Cali Kid Corals

Need suggestions for real estate in my tank

A_Lee

A_Lee

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I am going to moving a decent sized rock of mushrooms out of my tank later this week. That said, I will have a fair (not tons) amount of room to put a new coral piece. The piece will be on the bottom of my 33g Oceanic cube tank -relatively deep. I have a single 150w metal halide over my tank. The flow in this area of the tank is not low, but definitely not super high like it is at the top of my tank -i guess this would make it moderate and then some? :) . I think it may even be a bit much for a Trachyphyllia.
I was thinking of a nice Acanthastrea colony or something similar because I don't have one, though I wasn't too sure on their requirements; I'm sure they would be fine under that light, as the Favia I have down on the bottom of the tank are doing splendidly.
So in the end, I am looking for suggestions with regards to what I could place in this soon to be available real estate in my tank!
Thanks!
 
Candy cane colony would be nice for that flow and lighting.

Easy to grow, interesting branching, not agressive, fun to feed.

Maybe put a few different types together.
 
Hm, that is nice suggestion, and I will definitely need to keep that in mind. How many different types of Caulastrea are there that are readily accessible in the market Norman? Thus far I have seen the neon green variation (which I currently have), and the duller jade green variation.
How would an Acanthastrea colony do? Or, do they not like the amount of flow? The reason I inquire in to this is because (1.) never had one before, and (2.) they sure look good :D
 
Acan lord? Should be fine, I'd think. Lots of nice ones around.

Acan echinata/subechinata are aggressive, but can be ok if you leave space.

On the candy canes, I've seen neon green, teal blue, purple with teal center, brownish with teal center, and lavender.

I've seen a pic of reddish with white stripes and green center too.

Nice Acan lords can be pricey, and tend to be collector type corals.

Candy cane are more common, but to me are more interesting and fun to feed.

You get a little more 3 dimensional structure with the candy cane and can use it to fill up the center space as a show piece.

The other corals will rely more on rock structure to showcase them.
 
That is a good point -mental note made, thanks Norman :)
I know Acanthastrea colonies can get very pricey, however if I do get an Acanthastrea colony, it would not be one of those super rare, LE, AE, Tyree, rainbow, dragon fury whatever Acans :D It would just be something that is not brown, and has nice coloration. I am not at all in to collecting name brand pieces. I have seen a couple colonies at a couple LFS's that I have my eyes on. I just wasn't sure how they might handle the flow issue. Do folks normally keep them in areas of the tank with lower water movement?
Anything else I should consider, besides candy canes, and acan's? Maybe a nice Favia!
 
There are yellow highlighter candy cane too. Karson had some at opening. And Norman is right they are great fun to feed as they are sticky so as you feed others you can clean off food to them and keep on the not so sticky ones. They also have grown fast for me.

If blastos would take the light they are a great coral. They group together as different colors well. Red, pink, green, white parts. I keep them near the top of my tank lit with 96w PC.

I have an echinata that feeds well and has never sent sweepers. I hear it is only a matter of time before it does. Nine months and counting so far. It has its own space in case.
 
You should be able to keep some acan lords near the bottom of your tank. I got 3 frags near the bottom of my tank with a vortec mp20 on reef crest mode, full blast. The flow can get pretty high at times, but they eventually got used to it.
 
Thanks Otaku ... if I do get an Acanthastrea lordhowensis, it'll need to be a smaller colony, because as I understand, these bad boys can get pretty darned aggressive. Last thing I need is something with monster sweeper tentacles stinging everything on the bottom of my tank :)
I am sort of leaning towards Duncan's right now :D
 
Hmmm...speaking solely from my experience, I've never seen sweepers on acan lords. Feeder tentacles, yes, but never sweepers. The only problem I can foresee with these tentacles is if the acan starts growing towards an adjacent coral. I saw a post about this in the past. Lemmee see if I can find it. BRB.
 
A_Lee said:
Thanks Otaku ... if I do get an Acanthastrea lordhowensis, it'll need to be a smaller colony, because as I understand, these bad boys can get pretty darned aggressive. Last thing I need is something with monster sweeper tentacles stinging everything on the bottom of my tank :)
I am sort of leaning towards Duncan's right now :D
Click to expand...


IME, lords are extremely friendly corals without any aggressive sweepers etc. Never seen them nor filiments. I believe you are thinking of echinatas and sub echinatas such as the infamous Orange Crush.
 
I like my one acan, and want to get more, it's been doing well for me, I have it on the bottom of my tank with decent flow. One of the tanks of the month at Nanoreef is acan dominated.

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=85329&hl=
 
Sorry, I am not too familiar with all the different Acanthastrea's out there :(
Can someone please list the commonly available Acan's in the hobby, and possibly a picture to go with it, so I know how to differentiate between them? The only one I know how to recognize are the A. Echinata. Thanks
 
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