The most hardy SPS frag's out there

[acropora213]

I have a couple of frag's but Im confident in getting more, things are staying on a consistant growth pattern.
So I'd like some input, from experience, on different species, sizes, and colors the constitute a hardy frag.

Im thinking most of the A.Millipora are hardy, plus I really enjoy the large hairy polyps on most of them. Am I correct ??

Also wanna get some Green Slimer. Are they mainly coming from Bali , or are there others as well ?? And are these hardy also ??

Lemmy know what you all think, as well as some ID pics, if possible.

Thanx Tony

[acropora213]

Also, if anyone has a link to this previous topic addressed, that could help.

Also thinking of Pocillipora , What's the thought on these folks

[xtrstangx]

I'm fairly new to SPS.. my green slimer and my milleapora are my best growers.

My frags from ORA (they come on little white cement screws) have also done very well and gone through several crisises.

[acropora213]

what does ORA stand for ??

[fishdoc11]

ORA= Oceans Reefs and Aquariums...I think. They aquaculture corals and fish and have some very nice stuff:)

Slimers and milles are typically pretty hardy and grow fast once they get established.

IMO the hardiest "SPS" corals are multiple generation tank raised frags that have proven over time to do well in aquariums. Usually the best place to get them is from fellow reefers.

Chris

[MiddletonMark]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6890067#post6890067 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishdoc11
IMO the hardiest "SPS" corals are multiple generation tank raised frags that have proven over time to do well in aquariums. Usually the best place to get them is from fellow reefers.

Totally agree. I've not had as good of success [growth, color, long-term happiness] from wild or maricultured corals as I have from tank-raised frags.

Green slimer, milleporas, Larry Jackson purpletip ... all have been hardy, easy to color, fairly fast growers for me.

[johnvu713]

ORA doesnt sell to hobbyist do they? Sorry for jacking your thread

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6891313#post6891313 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by johnvu713
ORA doesnt sell to hobbyist do they? Sorry for jacking your thread

No, only retail stores and such.

[acropora213]

Hey sunny , I grew up five miles from Dearborn.

Have you been out to Tropicorium lately?? They have some great stuff from time to time.

[dznuts007]

I've had success with milliporas, pocilloporas, birds nests and montis...those all seem to be pretty hardy. Yeah, and like he said, hardiest ones are the tank raised ones in my experience.

[acropora213]

Thanks guys.

Where is the best placement for Pocillipora ??
I have a pink one and a green one coming soon.

[Amphiprion]

Pocillopora is not finicky in the slightest when it comes to placement. It will do well in practically all spots, assuming it gets decent light and flow. However, higher flow and lighting can potentially bring out the best in these hardy corals.

[dznuts007]

Watch out though..my pocillopora is totally shooting off buds and they're growing all over the tank...

[acropora213]

I've only seen this happen one time, and it was in fact Pocillipora also !! What causes this ?? Possibly, primarily based on mocked lunar cycles ??

What was your experience ??

[tacocat]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6891030#post6891030 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MiddletonMark
Totally agree. I've not had as good of success [growth, color, long-term happiness] from wild or maricultured corals as I have from tank-raised frags.

Green slimer, milleporas, Larry Jackson purpletip ... all have been hardy, easy to color, fairly fast growers for me.

Couldn't agree more. Tank raised frags are more tolerant of the captive environment, and they will adapt and grow in your tank.

Phishy Business sells a captive grown coral pack. Tell them you want hardy frags, and they should take care of you.

http://www.phishybusiness.com/captive.php

[dznuts007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6898695#post6898695 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by acropora213
I've only seen this happen one time, and it was in fact Pocillipora also !! What causes this ?? Possibly, primarily based on mocked lunar cycles ??

What was your experience ??

Are you talking about the pocillopora shooting off buds?

[MiddletonMark]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6898850#post6898850 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dznuts007
Are you talking about the pocillopora shooting off buds?

I believe it's a form of `polyp bailout' ... where from Poci you will get small colonies growing all over the tank.

Some consider it problematic, I consider it pretty interesting.

[acropora213]

WOW , polyp bailout , from a SPS ?? Who'da thought, Hope I can encourage that on my two chunks

[tacocat]

It is amazing to see. Unfortunately, pocillipora can be an agressive coral, and it can sting other corals.

[MiddletonMark]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6898844#post6898844 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tacocat
Couldn't agree more. Tank raised frags are more tolerant of the captive environment, and they will adapt and grow in your tank.
Multiple people have failed to kill these corals - in a sense, they've been selected for aquaria as a few different aquaria have had them thrive enough to frag + pass along [likely looked good enough to have frags asked for, too ...]

[ClownReef®]

Hardy corals?...A. sarmentosa's are VERY hardy IMO..and Very cool too..They grow "table-ish" and are usually multicolored..I have one green, pink and orange tips..

[kmagyar]

Montis and poccis are among the easiest to keep of sps, especially when they are aquired from captive colonies. Acropora yongie is one of the better acroporas notorious for fast growth but It does need good flow and light. There are plenty of other acroporas that are hardy, just try to make sure that you get frags that do not have red acro bugs on them. Almost all of my colonies were captive grown frags from hobbiests.

Keith

[acropora213]

Anyone have some idea's for the most " hairiest polyped sps " ??

I always see alot of A.Millipora's with gorgeous polyp extension.
I suppose it gives some more to look at when viewing.

Are their others that have that " Hairy " look ??

[kmagyar]

Hairy like this?

http://users.adelphia.net/~kmagyar/febfrags/tophairmille.jpg

[dznuts007]

Nice color!

[acropora213]

YES !!! EXACTLY LIKE THAT... WOW

But that is the A. Miilipora correct ??
In my research those are the one's to have the largest polyps true ??

LOL ... looks like you could almost get arrested for havin that in your possession.

[kmagyar]

This one has larger than average (for an A. Millepora) polyps. Its been in captivity for many years as far as I know. I have a blue mille that gets an overwhlming amount of polyps extention during the night but I dont think they are longer than that green mille.

Keith

[acropora213]

Well .... when cash comes my way again Keith , I'll order some frags from you.

Is it always necessary to feed these types of sps with a supplement like cyclop-eze ??

[kmagyar]

Always, maybe not. I use several types for my nightly cocktails!

[acropora213]

Can you give me an idea of a good "small" feeding for the few frags I have. No need to overfeed a tank thats not fully stocked, so im wondering if there's a target feeding method, and what should I use ??

Thanx

[AWExotics]

Good to hear you are having some success.

I agree with alot the posts on here referring to Captive raised frags VS Wild raised. I try to use the terms:

Captive Propagated: or CP : Meaning, grown in an artificial environment like and aquarium or some sort of propagation system. For a coral to be Truely Captive Propagation, the corals should have a considerable portion of new growth while in captivity.

Wild AquaCultured: or AC: Meanng.. Frags grown in the ocean. Usually fragged off the "Wild Reef," then grown at an off-reef location.

I would try to get True CP as much as possible. Unfortunately these are usually the smallest corals, but they are the hardiest by far. Some of the corals that I have date back 7 yrs in captivity. These corals are by far the hardiest SPS corals I have in my collection. They color the easiest in he broadest ranges of lighting parameters. Grow the fasest, and seem to be the last to show signs of stress if the water parameters fluctuate. For one, they are species that have proven to be kept in the stressful artificial environments we call aquariums. For two, they have adapted over the years in captivity to aquarium life. Long term CP corals can be entirely captive grown. Meaning every polyp in every corallite on the coral has never lived in the ocean. ORA is a large Captive propagation facility in Florida. You can find their corals at alot of LFS and Internet Fish Stores Nationwide. They are offering 5-6 differnet SPS species right now and are working with atleast 40 SPS Species which come available through out the year. They are also many reputable Interenet sites who deal in CP coral frags. Ask questions and people will steer you to sites that they trust is honest about what level of "CP" they are offering. CP corals have almost no burden on our coral reefs that are so threatened by our parasitic existence on this planet (haha) CP is the future of our hobby, and probably the only viable long term source for corals in the marine aquarium and needs all hobbyist support.

Some of the AC corals are avaialble from Fiji, Bali, Tonga, Indonesia, Australia, amongs other locations. They are great corals but are not much hardier than Wild collected corals. We simply cannot replicate the ocean in our reef tanks. Therefore, AC corals need a longer acclmation time, allowing them to adjust to our artificail ligting, Salt, parameters such as Kh, Ph, CA, nitrate, phosphate,. and current. AC corals are a huge advancement over the collection of wild corals. We simply cannot keep collecting corals off our reefs in large numbers. Not with the large amount of other stresses that are on coral reefs. AC is here now and should be supported.

Ok I am done ranting. =)

If you are asking for ideas on which species or Genera you should keep, tell us more about your aquarium. There are alot of Montipora, Pocillopora, Stylophora, Seriatapora, and even Acropora that are good hardy SPS corals for yor aquarium. It just depends upon you husbandry skills, and equipment.

Todd

[acropora213]

Thanks Todd,

As far as the tank goes ~

Its a 75g AGA , with a 20g sump. Runnning an Iwaki pump on a "closed loop" I guess you would call it. With the back of the tank drilled, giving me a nice turn over rate. The sump houses an ASM G2 Skimmer and a Media reactor. Lighting is a 250w 10k Halide system, with 48" Actinic vho's.

The rock totals about 60 lbs. ,and has been matured for over a year now.

the Param's ~

pH - 8.3
No3 - 0
Po4- 0
Ca - 300 and back on the rise to 400
SG - 1.024
DKH - 10


So there we have it. All the info for the topic of Frags I can handle, with a grain of salt..... could'nt help it...no pun intended

[Greg Hiller]

I kind of like the polyp bailout that regularly occurs from Pocillipora damicornis in my tanks. The colonies start growing on power heads, walls, and plumbing and hide things naturally pretty quickly. I've usually found Pocillipora damicornis to be pretty weak when it comes to competing with other colonies, and it is plenty easy to smash up and kill if it's somewhere you don't want it (not like green star polyps, or zoathids, for example).

[AWExotics]

is that 1 or 2 250 Watt MH in that system?

If it is two... I don't see a problem with any of the different SPS Genera in your system. Find sources for good CP frags from somoene that is trustworthy.

There are alot of people here on RC who ship and/ or can recommend someone to buy corals from. Ask around.

Acropora millepora: CP frags adjust easy to many differenet systems.

Acropora tenuis: Another easy to acclimate Acro. Long term Captive stock is available from many sources.

Acropora tortuosa Easy to keep. Solid blue up high. Heavily CP'ed

Acropora yongei: Green Bali Slimer: Perhaps one of the first Acro's to be kept and traded.

Many of the Monti's are long term CP as well. Start checking galleries and photos of corals to find some you like.

Pocillopora, Stylophora, and Seeriatapora should not be a problem either for you

Todd

[acropora213]

Thanks for the help Todd.

The lighting is one fixture. It is centered over the tank.
If 250w is great for a 2' x 2' area, then I would understand why two would be needed over my tank.

But , IMO , I would just keep the sps under the light, and not to the shaded sides ...correct ??
Or moving the Halide to one side , could give a cascading effect for higher light needs, to the lowest on the other end.

Its time to change my bulb anyways, It will power a 400 watt'er , if that were to help my cause ??

I really like the color temp , of the Blueline series.

~ Tony

[AWExotics]

Assuming the tank has a center support brace.... I would move the Halide over one side of the tank and do the SPS on that side

[acropora213]

Any word on the thought of putting a 400w back in the fixture, instead of keeping it 250w.
Possibly to bright ?? I keep it about 12" off the surface.

[AWExotics]

Should be fine but it will make acclimation tougher. Getting the corals in and acclimating them to your higher than average light ourput will ust take some patience and time for you.

Todd

[acropora213]

Are you under the impression that most " CP's " are kept under 250w lighting around the 10k to 20k range.

I really think the lower wattage gives off a better color scheme.
Not to mention, the heat, and bleaching of random species.

So I suppose I just answered my own pole ...lol

Oh cool, this post will reach an access of One Thousand views by tonight !! Im such a dork, I tell ya. Hope some of this helps many as well as I.

That's what its all about.

[AWExotics]

I personally do my CP under 150 DE and 250W.

Electricity costs are a huge factor for me. I have heard of some CP operations using an extremely large Watts per gallon.

I like the look of my prop systems. It seems like the same level of lighting there as in my show systems. Consistent stability

todd