low light corals?

[sokol1312]

I need some low light corals.
any recomendations?

 

[DaisyPolyp]

Turbinaria, Rhizopsammia, Balanophyllia, Dendrophyllia, Tubastrea are all azooxanthellate (need little or no light) coral families, although most of these are very difficult to keep. Your best bet is to go with Actinodiscus, Discosoma, etc (mushroom coral) as they need only moderate light.

 

[Baianotang]

Zooanthids, would you consider it a coral?

 

[sokol1312]

nice pic.

 

[qwiksilver]

Try tubastrea (too-bass-tree-uh) or dendronepthea. Both are non-photosynthetic but have amazing colors. You would have to feed them though cause they don't have zooxanthellae. I love to feed my sun coral (tubastrea) and watch it explode into a huge ball of yellow tentacles.

 

[nice1bruva]

Try tubastrea (too-bass-tree-uh) or dendronepthea. Both are non-photosynthetic but have amazing colors. You would have to feed them though cause they don't have zooxanthellae. I love to feed my sun coral (tubastrea) and watch it explode into a huge ball of yellow tentacles.

i have been told by a VERY reputable guy in england that dendronepthea are virtually impossible to keep in a home aquaria and putting them into one is almost certainly a death sentence for it.
i found this out when i tried to buy one from him...he WILL NOT sell them.
:?

 

[nice1bruva]

Try tubastrea (too-bass-tree-uh) or dendronepthea. Both are non-photosynthetic but have amazing colors. You would have to feed them though cause they don't have zooxanthellae. I love to feed my sun coral (tubastrea) and watch it explode into a huge ball of yellow tentacles.

i have been told by a VERY reputable guy in england that dendronepthea are virtually impossible to keep in a home aquaria and putting them into one is almost certainly a death sentence for it.
i found this out when i tried to buy one from him...he WILL NOT sell them.
:?

 

[qwiksilver]

Yeah, they do have a high mortality rate, but they can be kept. I work PT at an aquarium store and we get them in frequently. The one's that make it in the store, which is about 60%, do ok when taken home. I have been interested in them and it seems to me that the ones that tend to "melt down" when they come in are the ones that are orange as well as the ones that are white and purple. However, I will add that orange dendro's have shown up all over the large 500g coral tank. The one's that are most successful are the fire red and pink ones with white. Don't know if this means one type is hardier than another, but I do find it interesting.

 

[DaisyPolyp]

Yeah, they do have a high mortality rate, but they can be kept. I work PT at an aquarium store and we get them in frequently. The one's that make it in the store, which is about 60%, do ok when taken home. I have been interested in them and it seems to me that the ones that tend to "melt down" when they come in are the ones that are orange as well as the ones that are white and purple. However, I will add that orange dendro's have shown up all over the large 500g coral tank. The one's that are most successful are the fire red and pink ones with white. Don't know if this means one type is hardier than another, but I do find it interesting.

IMO Dendros should not be kept by people in this hobby until a reliable method for sustaining them can be found. Please read the following before even thinking of buying one:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/dendrofaqs.htm

 

[Bojangles]

how do large angels do with these species of coral? Mostly Emperor and Singapore and blue ring. Ive read you can keep them with sps but they demolish all the hard corals. However I've never heard of anything really eating mushroom corals.

 

[Hypostomus]

What other low-light corals are there besides mushrooms? Or "moderate" light?

Polyps, mushrooms, zooanthids...is that it?

I keep a pearl bubble coral under PCs...is it considered a "moderate" light coral?

 

[Jolieve]

mushrooms, zooanthids, star polyps (in pinkish brown and green varieties, I love these critters), bubble coral, galaxy coral, xenia, several varieties of tree coral (such as colt)...

A few species of brain coral are low light lovers, I believe that you're looking for wellsophyllia and trachyphyllia... but don't quote me on that. Also, blastomussa wellsi and merletti (these are commonly referred to as pineapple coral because their polyps look kind of like pineapple slices pasted over a ham) can do well under pc's

Xenia... is cool to watch. It pulses. All your non-reefkeeping friends will love it. Most reefkeepers will tell you it's a weed because it splits on almost a weekly basis. We bought a colony for our nano about four months ago, and now have approximately 15 colonies. But... it's so fascinating to watch that it's better than most things on tv.

Tubestrea and the dendron... (i forget how you spell it now) are not species I would recommend. Tubestrea require target feeding at least four times a week because they don't photosynthesize at all, and this gets tedious over time. The others just die in our tanks and should be left in the oceans.

Also avoid gonipora or "flower pot" coral for this same reason. It's beautiful, but it doesn't live. I have been tempted by these corals myself in the past, but avoided them in favor of hardier animals that I know will survive in my tank and be forgiving if I make a mistake or two.

Hope these suggestions can get you started on looking into species that you want to put in your tank. I also suggest that you thoroughly research the animals you want to keep for yourself. Do not trust to the advice of your LFS, know what you are putting in your tank and how to take care of it. This is key to success in reefkeeping.

Good luck and welcome to this absolutely fascinating hobby,
J.

 

[Bojangles]

There is always the Condylactis Anemone and asst feather dusters. They arent corals but I like them and they look 10 times better when you cant keep the others.

Though it is unfavorable that clowns dont host them naturally. Not saying it wont happen however.

 

[Anonymous]

I love my xenia and it does grow a bit

 

[Anonymous]

i don't know how low of light you are considering but i will say that Xenia and brains are not what i consider 'low light'.
i will voice more agreements here on steering clear of the goniopora, tubastrea and dendro.
also avoid distichopora and siphongorgia. these are two more corals that get sold to new aquarists lacking the light for hermatypic corals. they tend to die within weeks because they are nearly doomed from the start.

 

[Hypostomus]

I consider low-to-moderate light being PCs or whatever else you have besides MHs that aren't diffused over too great a volume.

I would call my 20g low-to-moderate light I guess. I have an eggcrate top and 130w of PCs (Coralife 50/50s). I've had success with mushrooms and my pearl bubble so far.

 

[Jolieve]

I consider PC's to be low to moderate light myself.

I tend to operate under the assumption that most reefkeepers aren't keeping their reefs under standard flourescent tubes.

 

[ricky1414]

There is always the Condylactis Anemone and asst feather dusters. They arent corals but I like them and they look 10 times better when you cant keep the others.

Though it is unfavorable that clowns dont host them naturally. Not saying it wont happen however.

I thought condys were a high light species?

 

[Hypostomus]

I consider PC's to be low to moderate light myself.

I tend to operate under the assumption that most reefkeepers aren't keeping their reefs under standard flourescent tubes.

....huh?

What do you consider them if not low-to-moderate?

 

[Bojangles]

I thought condys were a high light species?

I have seen condys kept in FOWLR tanks with PCS and fishsupply.com has them as "Low to High-Florescent bulbs"

http://www.fishsupply.com/cgi-bin/f2/co ... C/CA/CAC00

Supplemental feeding could be the key but I would do some digging if I were you.