Devils Hand (green polyps)

[Kavorka]

Hello All

just got my first few corals ever (I now understand the addiction lol).

I picked up a green polyp devils hand from the LFS because they said that clowns often host them and I was hoping to get something for my two clowns that was NOT an anemone.

a few questions:

1) It is about 1-2 inch wide by 3-4 inch long. what max size will it reach.

2)the pics online show a bunch of finger like protrusions. Will these develop overtime or will my variant stay a weird concaveish shape.

3) Any issues I should be aware of?

 

[jbrady429]

Hello All

just got my first few corals ever (I now understand the addiction lol).

I picked up a green polyp devils hand from the LFS because they said that clowns often host them and I was hoping to get something for my two clowns that was NOT an anemone.

a few questions:

1) It is about 1-2 inch wide by 3-4 inch long. what max size will it reach.

2)the pics online show a bunch of finger like protrusions. Will these develop overtime or will my variant stay a weird concaveish shape.

3) Any issues I should be aware of?

View attachment 2965554
View attachment 2965555

Congratulations! It will look more like the pictures as it gets bigger. That’s a great coral to start with. It should be pretty hardy and very tolerant of water conditions, as long as it’s getting good light. The most important thing I can tell you is don’t try to keep your water pristine with 0 nitrates and 0 phosphates. Soft corals like that especially like some nitrates and phosphates in the water. Your clownfish may or may not host with the coral, and there’s nothing you can do to encourage or discourage it. Clownfish seem to do whatever they feel like doing, which can be pretty strange sometimes and even change overnight for no reason. That’s part of why they’re fun though!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello All

just got my first few corals ever (I now understand the addiction lol).

I picked up a green polyp devils hand from the LFS because they said that clowns often host them and I was hoping to get something for my two clowns that was NOT an anemone.

a few questions:

1) It is about 1-2 inch wide by 3-4 inch long. what max size will it reach.

2)the pics online show a bunch of finger like protrusions. Will these develop overtime or will my variant stay a weird concaveish shape.

3) Any issues I should be aware of?

View attachment 2965554
View attachment 2965555

Clowns MAY go into them if there is nothing else for them to nestle in IF they care to. They will also take on euphyllia, GSP, zenia and others.
Clowns are the guests- the corals are the host

 

[liddojunior]

I’m not an expert but this might be a crown leather and not a devils hand ? It looks more fold pattern instead of finger

 

[Kavorka]

Congratulations! It will look more like the pictures as it gets bigger. That’s a great coral to start with. It should be pretty hardy and very tolerant of water conditions, as long as it’s getting good light. The most important thing I can tell you is don’t try to keep your water pristine with 0 nitrates and 0 phosphates. Soft corals like that especially like some nitrates and phosphates in the water. Your clownfish may or may not host with the coral, and there’s nothing you can do to encourage or discourage it. Clownfish seem to do whatever they feel like doing, which can be pretty strange sometimes and even change overnight for no reason. That’s part of why they’re fun though!

Thanks.

I think it’s a cool looking coral as well As being a possible home for the clowns. Glad to hear it will develop those fingers.

I also got a Duncan as a possible anemone alternative for clowns as I read they are commonly used. It’s in a different part of tank to give them an alternate.

cheers

 

[Kavorka]

Clowns MAY go into them if there is nothing else for them to nestle in IF they care to. They will also take on euphyllia, GSP, zenia and others.
Clowns are the guests- the corals are the host

thanks.

Put a Duncan in as well as a possible coral for them host. We will see.

tobad there is no way to “encourage“ them. Lol.
may get some hammer&frogspawns latter on once tanks over 3 months old.

 

[Kavorka]

I’m not an expert but this might be a crown leather and not a devils hand ? It looks more fold pattern instead of finger

Man I am a noob. Never even heard of a “crown leather”.

how do I tell. Which one it is. Just going off lady at LFS saying it’s a devils hand.

 

[Kavorka]

I also just read that these “drop fingers” to self propagate.

I want to keep only one in the tank. It’s a smaller tank (35 gal) and I do t want only leathers lol.

-when they drop fingers is it obvious.

- Willi be able to see it prepping to drop so I can be ready to remove it.

-once removed I assume I can get a frag rack and sell it back to LFS for credit (willneed to buy equip and supplies to do so.


this is probably way in future but I like being prepared.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Pretty coral. If it is a lobophytum, it will drop babies and it will be noticeable. They will keep growing and eventually will need to be cut back. They do not reach a certain growth and stop. They may however reach a certain size and just drop babies a lot more.

I have clowns make a home in sinularia (colt coral) very quickly. They also seem to like frogspawn and hammer corals. They will go into anything and change every so often at times. Due to me having a natural host in main tank, my clowns stick to the anemones, not the leathers.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

+1 if allowed enough space that coral will grow and grow and grow. Lol.
D

 

[Kavorka]

So. to keep it to a manageable size in my 35gal, I just need to “prune” it.

how fast does this grow. Curious how often I would need to cut er back.

 

[mrpontiac80]

So. to keep it to a manageable size in my 35gal, I just need to “prune” it.

how fast does this grow. Curious how often I would need to cut er back.

My devils hand is about 20-22 months old. I got it when it was the size of a thumb. Now it is easily bigger than a softball.

 

[Kavorka]

My devils hand is about 20-22 months old. I got it when it was the size of a thumb. Now it is easily bigger than a softball. View attachment 2965921View attachment 2965923

Ahh.

ok. That’s not as fast as I feared. Still fast though.

have you had to cut yours at all. Has it dropped fingers .

 

[mrpontiac80]

Ahh.

ok. That’s not as fast as I feared. Still fast though.

have you had to cut yours at all. Has it dropped fingers .

It has not dropped any fingers at all. My toadstool which I bought at the same time however is starting to drop babies. It’s a slow process that has been happening over a few weeks. It developed a hole and then two then three, and now has a couple of pieces barely hanging on.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Man I am a noob. Never even heard of a “crown leather”.

how do I tell. Which one it is. Just going off lady at LFS saying it’s a devils hand.

The shape - it looks like a crown leather to me as well. You'll know for sure as it grows, because devil's hand would develop more "finger"- like shapes.

 

[Kavorka]

The shape - it looks like a crown leather to me as well. You'll know for sure as it grows, because devil's hand would develop more "finger"- like shapes.

Ok. Guess I will wait and see.
If it dosent develop fingers then it’s a crown leather.

if it’s a crown leather is there a difference to care requirements over a devils hand?

will it still drop parts of itself ? Or wil it just get bigger and need to be cut back.

again, this is all new to me so sorry for noob questions.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Ok. Guess I will wait and see.
If it dosent develop fingers then it’s a crown leather.

if it’s a crown leather is there a difference to care requirements over a devils hand?

will it still drop parts of itself ? Or wil it just get bigger and need to be cut back.

again, this is all new to me so sorry for noob questions.

Don't apologize for asking questions - everyone has to start somewhere! I've been in the hobby a year now and I am constantly still researching and asking questions. This forum is amazing for that - many very helpful people who won't judge you for being new!
Most leathers are very similar in care requirements, and I would venture that is the case with crown vs devil's hand. Leathers are honestly really easy, if not a little annoying when they shed. I have a colt coral and cabbage leather that shed weekly it seems. They are self-cleaning basically, lol. Once they're done the polyps will extend again and look normal. I don't notice my crown leather shedding hardly at all. It's getting huge though. As far as dropping off parts... I have never seen that happen. Mine have just grown larger. You wouldn't really need to cut it back or frag it unless it starts getting too large and shading corals below it. Now xenia... that will drop babies that you'll randomly find throughout the tank, lol. I like it, so I just grab the little ones it drops and put them back on the rock with the mother colony.

Here's a good representation of a devil's hand leather: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url...ved=0CAwQjRxqFwoTCKD99cXfu_wCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAI

 

[DeniseAndy]

Devil's hand and crown leather are many times the same genus and requirements are the same. Sometimes the common name is just too broad. However, to get a species on many animals is too difficult for average hobbyists and can only be done with microscopes and structural knowledge.

So, really, it is just a growth pattern that is the difference. And with leathers, growth patterns are what makes them really cool, so not to dis that at all.