Dealing with coral aggression.

[Raising Reef.]

I have been racing against time recently getting a new tank build underway the reason for the rush my corals are starting to get to close for comfort and aggression inevitable I have run out of time.

Did you plan your coral placement with aggression in mind or did you just put corals where they looked good.
I guess new hobbyists are most likely to run in to this issue but eventually it’s bpund to affect us all.

 

[Crabs McJones]

I have been racing against time recently getting a new tank build underway the reason for the rush my corals are starting to get to close for comfort and aggression inevitable I have run out of time.

Did you plan your coral placement with aggression in mind or did you just put corals where they looked good.
I guess new hobbyists are most likely to run in to this issue but eventually it’s bpund to affect us all.

I've been trimming my SPS branching corals back to keep them from fighting with eachother. I have a green pocillapora that is trying to overtake some of my acros. Good video, thanks for sharing

 

[ZoWhat]

Unless it's some treasured coral you prize financially or emotionally...

... I say Live And Let Live. 90% of the time corals can snuggle right up to another if generally in the same class.

How many showroom tanks do you see with Acros literally stacked right next to each other. Tons of tanks....

Before freaking out, research how long a corals sweeper tentacles are and place accordingly


.

 

[Sailingeric]

I usually just sit them down and let them talk it out and make them hug in the end. If they cannot work it out, off to their room with no TV or video games for a week.

 

[Raising Reef.]

I usually just sit them down and let them talk it out and make them hug in the end. If they cannot work it out, off to their room with no TV or video games for a week.

Most of my corals come from different parts of the world and there is a language barrier so talking it out isn’t an option I think segregation is the solution.

 

[carbene]

i'd send some angels to take care of those evil tentacles

 

[Scruz]

The aggression I've had in my tank is amazing. Seemingly nonaggressiv corals by "on line retailers " have turned out to be nasty. A 1x1 chalice has turned my tank into a total loss, barring a whole bunch of mushrooms taking what's left. Prepare for the worst when introducing corals despite the best research, plan B in hand.

 

[Raising Reef.]

i'd send some angels to take care of those evil tentacles

Ermmm thanks for the kind offer but NO.

 

[maroun.c]

many of my corals usually touch in the end and I try my best to trim on time. it rarely kills corals completely but sometimes things go wrong after a sting for whatever reason. I had my blue matrix touch and burn a tiny spot on my setosa, my wife noticed it and sent a pic and I Asked her to cut the blue matrix branch which she did. yet the burn kept on expanding till it killed a large setosa colony in a matter of couple of weeks.

 

[Raising Reef.]

many of my corals usually touch in the end and I try my best to trim on time. it rarely kills corals completely but sometimes things go wrong after a sting for whatever reason. I had my blue matrix touch and burn a tiny spot on my setosa, my wife noticed it and sent a pic and I Asked her to cut the blue matrix branch which she did. yet the burn kept on expanding till it killed a large setosa colony in a matter of couple of weeks.

The struggle is real. I feel for you.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I feel for the chalice issue you had... I had one that grew to 6" or more in diamter and it killed everything in a 10mile radius. Well, maybe not quite, but had to get rid of it. huge sweepers. And this was from a peaceful coral. Ha! Experience teaches us more sometimes than "commom fact".

 

[shred5]

I feel for the chalice issue you had... I had one that grew to 6" or more in diamter and it killed everything in a 10mile radius. Well, maybe not quite, but had to get rid of it. huge sweepers. And this was from a peaceful coral. Ha! Experience teaches us more sometimes than "commom fact".

Lps are the worst. SPS do not seem too bad, most softies can be placed pretty close and do more battle through Allelopathy than the others. Some feel Allelopathy can be limited by using carbon and other medias like polyfilters but nothing has ever proved that, this is one reason I still believe in water changes.


Hydnophora is one of the worst it shoots out mesenterial filaments and digests the other corals around it, some other sps and lps do this too...

 

[PepethePug]

My tank is a war zone everynight. I have a space invader (well named) that's gotta go.

 

[DeniseAndy]

My current system (gorgonia based system) is just a constant chemical warfare zone. My lps tanks are in constant need of moving too. Somehow one always finds itself too close to a neighbor and gets quite defensive. I have one lobo that is vicious.

 

[Raising Reef.]

My current system (gorgonia based system) is just a constant chemical warfare zone. My lps tanks are in constant need of moving too. Somehow one always finds itself too close to a neighbor and gets quite defensive. I have one lobo that is vicious.

One of my lobos is savage and takes no prisoners it is responsible for damaging a few of my other corals but it is still one of my favourites

 

[Patrick.S]

Something to be said for algae. My frogspawn grew into my monti cap and along the edge of where the cap died off is a small thicket of algae. It seems to keep them separate enough for each to live and let live.

 

[saltyhog]

Some chalices have tentacles that are really long. My Hollywood Stunner would sting corals 8-10" away.

 

[Raising Reef.]

Some chalices have tentacles that are really long. My Hollywood Stunner would sting corals 8-10" away.

That’s pretty long.
I remember when working at a LFS we got in a hydnophora and it had some impressive sweepers it killed a bunch of corals surrounding it and cost the owner a packet. We ended up with a load of damaged corals people didn’t want to buy and an aggressive coral we didn’t want to sell to some poor unsuspecting fool we tried to give it away with the explanation of how nasty it was and funnily enough no body wanted it.
Another coral that we encountered was galaxea that needs loads of space it has the longest sweepers I have ever seen.

 

[Raising Reef.]

Been removing some invasive purple polyps today and the frag of that colony is spoiling for a fight now. Guess he can smell them.

 

[Kactai]

I just started a new build and I have a bunch of different corals. A few chalices, some leptoseris, a few euphillias (2 torches, a wall hammer and an octospawn), some Zoas, a few mushrooms, some acros and some montipora. I also have one hydnophora. I'm looking for the right placement where flow will push the hydnophora sweepers away from any of my other corals... It's a tricky balance in a mixed reef. All are small frags now in a 180g tank so there is a ton of room but I foresee issues if I don't work diligently on placement now at the begining.