Corals to avoid/corals you regret?

[fishface NJ]

Pocillopora
Hollywood stunner

 

[JCOLE]

Honestly, it depends on what type of tank you want and will ultimately want down the road. I started my tank with only softies and LPS. However, down the road when my tank was better established the SPS bug bit. I spent weeks removing rock and cutting of Xenia. I will be converting to a 100% SPS only tank in a couple of weeks with over 50 SPS corals. Now, I will have to spend time over the next couple of weeks removing mushrooms and GSP that has started taking over the tank.

Don't get me wrong. I do love Xenia, GSP, and Mushrooms. However, while it was welcomed from the beginning it is no longer going to work with my future plans. Those 3 once established will spread like wildfire very quickly and if not kept in check will take over a tank in no time.

 

[Dianemetcalf]

Green Hairy mushrooms. They sting anything that they touch and the multiply like crazy. They are also a great hiding place for flatworms.

 

[radar_17]

I'm with h20h20... it depends on what you're after. Over the years I've loved certain corals, only to hate them later, only to wish I could get them to grow other times. Right now the one I'm regretting is the speckled red dicosoma shrooms. Started with one polyp a couple years ago... hundreds now... and they release from their original location and float around the tank, only to attach just where you don't want them (like at the base of an acro). They're very pretty, especially under actinic blues, and in a softies-only tank I'd probably be real happy with them. But in my mixed reef they're a pain. Encrusting monti's are an on-going maintenance item as well... spongodes and reverse-sunset are the worst for me.

 

[EngineeredReef]

Xenia, Kenya Tree, Mushrooms

 

[psychobilly07]

Pink xenia, pink palythoas, meteor shower cyphastrea, are three corals I would never add again

 

[dansreef]

I would like palys, fuzzy mushrooms and Devils paw. Will you sell some?

If you were local.... I would load you up. Bring a bucket and you could have as many as you would like......

 

[Sean Duggan]

Wow, it eventually split into 5? What kind of anemone is it?

It was a RBTA. Had it a month then it split and the one of the babies just kept splitting. Right now ones small and in the back but I have a massive one in the front. I pray he stops growing cause I can’t get his foot and he’s starting to take up Real estate

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

TWO WORDS

HOLLYWOOD STUNNER

 

[Casey Erb]

Goniopora (flower pot coral)

For some reason these get sold all the time as "beginner" corals, and an lfs will tell you they are easy to keep.

The reality is, unless you are an expert (or really lucky) this coral will thrive in your system for a few months, then suddenly die for no reason. They seem to do terrible in captivity.

Maybe I’ve been lucky, but mine is growing like crazy. Almost to the point of annoyance. I keep the flow strong in my entire tank and broadcast feed a couple times a week, I haven’t lost ANY coral aside from ones that arrived to me in steep decline. I have 78 different coral across 40 different species. Again, maybe I’m lucky but I haven’t had problems with any coral. Flow, light, food and leave the rest alone. Give your coral time to adjust to it’s environment, don’t constantly move them around looking for signs of happiness. Slow n steady ALWAYS win in this hobby.

 

[Casey Erb]

TWO WORDS

HOLLYWOOD STUNNER

Why? Nice easy chalice ‍

 

[Boops]

Goniopora (flower pot coral)

For some reason these get sold all the time as "beginner" corals, and an lfs will tell you they are easy to keep.

The reality is, unless you are an expert (or really lucky) this coral will thrive in your system for a few months, then suddenly die for no reason. They seem to do terrible in captivity.

I can't confirm your statement. According to my experience flower pot corals actually belong to the easy keeping corals. I keep them since several years without any issues. I don't know but my tank is definitely not a low nutrient tank.

 

[furyofthegnomes]

Pink xenia, pink palythoas, meteor shower cyphastrea, are three corals I would never add again

I was starting to get surprised that I wasn't seeing Meteor Shower cyphastrea in this. I'm currently battling a colony that is taking over a large portion of my rockwork. I placed a galaxea in the middle of it and its killed off a small portion of it, but the dang thing is just so established in all the nooks and crannies of my rocks that I think I'll have to take more drastic measures. In the next day or so I'll be pulling some rocks out and dunking them in some kalk water to kill off the cyphastrea. It was nice as a small colony but its spread way too much and is getting too close to my acros now.

 

[MaugieDawgieCorals]

This is very helpful. But, oof, all the people saying GSP, that scares me a bit ^.^' .

Gsp took over one of my older systems. I was pulling off huge mats of it. I honestly couldn’t give them away fast enough.

 

[MaugieDawgieCorals]

I can't confirm your statement. According to my experience flower pot corals actually belong to the easy keeping corals. I keep them since several years without any issues. I don't know but my tank is definitely not a low nutrient tank.

Totally agree

 

[reaper0268]

your right i have a hairy myshroom getting close to some sps, not sure what to do... lol

Apistasia X is amazing for all mushroom control.

Stop flow. Inject mushroom and watch it dissolve from the inside out. Works best for bigger ones.

Stop flow. Cover shrooms with Apistasia X. Let sit and dissolve 20 min. Siphon before restoring flow. I use a pipette with a siphon. May require multiple treatments.

Caution. Apistasia X is caustic to other corals. Excess can be immediately siphoned off with no harm done.

Treat small areas at a time.

Restore flow after 20 min.

 

[H3rm1tCr@b]

Well, I have some thoughts. Depending on how you want your tank to look, things like kenya tree, xenia, star polyps, yellow polyps, anthelia, blue cloves, etc. are epic. They are very prevalent and will try to take over if the conditions are right. You could take a look at my tank for example, which is filled with pink pom pom xenia and unidentified zoas/palythoas and it is kind of a mess. But, I simply don't mind. If you are going for a nutrient rich softie and lps tank these guys are great for covering bare patches. They will win against a lot of sps though as mentioned above. But corals that are just difficult to keep are Indonesian elegance (from my experiences aussie ones are great; I have one and it is the hardiest coral I own) and non photosynthetic corals like carnation corals and weird gorgonians. The general rule for nps corals are the brighter the color they are (pink, orange, yellow, etc.) the more likely they are filter feeders that are hard to keep. An acceptation to this rule is the sun coral. I have heard that they are good beginner nps, they just need to be fed frequently (maybe a few times a week???). Hope that helps!

 

[Daniel@R2R]

It was a RBTA. Had it a month then it split and the one of the babies just kept splitting. Right now ones small and in the back but I have a massive one in the front. I pray he stops growing cause I can’t get his foot and he’s starting to take up Real estate

That's a big RBTA

 

[kirinreef]

+1 to this they are a pain

I used to have a yellow clown goby, it killed my green pocillipora, maybe you can try some.

 

[Anchor]

My list of known baddies include:
GSP
Green Rhodactis (fuzzy) Mushrooms
Any and ALL Pally except Utter Chaos - Basically - If it is brown - Flush it down!! Green too.
Not Pulsing Xenia yet but I have seen how that goes.
Red Discosoma, Blue too.

Was wondering if anyone had problems with Leptosiris..?