Compatibility/non compatibility of Similar or differing Coral types

[David S]

One generality which we've heard in the past is that similar type corals are compatible and will not attack each other for territory, whereas differing type corals ( SPS vs LPS soft vs hard etc) will attack each other through various means.
I would like this discussion to be about those corals that will attack each other and those that will not.
The only caveats are:
1. That the discussion should be limited to what one has actually observed in their reef tank rather than what they may have heard.
2. Certain incompatibilities that are known (SPS vs LPS for example) need not be mentioned. Unless of course someone has noted a particular LPS & SPS coral that are living together harmoniously that we might otherwise think wouldn't.

I will start by talking about 2 commonly known Montipora encrusting corals. The common assumption is that they would be compatible.
I am referring specifically to the "Sunset" Monti and the "Jedi Mind Trick" Monti.
I had them as small frags a few years back and over time they've encrusted fully over their rocks until several weeks ago they began converging on each other.
I watched carefully to see what would happen. For a number of weeks the "line" that existed between them appeared to be a No Man's land.
That was until last week, when I noticed a discharge extending upwards in the tank. I saw it was coming from the No Man's land territory. It was no longer that, as apparently the Sunset Monti declared war on the Jedi mind Trick by taking over the territory and beginning to destroy the Jedi's tissue.
I resolved to stop the Sunset's attack by applying some 2 part epoxy to create a border to separate them - at least temporarily. See the photo below

So it seems that the Sunset is not compatible with the Jedi Mind Trick and will destroy the JMT.
I also have remnants of a huge colony of Superman Monti which I donated. Some of it is within an inch of an Acro and am currently scraping off the monti before it reaches the acro. I do not know what the outcome would be but I am not waiting to find out.
I for one have a lot of acros that will eventually border on each other and if there are any known compatibility issues I could plan accordingly.
Hopefully some of you may add similar compatibility issues, based on your experience and discuss them in this thread.

 

[SDReefer]

The reef is all about competing for sunlight. Therefore, many corals have developed methods for killing nearby corals, which include encrusting (many SPS corals), stinger tentacles (many LPS corals), and releasing toxins (some soft corals). The strategy for coral placement is to give corals enough room to grow.

This is a great video about coral compability and placement.

 

[David S]

The reef is all about competing for sunlight. Therefore, many corals have developed methods for killing nearby corals, which include encrusting (many SPS corals), stinger tentacles (many LPS corals), and releasing toxins (some soft corals). The strategy for coral placement is to give corals enough room to grow.

This is a great video about coral compability and placement.

Saw the video and I agree with what he says.
However, even if you create space between your corals there will come a time when they encroach on each others territory.
He points out that there are some corals that you can place next to each other and there will be no aggression others where there is and still others (he used an example of the Psamacorra and Chalice) where the aggressor is one you wouldn't expect.
So if anyone with first hand experience can identify similar corals that can be placed by each other as opposed to those that shouldn't I'd be interested in hearing from them