Throw some crap @ me.....

[beelzebob]

I have come seeking information...

being a newb, i have not yet attempted to keep any LPS. only softies, polyps, mushies, zoas etc.

but i sure would like to add a lil lps in the upcomming months.

my tank is small, id guess you could call it a nano at 18 gal. but i was looking for you LPS experts out there to throw some ideas my way as to what LPS would be good for a begginer.

my lighting is a 96W Coarlife PC, 10,000k daylight,and 10,000k acknic.

i have some intresets, so be ready to shoot me down.

chalice? really like that stuff.
and open brain?
plate corals?
acans?
candy canes?
blastomussa?

whats good cool and easy?
what should i avoid?

[pink_floyd]

I believe blastos are very nice and easy to take care of.. as well as candy canes and plate corals...

["Umm, fish?"]

Blastos seem to hate my system, so I avoid them now. Acans seem easy to me (feed them well). Hammer corals seem easy. They get big, though. Open brains should be easy, but you have to keep up on feeding. Plate corals should be easy, but mine died of some weird infection.

[WendyMc]

Want some crap? Heck, I'm full of it
:D . Seriously, though, you have listed some corals which can thrive in a tank that size with that lighting (I have that same exact light on my 12g). None of them can be touched by any of your soft corals, though, so make sure if you try them to give them plenty of clearance from where your softies could reach at their biggest & fullest expansion.

IMO candy canes are the easiest & least expensive of all the ones you listed. Also, because of their stony, branched skeleton it is easy to affix them on your reef with enough clearance that softies below can't sting them. Their skeleton also makes it extremely easy to frag for trades. If you feed them at least once a week with a tiny piece of meaty fresh seafood (mysis shrimp, squid meat, prawns scallops or salad shrimp) they will show better polyp expansion and faster growth. Just make sure the piece of food isn't too large - they will take bigger pieces in, but throw them up in a few hours mostly undigested and be at an actual energy deficit then. Aim for pieces like about the size of this lower case letter - o -.

Acans are a great one for a beginner - but don't go with an Echinata unless you can keep it at least 8" away from all other corals on all sides because this one is extremely aggressive. But a Lord (don't go for non-indo unless you are keeping your system at a lower temp & salinity than commonly seen) is a good and hardy coral which as long as it is fed on occasion will grow well for you. The price of the Indo lords has come down quite a bit since I was first bitten by the 'acan bug'. I feed mine about 3x a week.

Open brains are nice. They are hardy, eager feeders, and their sweeper tentacles aren't too long. I had one in my mixed 55g and I really miss it. But it got just too big to put in my 12g, so you have to weigh the size they will grow to against your desire for alot of variety in your tank. It won't be easy to frag like these others, so if it gets too large you may have to part with it.

Plate corals are hardy (short tentacle - long tentacle has proven a challenge to most), cheap, and cool. They move along your tank bottom. You can't keep them on your rocks because they will move off of them and fall into other things getting stung or damaged. However, if you have softies on your sand bed I wouldn't put a plate down there because they will end up touching leading to injury or death. Also, if you have gobies which spit sand this will irritate your plate and it will not do very well. I also recommend feeding these guys at least once a week.

Blastomussa can be kept in a tank like yours. But you have to be comitted to spot feeding it at least 3 times a week, and for best polyp expansion I feed mine daily. You will have to use the same types and size of food I described for the candy cane, turn off your pumps, place on top of the mouths of the blasto & stand guard so other inhabitants don't steal the food. Blastos are a little slower eater, so wait until the food is swallowed to turn the pumps back on & relax your guard. Keep in lower water flow areas with moderate light. Don't get a wild one, get a captive propagated one. They're just too fussy while they're adapting to our artificial environments.

I can't comment on a chalice as I have never kept one. I know some have very aggressive sweeper tentacles and others not so aggressive. It is a coral I want to try when I set up my larger system - I hope some experienced chalice keepers can chime in with some good advice on them.

Whatever you end up trying, none of them should be manhandled on their fleshy polyps. If you have any shipped to you ask the seller to attach them to a piece of floating styrofoam in the bag to minimize irritation & injury from the bag itself. And post some pics! :)

[impur]

As stated, candy canes are great to start with. That was my first LPS coral and i still have it to this day. Super hardy, easy to frag and easy to care for. I don't feed mine directly, but i toss in some cyclopeeze and the feeders come out, then i feed mysis or flake for the fish and the candy cane gets some of the food.

Acans are great and very easy. I would also suggest frogspawn, hammer, or torch corals. Another real easy to frag and keep coral.

Blastos are really touchy IME. I've had colonies thrive for 3 years, then one week decide they've had enough of this cruel world and shrivel up and die for no apparent reason. Seems to be a common occurance with these corals.

Good luck, and as with all corals go slow and acclimate.

[beelzebob]

thank you guys.

Wendy that was much appreciated. byfar more than i would have expected:beer:

[dustin323]

Yeah candy canes are great, I have some & are doing awesome whilst my trachy brain isn't doing so well. I also have a small frag of blasto merleti that seems to be doing good.

[Tyke]

What they said. Candy canes, Acan lords, and Micros would be good to start with in a system your size. Faviids are beautiful and easy (more things in life should be beautiful and easy *evil grin*) but they have long sweepers. I'd hold off on Blastos until you have a little more experience - they can be really finicky. I'd also be leary of the the really aggressive species like Echinos and echinatas in a smaller tank. The great thing about LPS is the great diversity. You have a lot of very cool stuff to pick and choose from.

[WendyMc]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8938073#post8938073 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by beelzebob
thank you guys.

Wendy that was much appreciated. byfar more than i would have expected:beer:

No problem...hehe, I usually have byfar more to say than expected:mixed: