Why promote an aquarium with soft corals?

[gdw]

Why promote an aquarium with soft corals?


The beauty and movement that soft corals give to an aquarium, regardless of gallons, is unique to our hobby.

Beauty -color​

For many years soft corals had a limited variety of colors. This has now been completely overthrown in the category of polyps and mushrooms, and has been somewhat enriched in the rest of the soft ones. Polyp and mushrooms have surpassed all hard sps corals in a variety of colors, combinations and formations, and compete with even the highest priced lps.

Beauty movement​

Obviously the movement they offer in our aquarium is almost unique, with only some euphilia pricey large colonies being able to emulate.

Beauty size​

Those who have been lucky enough to have dived on tropical reefs have really seen the beauty that large coral colonies can have. Few aquariums have large corals, over a foot, and even fewer can maintain these sizes for many years.
Soft corals specialize in growth and large sizes. You can buy a cheap frag today for and in 12 months it will become a world class aquarium coral showpiece.

Easy - beginner​

One of the obstacles facing the development of the aquarium reef hobby is the complexity of the setup and the mortality of its organisms. This disenfranchises most people that start anew a feed tank. BRS says that the percentage of nedd reefers leaving the hobby is close to 80% (they claim that their customers are at 50% instead.)

Soft corals, almost all of them, can withstand alot, ALOT. They can bear to overfeed them, but also not to feed them enough. They can withstand temperature drops, and some increases, they can withstand changing water from the sea, or not changing water at all. They generally endure!
This can make new hobbyists not disappointed with the hobby, and become real reef tank lovers!

Easy- experienced​

Things are even better for the time tested aquarists. The cost of the aquarium is reduced by not using (or minimal use) zeovit, calc reactors, a-b + dosing, balling, water changes and of course by much lower lighting.

Hobby development​

This is where my adoration for soft corals takes off! The ease with which you can propagate, frag and fragswap is great! If you can multiply discosoma mushrooms, you can exchange them for literally hundreds of morphs! The same for every kind of mushroom and polyp. And if you can not multiply Xenia or green star polyp…. maybe you forget to put water in your aquarium?

Ecology​

Here things are even more responsible. Soft corals, even when removed from the reef, do not reduce reef size or biodiversity. But their easy reproduction in home aquariums for beginners greatly reduces the need to source them from a reef.


For me, personally, the soft coral aquarium is not a stepping stone, it is an ultimate goal. It is beauty in every way, it is sharing with my fellow teammates, it is an ecological approach, it is also convenience! I can imagine few reasons where I will need to spend more time with my soft aquarium than caring for a dog, or a small garden.

So, please see soft coral aquariums as a viable way to increase the numbers of reefers, and not as stepping stone to mixed reef difficulty, or colorful arrays of sticks.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I like where your heads at, but am a bit confused. Is there something out there saying there's something Wrong with softie dominated tanks?

 

[albano]

Agree 100%

 

[gdw]

I like where your heads at, but am a bit confused. Is there something out there saying there's something Wrong with softie dominated tanks?

not wrong , most everyone ((podcasts, youtubers, books, etc)sees this as a stepping stone to stonies

 

[Tamberav]

There are many soft corals that are difficult to care for and rare.... a collectors dream. Soft coral tanks are a lot of unexplored potential. Some soft corals are more difficult than SPS.

SPS are propagated in mass and relatively easy to find if you have the $$.

 

[Musovski]

Soft coral are for sure easier but they arent throw in the tank and forget. Personally me, id take a softie tank over an SPS tank any day. I think what the problem is, is that everyone chases colors. Softies have color but not SPS color. i get it... I mean i worked my rear end off with my 65g to get it to look as a close to a fraction of what MikeC's tank is and that kicked my butt.

Edit: Not to forget some backbone youtubers/bloggers to the reefing community have softies in their tank, ie: MileHighReefer, Melevsreef, inappropriate reefer, MikeC

 

[Chessmanmark]

18 years in the hobby and I have a newfound respect for soft corals. My obsession was always acros, but soft corals certainly have their beauty, not only from color, but through movement with a decent wave maker. Some of my favorites are pink stereonepthea, Palua neon green nepthea, and a green polyp sacrophyton. Zoas for a variety of color and many different kinds of soft corals and gorgonians that emphasize the current in your tank.

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[Falreef]

Soft corals are great but diversity is a little lacking for color from the leathers. Supplement with zoas, mushrooms. Though flow and movement, shapes provide a lot of interest. Running 8 mixed Reef, from 5 gallons to 65 gallons.

 

[Falreef]

How many soft corals are there? Other than zoas and mushrooms not many have fancy names.

 

[Anchor]

Hmm difficult softies.. How about NPS Gorgonians.

 

[KenO]

not wrong , most everyone ((podcasts, youtubers, books, etc)sees this as a stepping stone to stonies

I have a softie dominated tank and a mixed reef. Not everyone has to have an SPS dominated tank.

 

[Ferrell]

I love my toadstools. Seriously thinking about more softies, more of a softy/ LPS guy

 

[KenO]

My softie tank

 

[Appoloreefer]

Why promote an aquarium with soft corals?


The beauty and movement that soft corals give to an aquarium, regardless of gallons, is unique to our hobby.

Beauty -color​

For many years soft corals had a limited variety of colors. This has now been completely overthrown in the category of polyps and mushrooms, and has been somewhat enriched in the rest of the soft ones. Polyp and mushrooms have surpassed all hard sps corals in a variety of colors, combinations and formations, and compete with even the highest priced lps.

Beauty movement​

Obviously the movement they offer in our aquarium is almost unique, with only some euphilia pricey large colonies being able to emulate.

Beauty size​

Those who have been lucky enough to have dived on tropical reefs have really seen the beauty that large coral colonies can have. Few aquariums have large corals, over a foot, and even fewer can maintain these sizes for many years.
Soft corals specialize in growth and large sizes. You can buy a cheap frag today for and in 12 months it will become a world class aquarium coral showpiece.

Easy - beginner​

One of the obstacles facing the development of the aquarium reef hobby is the complexity of the setup and the mortality of its organisms. This disenfranchises most people that start anew a feed tank. BRS says that the percentage of nedd reefers leaving the hobby is close to 80% (they claim that their customers are at 50% instead.)

Soft corals, almost all of them, can withstand alot, ALOT. They can bear to overfeed them, but also not to feed them enough. They can withstand temperature drops, and some increases, they can withstand changing water from the sea, or not changing water at all. They generally endure!
This can make new hobbyists not disappointed with the hobby, and become real reef tank lovers!

Easy- experienced​

Things are even better for the time tested aquarists. The cost of the aquarium is reduced by not using (or minimal use) zeovit, calc reactors, a-b + dosing, balling, water changes and of course by much lower lighting.

Hobby development​

This is where my adoration for soft corals takes off! The ease with which you can propagate, frag and fragswap is great! If you can multiply discosoma mushrooms, you can exchange them for literally hundreds of morphs! The same for every kind of mushroom and polyp. And if you can not multiply Xenia or green star polyp…. maybe you forget to put water in your aquarium?

Ecology​

Here things are even more responsible. Soft corals, even when removed from the reef, do not reduce reef size or biodiversity. But their easy reproduction in home aquariums for beginners greatly reduces the need to source them from a reef.


For me, personally, the soft coral aquarium is not a stepping stone, it is an ultimate goal. It is beauty in every way, it is sharing with my fellow teammates, it is an ecological approach, it is also convenience! I can imagine few reasons where I will need to spend more time with my soft aquarium than caring for a dog, or a small garden.

So, please see soft coral aquariums as a viable way to increase the numbers of reefers, and not as stepping stone to mixed reef difficulty, or colorful arrays of sticks.

I have a 125 gallon tank and I am going to have nothing but soft corals. I think soft corals are beautiful, easy to care for, and it is a hobby that not many people do any more. I am not interested in doing LPS or SPS, but who knows maybe down the road I might. But I am definitely going to have a soft coral tank.

 

[srobertb]

Soft coral are for sure easier but they arent throw in the tank and forget. Personally me, id take a softie tank over an SPS tank any day. I think what the problem is, is that everyone chases colors. Softies have color but not SPS color. i get it... I mean i worked my rear end off with my 65g to get it to look as a close to a fraction of what MikeC's tank is and that kicked my butt.

Edit: Not to forget some backbone youtubers/bloggers to the reefing community have softies in their tank, ie: MileHighReefer, Melevsreef, inappropriate reefer, MikeC

Color?

Are you forgetting about zoas, bounce mushrooms, ricordeas, rainbow star polys, and I’m mentioning zoas again?? Metallic red mushrooms???!

These tanks are also great candidates for easy to care for anemones like rock flowers and maxi/minis too.

Plenty of color and movement availability.

 

[shred5]

Soft corals are making a huge comeback.

People think all softies grow fast, have no color and are beginners corals which is false. Yea some species of xenia are weeds. They are a diverse group of corals just like all. It is like goniopora back in the day they were thought impossible to keep but that was just because mostly they brought in was goniopora stokesi which is still hard. Same with soft corals got a reputation because what was available at the time. There are far more colorful soft Corals available. Some are very challenging to the point they are near impossible to keep. I would actually argue there are allot more harder to keep soft corals than sps. Some softies require 24 hour feedings how challenging is that to do and maintain low enough nutrients. Some require lots of lighting just like sps to keep their colors and also higher flow rates. Dont group all softies together because it is not true on them all. Yea some are weeds and impossible to group but there are allot of softie's out there to be discovered.

I means seriously No color right.

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Some of the most sought after corals right now are weeping willow type toadstools, Koji Wada Pink Nepthea, Japanese toad stools, pink Japanese nepthea, stero's, Neon green toad stools etc.

I think it is because there are so many other corals and sps and there really is nothing new. They are loosing there appeal because it is allot of the same corals renamed over and over and over and over again. There are only so many times you can buy the same coral.

People moved away from softies for a long time which has made some of them pretty rare. FijI is exporting softies but not to the states which makes them harder to get. I have just been noticing a trend lately. Allot of Youtubers are now talking about softies too. stores are increasing the number of softies.

I think we will see the popularity rise in soft coral as some people want to be different. Not everyone follows the heard. I think NPS corals is another thing that will rise as some of the more advanced people in the hobby want more challenge. SPS is not a challenge NPS is where the challenge is at. Some require almost 24 hour feedings. Try to do that and keep nutrients in check.


One thing I have learned being in this hobby for nearly 35 years is everything goes in cycles. Who ever thought mushrooms would become popular. You could not give them away for a long time and most avoided them at all costs. If 15 years ago I said mushrooms would make a comeback people would have said your nuts.

 

[Musovski]

m

Color?

Are you forgetting about zoas, bounce mushrooms, ricordeas, rainbow star polys, and I’m mentioning zoas again?? Metallic red mushrooms???!

These tanks are also great candidates for easy to care for anemones like rock flowers and maxi/minis too.

Plenty of color and movement availability.

mushrooms arent softies.... mushrooms are disc anemones....

Zoas, aka button polyps or sun polyps are colony forming anemones..

so no im not forgetting them

 

[srobertb]

I have a 125 gallon tank and I am going to have nothing but soft corals. I think soft corals are beautiful, easy to care for, and it is a hobby that not many people do any more. I am not interested in doing LPS or SPS, but who knows maybe down the road I might. But I am definitely going to have a soft coral tank.

not wrong , most everyone ((podcasts, youtubers, books, etc)sees this as a stepping stone to stonies

…because we all want to get better and progress in this hobby (or at least some of us view that as the goal). Some people fix up cars to look like they rolled off the factory line, others put a brand new hellcrate into a 70’s charger along with a 12” touchpad display. I

Honestly the most difficult tank is a mixed reef. Trying to find 150PAR with medium flow for an LPS and 12” away is 350PAR with high flow for an SPS.

m

mushrooms arent softies.... mushrooms are disc anemones....

Zoas, aka button polyps or sun polyps are colony forming anemones..

so no im not forgetting them

I’m not sure “softy” is a scientific genus of corals but more of a general term- like how the term “granite countertops” makes geologists lose their minds. Ricordeas, mushrooms, and zoas generally described and listed as soft corals.

that being said…

You’re so pedantic. We should be friends.

 

[shred5]

Honestly the most difficult tank is a mixed reef.

NPS are still the most challenging and as a matter of fact some are still impossible.
Other than a handful like suncorals and dendros most in this hobby can not keep most NPS corals.
There are some in the hobby that could but really do not want the challenge or have the time required.
The biggest issue is feeding food almost 24/7. That is the challenge and then maintaining nutrient levels low enough.