Does it end with sticks?

Up2no6ood · Aug 13, 2014

I have been in this hobby a little over a year and while I have been loving every aspect of it I just can't seem to get into the stick side of things. Every seasoned reefer tells me "oh you will love those precious sticks in due time my young reefer, in due time" usually that is followed by an evil laugh and a puff of smoke. But I love my LPS and Softies I shout! Will i grow to hate them? Will they betray me? Will they take all of my money and leave me on the street penny-less? If that is the case should I just save myself the pain and dump them now. In my heart I feel that I will always love my squishy little friends but my brain tells me to save my money and tears and jump on the stick band wagon. So what are the seasoned veterans thoughts? Did you start with sps and stick with it? Did you Start with lps/softies and switch to sps? or did you start with lps/softies and vow to never leave them? or did you start with sticks and realize that they just were not for you? Can't wait to see your coments.

Andyf30 · Aug 13, 2014

I started with basic softies and lps and stuff and eventually got very VERY hooked on the sticks, and still am very much hooked on the sticks. that being said, I'm also a huge zoa and acan guy, and have recently started getting back into buying acans for my tank. I would say the sticks are still my top priority, buy will never be my only priority. When I get older I will definitely have 2 tanks, one with lps and zoas, and one with sps.

SantaMonica · Aug 13, 2014

For photo's, it does probably end with sticks. For non-photo's, it goes on and on.

Rob&Gab · Aug 13, 2014

Once you get bit by the SPS BUG there's no turning back on not buying the best of the best . We did but we still collect zoas chalice and favias and everything . But we are more sps dom then anything now.

Reef Pets · Aug 13, 2014

SPS all the way! To me there is nothing more appealing than an acro dominate tank. For me, LPS and softies are not enjoyable. Some are very colorful but the growth rate is so slow and predictable.

ritter6788 · Aug 13, 2014

I once said I'd never keep sps...

Once....

I love all corals but hard corals, especially sps is tops for me.

Stoneyman · Aug 14, 2014

Andyf30 said:
I started with basic softies and lps and stuff and eventually got very VERY hooked on the sticks, and still am very much hooked on the sticks. that being said, I'm also a huge zoa and acan guy, and have recently started getting back into buying acans for my tank. I would say the sticks are still my top priority, buy will never be my only priority. When I get older I will definitely have 2 tanks, one with lps and zoas, and one with sps.

Same exact story for me too lol

Zero Nitrates · Aug 14, 2014

I love them all!

mtnrunner · Aug 14, 2014

Any major differences between SPS and LPS that would push for separate tanks? I'm very successful with SPS but overall LPS don't do well including chalice. I've tried various locations within my tank.

Dmmz · Aug 14, 2014

You should go all sps jason and bring all the coral you have to me!

Daniel@R2R · Aug 14, 2014

ritter6788 said:
I once said I'd never keep sps...

Once....

I love all corals but hard corals, especially sps is tops for me.

^^^ This is my story too. I said there's no way I'm getting into sticks...I've now spent more on sticks than I ever did on LPS...

mtnrunner said:
Any major differences between SPS and LPS that would push for separate tanks? I'm very successful with SPS but overall LPS don't do well including chalice. I've tried various locations within my tank.

You can run a mixed reef, but that will mean compromising the special catering that sticks get in a SPS only tank. For example, LPS like a little bit of nutrients while most SPS tanks are uln systems. I personally prefer a mixed reef. ...my .02.

choff · Aug 14, 2014

Up, I felt the exact same way. If anything I thought sticks were ugly and nothing could touch the beauty of my hammer coral and frogspawn. I mean...they move and sticks just sit there. Fast forward 2 years and I certainly appreciate the beauty of sticks and have great respect for the care needed to not only get them to grow, but bring out their color. I'm still working on that....

I also hate to admit it, but I think the difficulty of Sps and my competitive nature drew me to them.

I have a lot more Sps in my tank than LPS for sure now, but my hammers and now brains and plates are still in some of my favs in my tank.

Up2no6ood · Aug 14, 2014

choff said:
Up, I felt the exact same way. If anything I thought sticks were ugly and nothing could touch the beauty of my hammer coral and frogspawn. I mean...they move and sticks just sit there. Fast forward 2 years and I certainly appreciate the beauty of sticks and have great respect for the care needed to not only get them to grow, but bring out their color. I'm still working on that....

I also hate to admit it, but I think the difficulty of Sps and my competitive nature drew me to them.

I have a lot more Sps in my tank than LPS for sure now, but my hammers and now brains and plates are still in some of my favs in my tank.

My thoughts exactly sticks are just so cold and static looking. Although I do appreciate their beauty under a macro lens it's just to me nothing beats the color and patterns you get from a crazy favia or chalice and nothing compares to the moment you get from a torch or hammer colony.

reefaboo · Aug 14, 2014

i hated sps when i started .. and loved zoas and chalices.

soon zoas started to get boring i still like them but the pattern and colors of sps is soo amazing to me now. i keep a mixed reef with little nutrients so everything is happy.

sticks create the jungle, montis and zoas cover up the rock. chalices and scolies and hammers take up the sand.

SchnitzelReef · Aug 14, 2014

choff said:
Up, I felt the exact same way. If anything I thought sticks were ugly and nothing could touch the beauty of my hammer coral and frogspawn. I mean...they move and sticks just sit there. Fast forward 2 years and I certainly appreciate the beauty of sticks and have great respect for the care needed to not only get them to grow, but bring out their color. I'm still working on that....

I also hate to admit it, but I think the difficulty of Sps and my competitive nature drew me to them. .

Thats funny, pretty much my exact thinking. Lol

I loved Lps and zoos when I first got into the hobby. But then I realized they were so easy to care for, and there wasn't much of a challenge. Keeping a full acro tank happy and colorful is pretty tough. I really like the challenge. Keeps me busy and active instead of sitting on the couch watching tv all the time. I kinda dig that.

Up2no6ood · Aug 14, 2014

Lol I think if I spend any more time with my tank my future wife might reconsider saying yes to the proposal

Up2no6ood · Aug 14, 2014

Dmmz said:
You should go all sps jason and bring all the coral you have to me!

If I go over to the darkside I'm taking you with me

StikHedRon · Aug 14, 2014

I started with Sticks and will never do anything else...

Velodog2 · Aug 14, 2014

Adore sticks. Subtlety, challenge, color, interesting structure, infinite variation, exoticness.

jschultzbass · Aug 14, 2014

I too got bit with the SPS bug after enjoying my softies and LPS. I will say though that is completely personal preference and if you like softies and LPS, then have a softy/LPS tank. The movement you can get is incredible. There are some GREAT looking soft coral tanks out there. Look at Julian Sprung's tank. One of the most knowledgeable and respected person in our hobby and he runs a softy tank.