the center piece...

[SneakyTortuga]

i know there are plenty of threads asking for your "top 10 sps" threads but i was wondering...

for those of you who have achieved those wall to wall sps tanks or are just starting with a field of tiny sticks.... what is that ONE center piece. the one coral that stands out from the crowd. that one show piece that when people who know nothing about the hobby come over they say "wow! whats that?"

the piece that if you took it out of the tank, the tank just wouldn't be the same...

share pictures if possible

 

[tdileo]

The one piece I have everyone not in the hobby looks at and loves.. green star polyps LOL.
I know this thread is about SPS though. Once I thought about it, the answer surprised me too. People seem to really appreciate a big, bright monti cap colony. The second place for me would probably be my blue and yellow tenuis. I think the contrast brings attention to it.

 

[29bonsaireef]

It's so hard to chose a center piece for a tank. So many corals look great when they reach colony size.. From a non-hobbyist stand point, green Bali Slimer has always got the most attention. Everyone always comments the GS if you have a nice colony, but to many hobbyists it's just a boring green coral. From a hobbyist view I'd say some type of Millepora. IMO, nothing looks better then a colony of millepora if you have the right lighting and flow. It can get that tight table growth and the long, wavy polyps just make it so cool.. not to mention the colors on millepora can be unbeatable

 

[dantimdad]

I have and probably always will, notice a green slimer colony before anything else.

That is why I will have it in my cube, even if I don't have any other SPS.

 

[SneakyTortuga]

It's so hard to chose a center piece for a tank. So many corals look great when they reach colony size.. From a non-hobbyist stand point, green Bali Slimer has always got the most attention. Everyone always comments the GS if you have a nice colony, but to many hobbyists it's just a boring green coral. From a hobbyist view I'd say some type of Millepora. IMO, nothing looks better then a colony of millepora if you have the right lighting and flow. It can get that tight table growth and the long, wavy polyps just make it so cool.. not to mention the colors on millepora can be unbeatable

I have and probably always will, notice a green slimer colony before anything else.

That is why I will have it in my cube, even if I don't have any other SPS.

A nice big colony of green slimmer does alway stand out but I have to agree from a hobbyist stand point it does seem like such a basic green coral.

 

[themcnertney]

hawkins echinata

 

[miyags]

Pictures,Please.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

Right now it's my Oregon Tort and my Hawkins Echinata as those are my largest pieces so they get noticed first. The rest of my sticks are all still frags so I'll have to get back to you this time next year... These pictures are crappy cell phone shots from a few months ago. I have to pull out the DSLR soon.

 

[themcnertney]

Pictures,Please.

 

[29bonsaireef]

It's so hard to chose a center piece for a tank. So many corals look great when they reach colony size.. From a non-hobbyist stand point, green Bali Slimer has always got the most attention. Everyone always comments the GS if you have a nice colony, but to many hobbyists it's just a boring green coral. From a hobbyist view I'd say some type of Millepora. IMO, nothing looks better then a colony of millepora if you have the right lighting and flow. It can get that tight table growth and the long, wavy polyps just make it so cool.. not to mention the colors on millepora can be unbeatable

Never had a Milli long enough to reach this size. Always seem to be the first to go in a tank crash for me. Something like this would be awesome as a centerpiece.

 

[jda]

Pearlberry for color and contrast. A nice tabling efflo, soli or hycanthicus for growth and structure.

Non-hobbyists like my large clams more than the corals.

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

Starfire Millie, in center of pic.

 

[Craigb350]

Mine has to be my 20,000 leagues under the sea tabling efflo

 

[dantimdad]

The one thing I have noticed when it comes to show pieces is that, lately, people have so many frags and not enough room for show pieces. And, a lot people have crashes or diseases or controller failures that wipe them out before they can get really large colonies.

I don't call a colony a colony until it's at least 6" across. That's just me though.

 

[SneakyTortuga]

What i find extremely interesting is not even one person has mentioned a single “high end” acro.

Just goes to show that you don’t have to spend $200+ on a single coral to have a beautiful tank

 

[SneakyTortuga]

Mine has to be my 20,000 leagues under the sea tabling efflo

I don’t have a single efflo in my collection but I definitely need to change that.

Stunning piece

 

[Craigb350]

I don't know the origin of it here in the UK, is it one of Jason fox's?

Heres a colony I have grown from a 2" frag

 

[Craigb350]

double post

 

[dantimdad]

What i find extremely interesting is not even one person has mentioned a single “high end” acro.

Just goes to show that you don’t have to spend $200+ on a single coral to have a beautiful tank

I would think that is due in part to the really high end ones being relatively new. So they haven't grown out yet. And the fact that unless you exactly duplicate the conditions they were cultured in, you may not have as nice of a coral colony as you expected in the end.

 

[TMC1313]

If we're just talking a standout center piece, I would have to go with a grown out stag colony of any kind (which does include the bali slimmer). Seeing a stag colony standing tall with mounding, tabling and smaller branching corals surrounding it down below just gets me every time.