A lot of "what is this?" I notice here...

[flricordia]

so one more shouldn't make a difference.
I am new to sps and I was told but forgot what this is. Another one of those $10 frags at the LRS this evening. Probably going to have to get rid of my ricordias to make room for all the sps frags I am getting. NOT!
Was I told millipora?

 

[aquaman3680]

Certainly not a milli! This is a hydnophora. They are pretty cool corals but are also one of the most aggressive sps. High light and pretty good flow are really the only requirements, fairly easy to keep!

Good luck

Matt

 

[panmanmatt]

Looks like hydnophora to me.

 

[AQTCJAK]

nice piece

 

[flricordia]

Certainly not a milli! This is a hydnophora. They are pretty cool corals but are also one of the most aggressive sps. High light and pretty good flow are really the only requirements, fairly easy to keep!

Good luck

Matt

So by agressive you mean not to let it touch other corals? It doesn't have long sweepers like LPS I am sure. It is in a high flow area directly under the MH BTW and thanks for the info.

 

[aquaman3680]

Well yes, to an extent they are as aggressive as some LPS. They can put out about 1/2 in. sweepers. SO they are about as aggressive as a trumpet or something like that.

Matt

 

[mps9506]

Hydnophora will send out mesenterial filaments that will do extreme damage to nearby corals. They don't always send them out, but you can be sure anyhting within a few inches will probably feel the "wrath" of the hydnophora. I've seen these filaments extend out much farther however in frag tanks, somewhere close to 6-8 inches, I've read accounts of even farther.
Some photos I found by googling:
Wamas Photo Gallery - Hydnophora attacking staghorn - Powered by PhotoPost
Advanced Aquarist

Scroll about 3/4 the way down on this page and there are some great photos of the interaction of a hydno and acro colony.
Tank of the Month - December 2004 - Reefkeeping.com

 

[Melanie]

Very cool photos Mike!

 

[DrHank]

Mike, what happened? I never pegged you for an SPS kind of guy! It does look neat, but with rics?!

 

[flricordia]

Mike, what happened? I never pegged you for an SPS kind of guy! It does look neat, but with rics?!

Ouch! Slap me twice! Research first I did not. My bad. I actually got two of them and if they can become that aggressive they will be packing their little bags.
So you think rics and sps shouldn't be together? It wouldn't bother me to get rid of the sps?

 

[DrHank]

I don't know about mixing SPS and rics. You just seemed like a ric, zoa, paly, shroom kind of guy and I was surprised to see anything else. I don't know if Hydnophora would bother rics but I've heard a few not so good stories about them with other SPS. I'd watch carefully and get them out at the first sign of a fight.

 

[kathywithbirds]

You could send it my way : )
Very nice!!

... and thanks Mike, I'm going to be flashlighting it tonight to see if Mike's corals are stinging each other... his last water change stirred up a bunch of those webby things.

 

[mps9506]

I would just give them space, if they start growing too large just prune/frag them. IME they grow quite rapidly compared to most acros, perhaps as fast or faster than montis once they get established.
I don't know how well they play with rics and mushrooms, I've personally seen them attack sps and zoa's before. but haven't seen their interactions with rics or mushrooms, so let us know what happens
I'm sure right now those frags are probably going to devote most of their energy into growth, not sending long mesenterial filaments out to attack nearby colonies.

 

[flricordia]

I would just give them space, if they start growing too large just prune/frag them. IME they grow quite rapidly compared to most acros, perhaps as fast or faster than montis once they get established.
I don't know how well they play with rics and mushrooms, I've personally seen them attack sps and zoa's before. but haven't seen their interactions with rics or mushrooms, so let us know what happens
I'm sure right now those frags are probably going to devote most of their energy into growth, not sending long mesenterial filaments out to attack nearby colonies.

Thanks. I probably will get rid of them once they grow a little bigger. They are quite nice though, especially today since they have settled in and their polyps are out. The tank is small as it is and I guess I mostly have just been curious as to sps and why alot of people are obsessed with them. Plus getting frags like this at $10 each is difficult to pass up on. Maybe I can trade them for ricordias later down the road. Appreciate the help.

 

[billyr98]

You could send it my way : )
Very nice!!

... and thanks Mike, I'm going to be flashlighting it tonight to see if Mike's corals are stinging each other... his last water change stirred up a bunch of those webby things.

we also have hydno frags at our meetings, hopefully you can swing into one soon!



Watch these guys, they are agressive.. ask some of my White Corals in my frag tank!!

 

[DrHank]

I can pretty much guarantee you that if they start stinging Mike's rics, you can color them gone!

 

[mps9506]

Watch these guys, they are agressive.. ask some of my White Corals in my frag tank!!

 

[flricordia]

So one of the hydnophoras seems to be dieing I noticed tonight. I took off for a couple of days and left the lights off since I don't like MH running when no one is around.
I doubt that was the cause as I have never had anything else I have kept die-off from a few days of no light. Even on a reef the sun doesn't shine everyday. My guess is it is a frag issue, when it was fragged it just didn't take it well, this frag at least as the other is doing great.
Anyway, can I frag the upper part and hope it will survive? How? Just snip it with bone cutters?
Thanks.

 

[DrHank]

That's what I'd do.

 

[flricordia]

Will do. Thanks Doc.