SPS keepers...What's your style????

FishLipz · Sep 20, 2012

So I got bit by the stick bug and now I have a tank full of fantastic aquacultured frags and hope to grab some more. I've seen many beautiful SPS tanks here that make me jealous and each one seems to have it's own "style". So what I'm wondering is is it healthier to have a tank full of small groomed mini colonies that look like a bonsai garden, or let them do their own thing and just trim occasionally to keep them from growing over eachother for a more "let nature take it's course" look? Does it really matter? So what's your "style" and why?

Are you this.....

or this....

-Logzor · Sep 20, 2012

Personally I don't like when giant stag acros overwhelm the entire aquarium. I choose to keep those corals out of my system for the most part. If I did I would probably trim them.

I will typically choose to trim corals when the $30 coral gets near the $200 coral....

FMF0331 · Sep 20, 2012

I say trimming the colony has a cleaner look - plus you can use the cash to purchase more goodies

cdness · Sep 20, 2012

I trim by mistake most days... I am working in the tank and bump a colony and it gets "trimmed" a little. I am a big fan of the more natural looking tanks where things are never perfectly groomed. But I am also a fan of coral propagation, trading and selling within hobbiest groups, so some trimming is good.

darryl_v · Sep 20, 2012

I let a monti grow onto my lokani and the lokani died. I let some stags get big and they browned out some SPS beneath them.......trimming is healthy for the reef.

BillyC · Sep 20, 2012

My reefing style is straight-up gangsta.

Reefing8EZ · Sep 20, 2012

Gangnam style! Lol!

balto777 · Sep 20, 2012

Reefing8EZ said:
Gangnam style! Lol!

:clap2:

Troylee · Sep 20, 2012

Let it grow... Let it grow...

WesF · Sep 20, 2012

Let them grow until they touch or a big clumsy tang breaks off a limb.

frugner · Sep 20, 2012

for me there is nothing cooler than having two corals live and grow in my tank long enough to grow into each other. if one dominates, well, that's nature. if the interaction causes tissue loss that extends too far into the rest of the colony, i might trim.

Shauno · Sep 20, 2012

A litttle of both. Trim when needed but let them grow into the space - not overgrow the space. Overgrown corals can always be restarted by a frag!

It's a matter of your personal taste.

Aquaph8 · Sep 20, 2012

Im a trimmer, mainly cause I have too many corals, its a sickness.

darryl_v · Sep 20, 2012

frugner said:
for me there is nothing cooler than having two corals live and grow in my tank long enough to grow into each other. if one dominates, well, that's nature. if the interaction causes tissue loss that extends too far into the rest of the colony, i might trim.

I let mine grow till they are about to touch and then trim. Well I had an encrusting montipora start growing on a deepwater acro (like I mentioned)...I thought no big deal they will sort it out but the acro went Poof in RTN. That is why I wont sit back and let one coral grow into another. Well it depends on the coral....like a millepora against most acropora you are asking for trouble. Anything against a deepwater acro and again I think you are asking for trouble. Millepora against millepora....probably fine. Encrusting monti against millepora....again probably fine but you have to make judgement calls.

As for trimming small coral......WHY? I dont understand people who trim their corals before they reach a decent size (money over enjoyment I guess). THey grow exponentially almost so when they are big you can just trim the growth and make lots of frags with out being stuck with a perpetual frag yourself.