes the same: it looks amazing for the first couple weeks, then starts to close up, and never really opens again.

Oh I wish I could keep gorgonians. Blueberry gorgonian is, in my opinion, one of the planets most beautiful offerings. Just stunning.

 

[Ossy3]

Torches for me..

 

[Steve and his Animals]

Oh I wish I could keep gorgonians. Blueberry gorgonian is, in my opinion, one of the planets most beautiful offerings. Just stunning.

I got a purple gorgonian from Alyssa's Seahorse Savvy last month, beautiful and supposedly photosynthetic (although I don't know how you could tell). There was some slight tissue loss at the beginning in certain spots, but it actually seems to have recovered which is impressive. I treat them like any other SPS, high light and flow. Polyp extension looks neat.

 

[davidcalgary29]

I've been watching my chalice frag slowly wither away in my Evo. Everything else, including some lovely gorgonians, cynarine, and a rather large piece of acro, are doing well. And the duncans are exploding, even with a porcelain crab wedged into it. Sigh.

 

[Hincapiej4]

Gonis for me. They'll do fine for 2-3 months and just suddenly go downhill for no reason

Check iodine.

 

[homer1475]

Acans for me, which is a real kick in the teeth. Acans are the reason I started a tank again some 10 years back.

Every tank I've had, had Acans in them. When I moved to this tank I moved my acan garden(about 50 heads total). Roughly 4 months down the road, every acan started to shrivel up and die.

Even to this day, they are fine for about 3 to 4 months, then just shrivel up and die. Yet any SPS or LPS does perfectly fine. I have since given up on trying to keep them, and will no longer buy them.

 

[fachatga]

I’ve got healthy acros, scans, blastos, frogspawn, leather but my chalices just are so unhappy. It’s a small tank with lots of flow and light but I’ve made a few areas lately that seem better for the non-sticks. Just trying a few other locations and hopefully they perk up.

 

[jeffchapok]

Oh I wish I could keep gorgonians. Blueberry gorgonian is, in my opinion, one of the planets most beautiful offerings. Just stunning.

I agree. Do you feed them? They are non photosynthetic, you know.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

I agree. Do you feed them? They are non photosynthetic, you know.

I do. I’ve tried rotifers, baby brine, reef chili, they always die. Even with a massive pod population.

 

[Goaway]

I can't get my zoas/palys to grow. My hammer corals grow 1-2 hears per month now.
I am trying to keep my reef from being too mixed. I have a birdsnest that has decent growth, and some times it sprouts like a weed.
Torches I am told are slow growers. So I don't expect much from them.

 

[homer1475]

I do. I’ve tried rotifers, baby brine, reef chili, they always die. Even with a massive pod population.

I found they did best with daily live phyto dosing.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

I found they did best with daily live phyto dosing.

That I haven’t tried. Maybe I decide to undertake that enterprise one day.

 

[homer1475]

I don't "brew" it myself either. I have found on here someone that sells an 8 species blend for relatively cheap(cheaper then algae barn or reef nutrition).

Not only will it feed gorgs, but it's one of the healthiest things you can do for your tank(everything feeds on phyto, and it will out compete algae for nutrients).

Just look for a thread by @Eldredge.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

I don't "brew" it myself either. I have found on here someone that sells an 8 species blend for relatively cheap(cheaper then algae barn or reef nutrition).

Not only will it feed gorgs, but it's one of the healthiest things you can do for your tank(everything feeds on phyto, and it will out compete algae for nutrients).

Just look for a thread by @Eldredge.

I really appreciate that, thank you.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

birdsnest