Help with choosing corals

[bluecheese]

125 gallon office tank. Been set up since August 2021. Lights turned on January of this year.

I'm still battling the ugly stage, but I will soon be ready for a test coral.

I was thinking of testing with a zoa frag, and going from there.

I'm starting to plan what else to put into the tank. What I'm basically looking for is corals that are
-pretty
-hardy,
-easy to care for,
-and most importantly won't grow out of control and plague the tank.

Since this tank is located in my office, I try to keep maintenance as undisruptive to my workday as possible. Any suggestions?

 

[blaxsun]

Zoas, green star polyps, many leathers, mushrooms (all soft).

 

[bluecheese]

Zoas, green star polyps, many leathers, mushrooms (all soft).

Don't green star polyps grow to plague proportions?

 

[blaxsun]

Don't green star polyps grow to plague proportions?

Only if you let them. They're not as bad as some xenias...

 

[bluecheese]

Only if you let them. They're not as bad as some xenias...

How do you stop them?

 

[blaxsun]

How do you stop them?

Put them on an islamd.

 

[bluecheese]

Put them on an islamd.

So treat them like a zoa… and they won’t grow on the substrate?

 

[blaxsun]

So treat them like a zoa… and they won’t grow on the substrate?

They'll grow and expand eventually - but we're talking years...

 

[Tonycass12]

Blastos, ricordea, acans too add to the ones already suggested

 

[GoVols]

125 gallon office tank. Been set up since August 2021. Lights turned on January of this year.

I'm still battling the ugly stage, but I will soon be ready for a test coral.

I was thinking of testing with a zoa frag, and going from there.

I'm starting to plan what else to put into the tank. What I'm basically looking for is corals that are
-pretty
-hardy,
-easy to care for,
-and most importantly won't grow out of control and plague the tank.

Since this tank is located in my office, I try to keep maintenance as undisruptive to my workday as possible. Any suggestions?

Just keep testing your phosphates and nitrates.

If you want to try an lps, Duncans are pretty hardy.

Good Luck

 

[dedragon]

duncans are good, depending on flow and light some montipora are very easy to take care of like stellata or monti caps as well

 

[GoVols]

duncans are good, depending on flow and light some montipora are very easy to take care of like stellata or monti caps as well

Yep,
montipora…

 

[Lavey29]

Kind of depends on your budget to. Rock flower anemones add a nice little pop in between the rocks and are simple to care for.i really like trachyphylia too. I have 6 that are huge now and you just place them on the sand near your rocks. Very easy to care for also but somewhat pricey.

 

[GoVols]

Kind of depends on your budget to. Rock flower anemones add a nice little pop in between the rocks and are simple to care for.i really like trachyphylia too. I have 6 that are huge now and you just place them on the sand near your rocks. Very easy to care for also but somewhat pricey.

If you don’t mind:

What do rock flower nems like to attach to?

Edit:
Opps, sand close to rock work.

 

[Lavey29]

If you don’t mind:

What do rock flower nems like to attach to?

Half of mine attach to crevices between rocks, the other half sit on the sand right under a little rock perch above them.

 

[bluecheese]

Kind of depends on your budget to. Rock flower anemones add a nice little pop in between the rocks and are simple to care for.i really like trachyphylia too. I have 6 that are huge now and you just place them on the sand near your rocks. Very easy to care for also but somewhat pricey.

Will the rock anemone harm my clownfish? Some googling suggests it may.

 

[Lavey29]

Will the rock anemone harm my clownfish? Some googling suggests it may.

I have 10 small fish in my tank with no problems with rock anemone. They are to small to host.

 

[Roatan Reef]

They'll grow and expand eventually - but we're talking years...

Put them on an island, close to glass, preferably back of tank, over time it will grow onto glass, easy to frag or cut overgrowth.

I personally like them and love seeing tanks with gsp growing on back glass, covering it completely....lots of people hate on it, but I like it, just don't put on Rock Structures.

My Gsp is on back by himself already attaching to glass, behind the rock.

 

[Roatan Reef]

I have 10 small fish in my tank with no problems with rock anemone. They are to small to host.

@Lavey29

Tell me more about this...

I love RFAs, bit like others have said, I'm afraid my fish will be electrocuted by one...I've found many great deals and awesome colors of RFA, but am hesitant to add one.

Change my mind

 

[damsels are not mean]

How do you stop them?

Any coral you want to stop can be done with kalk paste. Administer wherever it is growing that you don't want it and it will die. Do it frequently but lightly like mowing the lawn if you want to keep things clean but it also works on an invasive colony that has already taken over.