"Pest" corals fan club!

[Anemone_Fanatic]

I know I'm not the only one, right? When I started off in this hobby, I wanted all the torches and all the acros. I wanted one of those big flashy "instagram reefs", basically. As time went on, however, I started to become interested in the forgotten corals of the hobby. Xenia, GSP, Kenya trees, mushrooms, etc.

I think we give these corals a bad rap. Yes, they'll take over your garden of acropora. However, this doesn't make them worse corals, or somehow bad. It just makes them better survivors. They're also much easier to keep, I haven't done serious testing/water changes in months and yet my corals are thriving. I know that if I tried to put any rainbow sticks in there, they'd be toast, but I don't want to add them. They don't have as much to offer.

Controversial opinion here, but I also think these corals look better. They aren't as colorful as fancy hard corals, sure, but they're beautiful in their own way. They have so much more motion, and they're built of intricate structures which allow you to see each polyp in detail. You can also grow them into large colonies in a matter of months, something which takes years to do with SPS and Euphyllia.

Here's some Xenia.

And some GSP, with a few orange/blue rhodactis in the foreground. You can also see some more blurry Xenia in the back

Green Kenya tree.

Xenia again.

Give the "pests" a chance. I did, and I can say with confidence that I have no regrets.

 

[blaxsun]

I pulled up all my pulsing xenia. Those things are a pestilence and should never be freely sold without a massive waiver/disclaimer...

 

[Doctorgori]

Gheez I commend the bravery, may as well throw in green palys, blue mushrooms, blue cloves and bubble tip anemones….let em all duke it out in one tank

 

[littlefoxx]

I know I'm not the only one, right? When I started off in this hobby, I wanted all the torches and all the acros. I wanted one of those big flashy "instagram reefs", basically. As time went on, however, I started to become interested in the forgotten corals of the hobby. Xenia, GSP, Kenya trees, mushrooms, etc.

I think we give these corals a bad rap. Yes, they'll take over your garden of acropora. However, this doesn't make them worse corals, or somehow bad. It just makes them better survivors. They're also much easier to keep, I haven't done serious testing/water changes in months and yet my corals are thriving. I know that if I tried to put any rainbow sticks in there, they'd be toast, but I don't want to add them. They don't have as much to offer.

Controversial opinion here, but I also think these corals look better. They aren't as colorful as fancy hard corals, sure, but they're beautiful in their own way. They have so much more motion, and they're built of intricate structures which allow you to see each polyp in detail. You can also grow them into large colonies in a matter of months, something which takes years to do with SPS and Euphyllia.

Here's some Xenia.

And some GSP, with a few orange/blue rhodactis in the foreground. You can also see some more blurry Xenia in the back

Green Kenya tree.

Xenia again.

Give the "pests" a chance. I did, and I can say with confidence that I have no regrets.

Lol my cousin HATES his GSP. Its growing on the side of his glass too from the sand. I think its super cool so I bought a big frag for my nano and glued it to the wall so it would grow on the back like that! Its cool cause its super bright and flowy! Not sure why people complain about it honestly

 

[Battlecorals]

I love it! I said up a tank at my son’s school, and it is all about these types coral! Nothing but.

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Gheez I commend the bravery, may as well throw in green palys, blue mushrooms, blue cloves and bubble tip anemones….let em all duke it out in one tank

They'll be in there soon, trust me. As soon as I can find some for sale on the same site with good shipping, I'll be sure to add them in. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[PhishMonger84]

these are my favorites!

got a super winning frag a month ago xenia, kenya tree & blue mushies

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

I pulled up all my pulsing xenia. Those things are a pestilence and should never be freely sold without a massive waiver/disclaimer...

These little things, a pestilence!?!!? Surely you must be mistaken...

This is my eventual goal for this tank.

(Photo credit goes to @Trex )

 

[Doctorgori]

Keep us posted, my vote is the blue mushrooms win, but I dunno

..if your “EX” has a reef tank, send him/her these

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Keep us posted, my vote is the blue mushrooms win, but I dunno

My money's on the blue clove polyps, maybe the Xenia in 2nd. I'm hoping that they all eventually reach equilibrium, though. It might get a little hard to rehome all these corals when it's time to take the tank down, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

 

[blaxsun]

These little things, a pestilence!?!!? Surely you must be mistaken... This is my eventual goal for this tank.

It won't take long to get there!

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

It won't take long to get there!

I'm going to give it about a year. I started off with 5 different 3" frags of the stuff, we'll see how it goes. I put them in a bunch of different areas of flow to see which it likes best. So far, the happiest one is in the lowest flow, but some people say they grow the quickest when they're getting blasted. I guess I'll see!

 

[blaxsun]

I'm going to give it about a year. I started off with 5 different 3" frags of the stuff, we'll see how it goes. I put them in a bunch of different areas of flow to see which it likes best. So far, the happiest one is in the lowest flow, but some people say they grow the quickest when they're getting blasted. I guess I'll see!

Like GSP, these things could literally grow in a toilet. After I thought I'd eradicated them several times I still managed to find the odd colony or polyp buried or tucked away. Pestilence!

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

FTS of the "pest" tank. I've also got an "innocent bystander" gorgonian in there, I think it'll be able to keep the pests at bay. If not, I'll just stick it to the back wall where it's safer.

 

[Doctorgori]

My money's on the blue clove polyps, maybe the Xenia in 2nd. I'm hoping that they all eventually reach equilibrium, though. It might get a little hard to rehome all these corals when it's time to take the tank down, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

You could use either Galaxea or Bubble tips to sorta “police” the joint…I mean nobody. but nobody can out sting either of those two…. might even create galaxea “dividers” to separate the different “cell blocks” lol

 

[Aquariumaddictuk]

I know I'm not the only one, right? When I started off in this hobby, I wanted all the torches and all the acros. I wanted one of those big flashy "instagram reefs", basically. As time went on, however, I started to become interested in the forgotten corals of the hobby. Xenia, GSP, Kenya trees, mushrooms, etc.

I think we give these corals a bad rap. Yes, they'll take over your garden of acropora. However, this doesn't make them worse corals, or somehow bad. It just makes them better survivors. They're also much easier to keep, I haven't done serious testing/water changes in months and yet my corals are thriving. I know that if I tried to put any rainbow sticks in there, they'd be toast, but I don't want to add them. They don't have as much to offer.

Controversial opinion here, but I also think these corals look better. They aren't as colorful as fancy hard corals, sure, but they're beautiful in their own way. They have so much more motion, and they're built of intricate structures which allow you to see each polyp in detail. You can also grow them into large colonies in a matter of months, something which takes years to do with SPS and Euphyllia.

Here's some Xenia.

And some GSP, with a few orange/blue rhodactis in the foreground. You can also see some more blurry Xenia in the back

Green Kenya tree.

Xenia again.

Give the "pests" a chance. I did, and I can say with confidence that I have no regrets.

I don't mind "pest corals" if isolated on an island.i have green plays, GSP & a green Kenya but they are all marooned and I just sell the frags cheap on eBay.gsp is a nice little cheap pop of colour on the lower rock work.all the fancy stuff sits above them.if it ever attempts to leave it's spot I'll hack it back

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

You could use either Galaxea or Bubble tips to sorta “police” the joint…I mean nobody. but nobody can out sting either of those two…. might even create galaxea “dividers” to separate the different “cell blocks” lol

I've already got a BTA, but my cleaner shrimp's apparently decided that those are food. Not sure about the galaxea, I'm trying to do a tank without any stoney corals. Maybe once the corals have grown out enough that they won't be wiped out, I can add an angel/butterfly to keep them trimmed.

 

[secret_reefer337]

My tank is a softy with few LPS. I have a blue solomon island kenya tree, ruby xenia, giant bali xenia and blue xenia. They add extra movements in my tank.

 

[Alexraptor]

I got some hitchhiker clove polyps one, totally overrun the tank. Which is why I ended up populating the tank with more aggressive and aggressively growing SPS and LPS.

Even had them reproduce sexually.

But i adore them simply for the fact that they are single-handedly the BEST nutrient binders/exporters I have ever had. Still, prefer to keep them isolated to one tank. Not every aquascape needs to be dominated by them.

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Just added a few majanos to my tank! They came in on a zoa rock, but honestly, I sort of like them. They might beat everything else, I guess I'll know in a year or so.