Real opinion on toadstool corals

[BanjoBandito]

Toadstools are near bulletproof and awesome coral! Highly recommend!

 

[Kapachuka3]

The Fluval sea leds will work perfectly.

I was told that pencil urchins eat coral, hes pretty small, would it be fine if i put him into a 10 gallon just to be safe?

 

[MaxTremors]

The Fluval sea leds will work perfectly.

I wouldn’t say ‘perfectly’, they’ll work, but you won’t get great coloration or growth. If you added another of the same light, you’d get better growth and be able to keep more types of corals (don’t know that two would be adequate for an anemone though). But even with two, coloration still won’t be great, the spectrum on these lights isn’t great, there’s not much sub-450nm light.

 

[Sharkbait19]

I wouldn’t say ‘perfectly’, they’ll work, but you won’t get great coloration or growth. If you added another of the same light, you’d get better growth and be able to keep more types of corals (don’t know that two would be adequate for an anemone though). But even with two, coloration still won’t be great, the spectrum on these lights isn’t great, there’s not much sub-450nm light.

Good to know - glad I didn’t get one on my new tank then.
Still good for leathers I assume?

I was told that pencil urchins eat coral, hes pretty small, would it be fine if i put him into a 10 gallon just to be safe?

I’ve never heard of them going after coral. I’m sure others with experience with them will know better than me.
Again, with leathers you are dealing with a cheap and bulletproof coral. The risk of an urchin on more delicate corals is a lot greater than on the hardy ones.
It will most likely not be a problem - I wouldn’t separate unless you actively see it attacking the coral.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I have had no problems with my pencil urchin, but have banished him to the sump every once in a while for knocking everything over. They are borers, so they really get into places and can knock stuff over. He likes the sump just fine too.

 

[Garf]

Do you guys think they grow slow? I had one donkeys years ago that was immense. That was under metal halides though. I love em.

 

[MaxTremors]

Good to know - glad I didn’t get one on my new tank then.
Still good for leathers I assume?

I’ve never heard of them going after coral. I’m sure others with experience with them will know better than me.
Again, with leathers you are dealing with a cheap and bulletproof coral. The risk of an urchin on more delicate corals is a lot greater than on the hardy ones.
It will most likely not be a problem - I wouldn’t separate unless you actively see it attacking the coral.

Yes, will still grow leathers, but IME, toadstools like quite a bit of light (and flow). The toadstool I have now is in Acro levels of light and flow, and is super happy. But again, there’s a difference between ‘will work’ and ‘ideal’.

 

[MaxTremors]

Do you guys think they grow slow? I had one donkeys years ago that was immense. That was under metal halides though. I love em.

It depends. I have had some that triple or quadruple in size every year, and some that take several years to double in size. It’s important to remember that ‘leather corals’ encompasses multiple genera/families that come from a variety of different conditions and depths, it’s not a monolithic category of corals.

 

[Rijodan]

Wanted an anemone for my tank then I realized that they are very hard to care for and are taken from the ocean. Is this the same with toadstools, I have snails urchins, and conchs. I want to get one but do they do well in aquariums and how hard are they to are for compared to anemones, any weird lighting and Im pretty sure they require flow right? I don’t have any other coral and I think it would look really awesome to have a toadstool spread across all my live rock. Here’s my tank, what are your opinions?

kenya trees are also bullet proof, ive super glued over em, threw out into the yard and picked up hours later to throw in a grow out tank, covered them in rocks, all of it and they still live. Actually not just lived THRIVED. soft leathery corals are like super hardy unless you keep way too clean a tank

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Get to know the leather corals: Sarcophyton, Lobophytum and Sinularia | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

Leather corals are a group of soft coral which includes the genus Sarcophyton, Lobophytum and Sinularia. Leather corals are easy to care for and a great addition to any tank, and within these groups…

reefbuilders.com

 

[Garf]

kenya trees are also bullet proof, ive super glued over em, threw out into the yard and picked up hours later to throw in a grow out tank, covered them in rocks, all of it and they still live. Actually not just lived THRIVED. soft leathery corals are like super hardy unless you keep way too clean a tank

Depends on your tank bud. Some just melt......to oblivion.

 

[trsmith18]

I currently have three in my tank. The bottom is a Japanese and has the best of colors but grows very slow! The bigger one is over a foot wide. And the one on the right is your normal common toadstool you’ll find at many stores.

Put me down for a frag of the neon green ones

 

[Sharkbait19]

Yes, will still grow leathers, but IME, toadstools like quite a bit of light (and flow). The toadstool I have now is in Acro levels of light and flow, and is super happy. But again, there’s a difference between ‘will work’ and ‘ideal’.

Good point - mine were always happier when in the higher light and flow areas. Of course I was able to grow my leathers well in fluval 13.5 stock lighting and flow which probably isn’t too different from a 32.5.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

I have both in my 75 gallon, using @noopsyche K7 V3 140w LED's
And I did have 2 Fluval Marine LEDs before that.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

I have a green cap fat polyp toadstool and it looks funky from time to time - my hubby jokes that it goes bald at lights out, lol. In lower light it was stretching so I placed it higher and it has been happy ever since. I can't wait for it to grow out.