Cats, Birds, or Cauliflowers: What is the best SPS starter coral?

[steveschuerger]

Well I seem to murder Acros, though the two I’m trying seem to be working out. But as far as the sps in question, I’d give my votes to Stylophora and Pocilopora. I have a specimen of each and they’re super easy to keep happy for me.

 

[b breef]

Another vote for pavona. Psammacora and monti too pretty good starter

 

[The_Skrimp]

Cyphastrea if that counts or montipora digitata or montipora cap.

I think birdsnests are harder than people give them credit for especially once they grow big enough to block light from the center of the colony.

 

[bnord]

I ended up tearing down a 150 gallon tank last year as a result Pocillipora growing everywhere and overtaking everything. Would never introduce in my tank again. The problem with some of these corals which have been mentioned is that once they take off, They TAKE OFF!! There is no stopping them and if you decided to step up to more demanding corals, (not to say "high end") you'll find it near impossible to protect these more delicate slower growing corals from the beginner corals. I never thought I'd call a red Digitata a pest but today to me it is.

am sure you and I are not unique, but also cannot believe others have not had the same problem, otherwise it would be banned for international sale (Smile).

I have tried trimming, covering with putty, CA, and dirty looks.

I have it on the back glass, eliminating sites for new frags on the scape, or crowding, "poisoning" favored frags

Am planning to upgrade from a 180 to a "big" tank and was going to transfer as much of the otherwise healthy scape as possible, but consider Pocillipora an unavoidable obstacle on this plan

Again, R2R should offer a public service t-shirt - "Friends don't let friends add Pocci"

 

[Timfish]

Purple Stylo.

 

[saron81]

My psammocora is the center piece of my tank!

 

[hunterallen40]

True Montipora capricornis don’t exist in the hobby. What we call ‘monti caps’ are actually other species of plating Montipora with ridges or papillae such as M. aequituberculata, M. florida, or M. foliosa.

@encrustingacro today I learned! Thanks!

 

[Acroconut]

The two fastest growing in my 13+ gal have been my Ora Stellar
Stylophora and my WWC grafted Monti cap. I'm not new to sps but have been surprised by the growth of the Stylo in a somewhat young tank.

 

[OlafsReef]

Montipora: Digi, Cap, or a contained undata are neigh indestructible with even basic efforts.

 

[b breef]

My psammocora is the center piece of my tank! View attachment 3000247

Nice I have a green tyree that might look like that by now but it joined my tank during my leaning cuve and I have stunted and deformed it’s growth
That’s a nice sammy

 

[flyfisher2]

am sure you and I are not unique, but also cannot believe others have not had the same problem, otherwise it would be banned for international sale (Smile).

I have tried trimming, covering with putty, CA, and dirty looks.

I have it on the back glass, eliminating sites for new frags on the scape, or crowding, "poisoning" favored frags

Am planning to upgrade from a 180 to a "big" tank and was going to transfer as much of the otherwise healthy scape as possible, but consider Pocillipora an unavoidable obstacle on this plan

Again, R2R should offer a public service t-shirt - "Friends don't let friends add Pocci"

View attachment 2999712View attachment 2999713View attachment 2999714View attachment 2999715

I believe that keeping corals is a progressive hobby. As time and experience advance the $5 corals in the bargain tank which taught us how to do it correctly are no longer appealing. Those corals are valuable in teaching but need to be passed on to other beginners as we advance to the next level. It’s sad when a total beginner is not discouraged from buying more demanding corals which end up dead. This in turn discourages the new hobbyist and deprives them of long term success in reef keeping.

 

[bnord]

I believe that keeping corals is a progressive hobby. As time and experience advance the $5 corals in the bargain tank which taught us how to do it correctly are no longer appealing. Those corals are valuable in teaching but need to be passed on to other beginners as we advance to the next level. It’s sad when a total beginner is not discouraged from buying more demanding corals which end up dead. This in turn discourages the new hobbyist and deprives them of long term success in reef keeping.

Certainly agree in principle. And….

I have “recovered“ from my GSP and Xenia early additions to first tank, and are now under control through either removal via uprooting, injection with Kalk, or on many cases fine tuning how the place them and keep them under control

My (perhaps personal) challenge is the Pocci in my tank has spread to wherever it wants (prime real estate for light and flow) thrives under SPS conditions and ignores every control method so far implemented. To the point i do not trust moving almost any piece of rock to a new tank.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Are all pocillopora going to spread in a tank environment? I was giving a large colony from a well know reefer and would think that they would have warned me.

 

[i cant think]

Are all pocillopora going to spread in a tank environment? I was giving a large colony from a well know reefer and would think that they would have warned me.

Honestly, if you can control it they aren’t too bad - My Kenya’s have only just thrown out a baby and it’s only one young frag. These Kenya trees are about 11 months old.

 

[bnord]

Are all pocillopora going to spread in a tank environment? I was giving a large colony from a well know reefer and would think that they would have warned me.

Really cant say, mine is green and heard other strains/species are not as bad. I think mine is P meandrina (which spell check change to meandering - too funny) . Have 3 different Stylophora that are both hardy and non spreading (via polyp bailout) and have heard that P damicornis stay in one place

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Really cant say, mine is green and heard other strains/species are not as bad. I think mine is P meandrina (which spell check change to meandering - too funny) . Have 3 different Stylophora that are both hardy and non spreading (via polyp bailout) and have heard that P damicornis stay in one place

Mine is green also. It is a dark green and I really like it. I think I will risk it and keep it.

 

[bnord]

Honestly, if you can control it they aren’t too bad - My Kenya’s have only just thrown out a baby and it’s only one young frag. These Kenya trees are about 11 months old.

Have tried to carefully say that it may happen with Pocillipora not that it always does. - but when it does it is far harder (for me so far impossible) to walk back from
and to your point, i have a “branch“ of Kenya tree that has not changes in size or appearance in over a year.

 

[bnord]

Nice I have a green tyree that might look like that by now but it joined my tank during my leaning cuve and I have stunted and deformed it’s growth
That’s a nice sammy

And as a great example of corals behaving differently in different tanks, i have a nice small Psammacora colony from my frag tank that 2 Xs have acclimated to my display full of other more challenging acros, and it looks fine for 30 - to 45 days, then retracted and browns up and i move it back to the frag tank and its great -

horses for courses