That one thing you can’t keep?

[Brand00995576]

green star polyps

 

[AbnormalReefer]

green star polyps

You win.... lol thread closed....

In all seriousness though I’ve had mine for 2 months isolated on an island and they haven’t spread much. Heck I think my acros have grown more. Probably my water is too clean....

 

[AbnormalReefer]

Acropora...any kind...doesn’t matter- white band disease, bleaching. So I stay away from them and go with mainly Zoanthids, Paly’s, LPS and some easier SPS.

What’s your lighting and flow? Parameters? Are you dipping your corals in iodine? It seems acros are very sensitive to dipping.

 

[AbnormalReefer]

Montipora....I can keep some acropora, and seriotopora, stylophora, pavona are doing really well, but as soon as a Monti enters my tank it is doomed....shame though, I really would want a forest fire but after 3 attempts I'm done.

Interesting.... monti nudribranchs possibly...?

 

[AbnormalReefer]

Zoas and any crab that’s not a hermit

What else can you keep? If you can keep stuff like acropora fine your water may be too clean if it’s an ULNS. However, I doubt it as zoas are really flexible. Most other soft corals like more nutrient rich water.

 

[Nikita1981]

Interesting.... monti nudribranchs possibly...?

Nope. Have had them though, so I know what that looks like. The polyps just don't extend and then it slowly but surely dies, or, best case scenario, turns into a dark brown or dark purple piece of dull coral that is barely hanging on....see pics below. This happened in about 2 weeks and stayed that way for months. It was still growing though. In the end I gave up and gave it to a friend. After 3 weeks it turned a nice bright green again....

 

[Colsaquarium]

Any shrimp. All other inverts have done fine but cant keep shrimp.

 

[theKoolAidMan]

For me it’s leather corals! I can keep every other coral up to acropora, but don’t have success with leathers (water too clean?)

What’s your one thing you can’t keep?

HA! Same thing. I have some acro, some birdsnest, some acans, ricordea yuma, leptoseris, montis, etc. But other than one Toadstool I have, every leather dies. I've lost cabbage leather and finger leather. I also cannot seem to keep chalices of any type alive. They just waste away.

 

[CindyKz]

Firefighter digi. I have other digitata, acros, montis. But the firefighter always dies in a few months.

 

[damselindistress]

Chalice and Duncans. Only had one chalice, peach sparkler and it was a beaut. Slowly turned tan then green then brownish black ugh. Moved it to different areas of the tank, nothing seemed to make it happy.

I've had 2 Duncans and both looked outstanding for about 10 days then retracted and slowly literally dissolved to a nub. I give up.

On the other hand, I have thriving zoa's, toadstool, lobo, frogspawn, pulsing Xenia, trumpet, digi, birdsnest, favia, trachyphyllia, echinata, scoly, gsp and mushrooms. Go figure.

 

[Cessna89811]

For me it’s leather corals! I can keep every other coral up to acropora, but don’t have success with leathers (water too clean?)

What’s your one thing you can’t keep?

Clown Goby
Yellow Head Jawfish
Flame Angel

 

[miPapareef]

My money

 

[James M]

I can’t keep GSP and any type of Xenia . I really want to but just can’t

 

[dbl]

Two things...acans and your basic run-of-the-mill mushroom.

 

[Mjrdude1]

I struggle badly with most corals in general, I blame my lighting for being too low ever since I went with LED's. But my mushrooms love it, they are spreading all over the tank. Sigh

 

[theKoolAidMan]

Love threads like this because it illustrates how little we really know about coral husbandry and how much left there is to learn. In this hobby we take a small base of established science and then heap on loads of personal anecdotes. We can check all the boxes that the hobby at large says should help corals thrive...but then some just dont. Why can I keep acros and montis, and euphyllia, and nems, but can't keep a basic leather or favia? Why can some of you keep goniapora but not GSP? It makes it both exciting and incredibly frustrating at the same time.

 

[chopsuey84]

discosoma

 

[outdoorsgal123]

Chalices...yet I keep buying them ;Bored

 

[neoGeorge]

GSP, Xenia and Palys: tank is 2.5 years old and all three of these flourished until about a year ago, then they slowly faded away...

 

[kristinarenee]

green star polyps

Me too. Had a huge rock covered and polyps stopped coming out and haven't seen but a couple come out in months. People say you can't kill it but i think mines gonna die.