Hardiest Montipora Recommendations?

[cdw79]

I'm going to RAP this weekend and looking to make a further jump into SPS. I have a few digis doing great and a Monti cap that's finally looking settled in and growing, but not quite at the acro level of stability in my ~7 month old tank.

I'm planning on adding stylo and pocci frags for sure based on my research, but I'm also interested in more montis. My biggest source of confusion has been the watering down of the word hardy, to a point where I'm not positive, for example, what species of encrusting Monti is the most likely to succeed, because I'm sure someone with a well-established SPS tank thinks any Monti is hardy lol.

Any recommendations of Montis that in your experiences have been on the hardy to bulletproof side? What light/flow conditions did you keep them in? Thanks!

 

[blaxsun]

I like monti caps. Indestructible.

 

[billyocean]

I personally wouldn't get a green pocci..very invasive. They look great but I've heard horror stories even when people isolate them. The other colors supposedly aren't like that. Montipora grows well for me in various light and flow. Always start lower before moving up..or ask the vendor where they have theirs placed. 7 months is plenty of time in a tank for acros. All they need is stability and good flow/light. Just make sure your phos/nitrate isn't bottomed out.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

If you like monticap's, I would get more of those for sure. Super hardy.

When it comes to the encrusting monti's, I have not noticed a difference in them, so any of them (superman/rainbow/sunset/auqaman) should do well in your tank. Also setosa makes for a nice coral and is pretty hardy.

I would stay away from the nauti spiral types (beachbum/kung pao/crazy T/ etc.) as they are a bit harder to keep.

 

[cdw79]

If you like monticap's, I would get more of those for sure. Super hardy.

When it comes to the encrusting monti's, I have not noticed a difference in them, so any of them (superman/rainbow/sunset/auqaman) should do well in your tank. Also setosa makes for a nice coral and is pretty hardy.

I would stay away from the nauti spiral types (beachbum/kung pao/crazy T/ etc.) as they are a bit harder to keep.

Ah ok, all three of the latter variety were some that I were looking at haha. What makes them more difficult? Honestly I'm not sure I can recognize the differences between those harder varieties and the easier encrusters, is there a go-to way to differentiate them? I don't want to just rely on vendors' advice because who's not gonna say their variety is "pretty hardy" lol

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Ah ok, all three of the latter variety were some that I were looking at haha. What makes them more difficult? Honestly I'm not sure I can recognize the differences between those harder varieties and the easier encrusters, is there a go-to way to differentiate them? I don't want to just rely on vendors' advice because who's not gonna say their variety is "pretty hardy" lol

They are just more sensitive than your typical montipora varieties, but still more forgiving than acropora. You can still try them as you may be already stable enough for them. I just would not spend a lot on them though, as they can be quite pricey depending on the morph.

The nauti spiral montipora type corals can be spotted by their small, recessed polyps.

Nauti Spiral Montipora

 

[cdw79]

I added a Pinky the Bear acro about a month back but have experienced some bleaching at some ofthe tips and such. It's still largely hanging in there it seems, no notably progression of the bleaching, but I took that as a "don't add acros for awhile" message lol

They are just more sensitive than your typical montipora varieties, but still more forgiving than acropora. You can still try them as you may be already stable enough for them. I just would not spend a lot on them though, as they can be quite pricey depending on the morph.

The nauti spiral montipora type corals can be spotted by their small, recessed polyps.

Nauti Spiral Montipora

So to my inexperienced eye it seems like this variety has "lumps" on it, whereas something like a sunset Monti is pretty uniform and flat in its texture? Is that a reasonable-ish way to identify the differences?

I personally wouldn't get a green pocci..very invasive. They look great but I've heard horror stories even when people isolate them. The other colors supposedly aren't like that. Montipora grows well for me in various light and flow. Always start lower before moving up..or ask the vendor where they have theirs placed. 7 months is plenty of time in a tank for acros. All they need is stability and good flow/light. Just make sure your phos/nitrate isn't bottomed out.

I read something about this (glad to know it's just the green, if anything I'm trying to avoid more green lol). But invasive in this context would mean that new little buds pop up different places in the tank when/if polyp bailout occurs? I'd think it would be pretty easy to notice and/or remove when they pop up, are they especially aggressive to a point where they would start to cause some harm?

 

[Dennis Cartier]

I added a Pinky the Bear acro about a month back but have experienced some bleaching at some ofthe tips and such. It's still largely hanging in there it seems, no notably progression of the bleaching, but I took that as a "don't add acros for awhile" message lol


So to my inexperienced eye it seems like this variety has "lumps" on it, whereas something like a sunset Monti is pretty uniform and flat in its texture? Is that a reasonable-ish way to identify the differences?


I read something about this (glad to know it's just the green, if anything I'm trying to avoid more green lol). But invasive in this context would mean that new little buds pop up different places in the tank when/if polyp bailout occurs? I'd think it would be pretty easy to notice and/or remove when they pop up, are they especially aggressive to a point where they would start to cause some harm?

Yup, the lumpy appearance is what I would use to recognize this type of montipora.

The warning about the poccilopora being invasive is for a future point where you may have moved onto keeping acros. The polyps appearing at very inopportune locations, like in hard to reach spots deep in acro colonies, can become quite a nuisance and frustrating. Every new refer collects a bunch of things they wish they had not done in the past, lol.

Let me give you an example ... I was super happy to get some existing corals, including mushrooms and pally's on some live rock I bought second hand in a past tank ... and then

 

[cdw79]

I think I've seen your pic somewhere before lol, what a takeover!

So in that case, then, just avoid the green Pocci and the spreading issue seemingly isn't a huge deal?

 

[DIYreefer]

If you like monticap's, I would get more of those for sure. Super hardy.

When it comes to the encrusting monti's, I have not noticed a difference in them, so any of them (superman/rainbow/sunset/auqaman) should do well in your tank. Also setosa makes for a nice coral and is pretty hardy.

I would stay away from the nauti spiral types (beachbum/kung pao/crazy T/ etc.) as they are a bit harder to keep.

This is solid advice, and basically what I was going to say.

OP, you could also consider birdsnest for a different type of easy to keep SPS. I've always really liked keeping ORA's Birds of Paradise. Very nice looking coral that's about as easy to keep as they come I'm regards to SPS.

 

[cdw79]

I did have plans to seek out some birdsnest this weekend!

I was curious though, when I was first adding corals a local reefer offered me a frag of birdsnest. I was wary because technically an SPS addition that early felt irresponsible to me (I ultimately politely declined to not risk it) but in my research I saw drastically different opinions. Some people seemed to have huge success with birdsnest, and others suggesting it's very difficult and shouldn't be attempted until the tank is a year old or more.

From what I've seen in the months that have followed it seems like the truth it a little closer to the former, but that huge difference in experiences seemed odd- what tends to make birdsnest succeed vs fail? Seems like making sure I get an aquacultured frag might be a good choice at a minimum?

 

[britnicole1724]

I have a mystic sunset monti that is basically indestructible and is growing crazy fast

 

[cdw79]

I've heard that that specific type is insane in terms of growth rate. Seems like that could be a double-edged sword haha

 

[britnicole1724]

I've heard that that specific type is insane in terms of growth rate. Seems like that could be a double-edged sword haha

I don’t regret it but I also have a 140 g display and have plenty of room for it to grow haha. I also love the color it adds to my tank, it matches my blackwidow nems so it’s a nice pop of color

 

[cdw79]

So poccis that aren't a green pocci, birdsnest of some kind that's aquacultured, any montipora that isn't that nautical spiral variety, and stylos broadly are some good go-to's to try my hand at some non-acro sps, any other recommendations out there? Any other encrusting Monti names to look out for as hardy strains to try out?

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Another family you may want to consider is Styloconellia. Technically not an SPS, but they do look like encrusting monti's with really long polyps. They are pretty hardy and have some nice colour morphs. The best known one being the Burning Banana, yellow tissue with red polyps.

 

[cdw79]

I actually got a stylocoenellia awhile back but it was one of the few corals in my 7 or so months that died. As I understand now they need medium light and flow? The concepts of what "medium" are seem pretty amorphous to me, so maybe it was a matter of putting them in what was relatively "medium" light in my tank but on a larger scale perhaps was too little PAR (currently working on very slowly raising it). What is the key to success with these?

 

[unchaotic]

Basic red monti cap is about the sturdiest thing I've seen in my tanks. I had a lot of alk swings when I first tried SPS; this and the purple stylo were the only ones to make it through unscathed. I bought a 2"x3" piece of this for $10 last July and it's more than quadrupled in size.

(Not my picture)

 

[Dennis Cartier]

I actually got a stylocoenellia awhile back but it was one of the few corals in my 7 or so months that died. As I understand now they need medium light and flow? The concepts of what "medium" are seem pretty amorphous to me, so maybe it was a matter of putting them in what was relatively "medium" light in my tank but on a larger scale perhaps was too little PAR (currently working on very slowly raising it). What is the key to success with these?

In lower light they tend to be darker in colour and grow slowly. When acclimated to high light, they get much better colouration and can grow pretty fast. They like higher nutrients than typical SPS, though a lot of people are now keeping SPS at the nutrient ranges that these guys prefer.

The one that died on you was probably just due to being a new tank. They are pretty hardy overall. I consider them similar to cyphastrea, which is also easy to grow and likes nutrients, but not as much light as stylocoenellia.

 

[jfoahs04]

So poccis that aren't a green pocci, birdsnest of some kind that's aquacultured, any montipora that isn't that nautical spiral variety, and stylos broadly are some good go-to's to try my hand at some non-acro sps, any other recommendations out there? Any other encrusting Monti names to look out for as hardy strains to try out?

The most bomb proof SPS I have is a purple monti cap. It was a free frag when my tank was about 2 months old and came bleached and nearly dead (to my eye). I just wedged the frag between two rocks in the shade at the bottom of the tank thinking that the skeleton could be a nice little overhang for a shy fish/invert. Not only did it color up, but it has grown exponentially, even with very low light and the fluctuating parameters of a new tank. So if you see a purple cap, go for it.

That said, I'd personally put as much emphasis (if not more) on how long the coral has been aquacultured as I would the strain. You can probably have more success with an acro frag like a Red Planet (which is a hardier species of acro) that is a descendent of a colony that's been growing in a reef tank for a decade + than you'll have a monti cap that was recently wild harvested/maricultured. It never hurts to ask about lineage.