What soft coral would you put in? Looking for recommendations!

[Max19]

Hello everyone, today is like to ask for some advice. Looking for beginner friendly soft corals to put in the red outlined area. Really looking for something shorter so I can still see the gsp in the back and so it doesn’t shadow the ricordea mushrooms. Really I’m just looking for ideas that I may implement, this space feels really empty and if I can get something that fills in nicely and doesn’t take over the tank/kill neighboring corals I’ll be happy. Any and all suggestions are welcome, and I’d like to hear all of your suggestions!

 

[Spare time]

What about gorgonians? They shouldn't shade other corals too much. There really isn't anything short that won't take over a rock (zoas, mushrooms, palys).

 

[Max19]

What about gorgonians? They shouldn't shade other corals too much. There really isn't anything short that won't take over a rock (zoas, mushrooms, palys).

I think that’s a pretty interesting idea, especially for that corner that gets a lot of flow, a fan shaped gorgonion could be cool. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[NE reefer]

Personally I enjoy the movement in tanks. Gorgonian, organ-pipe, maybe mushrooms. Great negative space you’ve created

 

[Max19]

Personally I enjoy the movement in tanks. Gorgonian, organ-pipe, maybe mushrooms. Great negative space you’ve created

Thank you! Movement in the tank is really beautiful and that’s why I’ve got the toadstools and the colt and gsp. and one day I want a tank solely for pulsing Xenia I think that would be awesome.

 

[Solo McReefer]

Gorgonias in the back

Fireworks polyps look cool. GSP on the back wall

Japanese willow neon mushrooms

Cool pretty inexpensive zoas spread around on the rocks

Whatever else you think looks cool

I know you said soft, but euphyllia are easy care in a softy tank. Neon yellow candycanes, purple candycanes Duncan's.

 

[NE reefer]

Gorgonias in the back

Fireworks polyps look cool. GSP on the back wall

Japanese willow neon mushrooms

Cool pretty inexpensive zoas spread around on the rocks

Whatever else you think looks cool

I know you said soft, but euphyllia are easy care in a softy tank. Neon yellow candycanes, purple candycanes Duncan's.

Totally agree GSP on back wall and firework cloves

 

[aztoza]

Make sure you get photosynthetic gorgonian unless you’re willing to spot feed it a few times a week forever. If the colors are bright it’s probably not photosynthetic. Purples, pinks, browns are good. They are so beautiful though!

 

[Solo McReefer]

Make sure you get photosynthetic gorgonian unless you’re willing to spot feed it a few times a week forever. If the colors are bright it’s probably not photosynthetic. Purples, pinks, browns are good. They are so beautiful though!

Yes, this

Pretty sure price delineate them as well, not just light and feesing. At least it used to

I once got a gorgonia that had a Flamingo Tongue snail hitchhiker

It was such a cool animal, I bought cheap gorgonias to feed it. It eventually died for no reason that I knew of

 

[Max19]

Gorgonias in the back

Fireworks polyps look cool. GSP on the back wall

Japanese willow neon mushrooms

Cool pretty inexpensive zoas spread around on the rocks

Whatever else you think looks cool

I know you said soft, but euphyllia are easy care in a softy tank. Neon yellow candycanes, purple candycanes Duncan's.

Wait candy canes come in neon yellow? I might need to look into that

 

[Cthulukelele]

Seconding gorgonians. Grown in gorg colonies in high flow grown from small frags end up with incredibly beautiful natural patterns. This was grown from a half inch single stem over the course of about a year. My advice would be get the bog standard brownish purple gorgonian you see everywhere. Bulletproof, fast growing, easy to trim/control, and the way it grows in like I said in high flow is just gorgeous

 

[Solo McReefer]

Wait candy canes come in neon yellow? I might need to look into that

Yes

Relatively fast growers when you feed them

They open up at night about 2 am. Fill them up with PEmysis or similar

Or you don't have to feed them either, if you don't want.

I like feeding them, myself

These are not mine, I just grabbed them from an image search

 

[FUNGI]

Duncans....technically not soft...but

 

[Max19]

Make sure you get photosynthetic gorgonian unless you’re willing to spot feed it a few times a week forever. If the colors are bright it’s probably not photosynthetic. Purples, pinks, browns are good. They are so beautiful though!

Do you have experience with photosynthetic gorgonians? I know that gorgonians need phytoplankton, and I have a feather duster that I dose phyto every 2 days, but my main worry is what to do if I ever go on a trip, let’s say for 2 weeks. I’m just wondering how often I would need to feed them.

 

[Max19]

Seconding gorgonians. Grown in gorg colonies in high flow grown from small frags end up with incredibly beautiful natural patterns. This was grown from a half inch single stem over the course of about a year. My advice would be get the bog standard brownish purple gorgonian you see everywhere. Bulletproof, fast growing, easy to trim/control, and the way it grows in like I said in high flow is just gorgeous

Hi cthulu, I love how it looks and I bet it adds a ton of movement! How often do you have to feed it phyto? My main concern is going on vacation and it dying

 

[Cthulukelele]

Do you have experience with photosynthetic gorgonians? I know that gorgonians need phytoplankton, and I have a feather duster that I dose phyto every 2 days, but my main worry is what to do if I ever go on a trip, let’s say for 2 weeks. I’m just wondering how often I would need to feed them.

Not who you asked, but photosynthetic gorgs don't REALLY need phyto or tiny meaty pod foods like baby brine shrimp or cyclopeze, but that can make them grow a bit faster. I feed mine occasionally, but it would take an act of God to kill the photosynthetic gorg in my picture I sent. They're as hardy as corals come, and they don't drop limbs, so they're easy to control. They just encrust very slowly, so the hardest part is actually getting them fully attached to a rock. Some photosynthetic gorgs can be a little more finicky about flow and phyto/pod feedings, but they're all doable without them.

 

[Cthulukelele]

Hi cthulu, I love how it looks and I bet it adds a ton of movement! How often do you have to feed it phyto? My main concern is going on vacation and it dying

Clearly I was eager to respond lol. Like in my other post, I more or less never feed phyto, and I feed meaty food of their mouth size maybe a couple times a week. They definitely exhibit a feeding response, but really you don't have to feed them at all. Wouldn't be concerned about it.

 

[Cthulukelele]

All the ricordea in your tank would be dead LONG before that gorg unless something really strange happened

 

[Max19]

Not who you asked, but photosynthetic gorgs don't REALLY need phyto or tiny meaty pod foods like baby brine shrimp or cyclopeze, but that can make them grow a bit faster. I feed mine occasionally, but it would take an act of God to kill the photosynthetic gorg in my picture I sent. They're as hardy as corals come, and they don't drop limbs, so they're easy to control. They just encrust very slowly, so the hardest part is actually getting them fully attached to a rock. Some photosynthetic gorgs can be a little more finicky about flow and phyto/pod feedings, but they're all doable without them.

I thought they all needed phyto dosing! This is great news. Now that I don’t have to worry about that, I’m totally on board for easy gorgonians!

 

[Cthulukelele]

I thought they all needed phyto dosing! This is great news. Now that I don’t have to worry about that, I’m totally on board for easy gorgonians!

Here are some easy frag photo references for your shopping of what is usually available at fish stores.

Tier 1 (literally anybody can grow it):

That is the 1 I have. Grows like crazy. Can be anywhere from that fuzzy to how fuzzy mine is depending on how happy it is.



Tier 2 (I recommend as they are photosynthetic and pretty easy but a little more demanding than the easy 1):

I also have this one here is a larger colony. It can be sold as a corky sea finger or a bunch of other things. Easiest in tier 2 imo usually does very well but some people cant grow it for whatever reason:

Tier 3 (nonphotosynthetic or only mildly photosynthetic imo do not buy):

Hope that helps!