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FAQs about Merulinid Corals Compatibility

Related Articles: Merulinids, SPS Corals

Related FAQs: Merulinids 1, Merulinids 2, & FAQs on: Merulinid Identification, Merulinid Behavior, Merulinid Selection, Merulinid Systems, Merulinid Feeding, Merulinid Disease, Merulinid Reproduction/Propagation, & Stony/True Coral, Coral System Set-Up, Coral System Lighting, Stony Coral Identification, Stony Coral Selection, Coral PlacementFoods/Feeding/Nutrition, Disease/Health, Propagation, Growing Reef CoralsStony Coral Behavior, SPS Identification, SPS Behavior, SPS Compatibility, SPS Selection, SPS Systems, SPS Feeding, SPS Disease, SPS Reproduction,

 

Hydnophora microconos comp.    11/27/06 Hello guys or gals, <Hey Ryan, JustinN with you today> I have a question I hope you can help me with.   <I'll do my best> I've been doing all I can to find help with this problem (books, forums, Internet searches) with no luck.  I have this brilliant fluorescent green and pink Hydnophora Microconos coral that is receding on the "cones" only, the rest of the coral appears to be fine.  It's not all of the "cones" just some of them, almost as if the flesh peeled off.  I also haven't seen the polyps opening very often, which are very hard to see even when they are open.  Should I feed the coral something, if so, what?   <These lovely, yet extremely noxious corals are planktivores, and consume filter feeding material, such as phytoplankton and zooplankton> I have other types of Hydnophora that are fine and have been for a long time.   <Aha! We may have the culprit!> We also have a Hydnophora Microconos at the store I work at that has been great for years.  So I am very confused, I don't know what would be causing this.  It's about 6 inches under water, which is about 10-12 inches below my 250 watt metal halide bulb ( I acclimated it slowly to the lighting ).  I've had it in high flow, moderate flow, and low flow, which doesn't seem to make a difference.  I don't want to bore you with my water parameters, here's a quick look, all bad things are 0, calcium 425, Alk 9 dKH, salinity 1.025, and temp 77-78.   <All sounds good here> Since I've received the coral it seems it has gotten brighter in color, the cones which didn't recede are a more brilliant pink which you would think would indicate good health.  Anyway, I'm confused about this, any help would be appreciated.  Thanks, Ryan. <Well, Ryan, the only thing I can assume from what you describe is allelopathy between the Hydnophora sp. in your tank. These beauties are some of the most noxious around of corals, actively battling, and winning, with most other species. Hope this helps you! -JustinN>

Re: Hydnophora microconos    11/28/06 Thanks Justin, I'll try removing the other varieties of Hydnophora and see if that helps. <Sounds good, Ryan. Good luck! -JustinN>

Re: Hydnophora microconos - A Follow-up  12/2/06 Thanks again for the help.   <No problem, Ryan... its why I do it> The Hydnophora is now doing great, polyps are out, it's expanding like a balloon during lighting hours, it looks better than ever.   <Excellent to hear!> You hit the nail on the head.  Thanks for the help and the most information regarding corals and fish on the net, Ryan. <Thanks for the kind words, Ryan. We're here to help. I'll take this as a chance to offer up a friendly reminder to everyone of the Christmas spirit, and also of the donation box *grin* Every little bit helps! -JustinN>

Montipora capricornis Compatibility 03/31/2008 Hey Crew. <<Good Morning, Andrew today>> I hope the mice aren't playing too much while the cat is away. I have a "professional compatibility opinion" question for you. I was in my LFS today and noticed a very nice (4" wide and 6" long) coral that I believe to be a Montipora capricornis. (See attached picture--do you agree?). <<Agreed>> This coral is in the "all corals in this tank are $25" tank. I couldn't believe the LFS is selling this for only $25 as I've seen similar corals demanding much higher prices, so I asked one of the clerks why it was so cheap and he said that they are trying to get rid of it because it's been at the store for over 2 weeks with no takers. He tells me that it is an aquacultured "cup coral" that doesn't have the coloring that most people like. This coral would look great in my tank, so I came home and did some research on compatibility and am a little concerned about its ability to survive/thrive given my other animals (mostly, my Corallimorphs). I have a 110 gallon display with 95 lbs of LR and a 30 gallon refugium (DSB, 10 lbs LR, and large clump of Chaeto). Lighting is 2x250W HQIs (20,000K) driven by 2 IceCap ballasts and 4x65W actinic PCs. My circulation is about 15 x per hour between my return pump and my internal power heads. My coral livestock list is as follows: Corallimorphs (positioned throughout my tank): 8 small green hairy mushrooms on one rock 8 medium green Rhodactis mushrooms on one rock 1 small purple Rhodactis mushroom 14 small red mushrooms spread throughout my tank 1 medium orange Ricordea mushroom 3 small cream colored mushrooms on one piece of Tonga branch Soft Corals: 2 large colonies Pulsing Xenia 2 large Capnellas 1 large Dendronephthya (9 months and thriving!) 1 large red pipe organ (Tubipora musica) LPS: 1 Pacific Open Brain (Trachyphyllia) 5 polyps candy cane coral (Caulastrea echinulata). I run two 1-cup portions of activated carbon in my sump that I change out every 2 weeks to help reduce any allelopathy. At $25, this isn't a huge investment by any stretch, but I don't want to purchase this coral only to put it in an environment in which it won't thrive or survive. There is an empty spot about half way up my tank that is in a relatively high-flow area that would be a perfect spot for this coral. What do you think? <<Given enough space / distance between this and other corals, I see no reason why you could not house this in your system>> Thanks for your insight/thoughts! Andy <<Thanks for questions, hope this helps. A Nixon>>

Re: Montipora capricornis Compatibility 04/01/2008 Andrew, <<Andy>> Someone opined to me that this coral is a Merulina ampliata, not a Monti cap, but the pictures of Merulina that I've been able to find don't resemble this coral. However, after reading WWM and elsewhere, the ridges on this coral make me wonder whether it may be a Merulina, but . . . Any thoughts on the proper ID of this coral and, if a Merulina, any difference in your original opinion that it should do okay in my display? Closer pic is here: http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii81/abulgin/DSC_0654.jpg <<Ampilata do not roll up as the Monti Cap does. Its a more flat plating coral. I will stick with Montipora capricornis>> Thanks again! Andy <<Thanks for the follow and query. A Nixon>>

Re: Montipora capricornis Compatibility -- 04/1/08 Andrew, <<Hello again>> Thanks for the reply. This picture is what got me thinking maybe we were wrong: http://whelk.aims.gov.au/coralsearch/html/201-300/Pix/240-02.htm <<I still feel confident of this being a Monti cap. If you review the following photo's of the Merulina ampliata, to me, I can see the difference..  http://www.reef-guardian.com/fiches-coraux-pic-76.html ..Flat, not rose, higher pronounced ridges.>> <<Thanks, A Nixon>>



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