Care of a hydnophora?

[angnak]

I was thinking of picking up a hydnophora, but am having a little trouble finding some care info on them. Can someone tell me about them or point more to a good website? Thanks

[aquaman3680]

They are pretty hardy, IME they like high levels of magnesium and they grow better that way. They grow pretty fast and do have sweeper tentacles that can kill near by corals. They are awesome corals, they like medium water flow and PC-MH lighting.

Matt

[cioutlaw]

Ive never seen sweeper tenicals on mine but they are VERY aggresive & kill about anything that they come into contact with so be very careful on placement. Mine is the plating type, there is a branching species as well.

[angnak]

What do you mean by killing everything? Fish? or just other coral?

[cioutlaw]

Other coral. Ive had mushrooms come loose & land in the Hydnophora & they looked as if they were wrapped in a spider web. They are neet corals just be careful on placement & plan ahead, I seen one awhile ago that was about
2' long!

[mps9506]

I wish I still had a picture of the hydno frags in my buddy's frag tank going beserk. These guys are fast growers and very aggressive. I've seen there filaments extend out 8-10" to sting nearby corals. I've heard of them reaching out longer.

[cioutlaw]

Originally Posted by mps9506

I've seen there filaments extend out 8-10" to sting nearby corals. I've heard of them reaching out longer.

Wow!...I havent witnessed mine doing that.

[mps9506]

It literally looks like spiderman or something. It's actually really cool to see unless it's a prized acro or acan that it is killing.

[charlesr1958]

Originally Posted by cioutlaw

Ive never seen sweeper tenicals on mine but they are VERY aggresive & kill about anything that they come into contact with so be very careful on placement. Mine is the plating type, there is a branching species as well.

I agree, I've seen numerous specimens and species in the wild as well as having kept a few myself and they are always found alone, and I mean alone, the nearest coral neighbors (in the wild) are feet away. I also do not recommend these corals be kept in the same tank/system with montipora or acropora species as not only do these corals attack/consume any other corals by mesenterial attack, but they also release nematocyst packed mucus which makes life miserable, if not impossible for the more gentle less aggressive species no matter how far apart they are placed.

Chuck

[Snappy]

8-10 inches, yikes. For those size sweepers do you know which type of hydnophora? Angyak, what kind are we talking about that you want to get? There are several species so I think it might be helpful to be specific. I have a few hydnophora rigida in my tank and yes they are aggressive but IME a 3" seperation is all that's necessary, unless your flow is blowing in one direction (which it shouldn't be anyway). But yes be careful of the "spiderweb" on less aggressive species. That said, I actually moved my largest colony into my refugium because my hammer was killing it, so they don't win every battle. My tank is pretty packed and doing quite well so I am not sure I buy into the "don't keep them in the same tank theory." However in my reef I also have some LPS & softies so I run carbon to help control all the chemical warfare, so yeah I guess I would recommend if you keep hydnophora with other sps you should run carbon.

[mps9506]

Originally Posted by Snappy

8-10 inches, yikes. For those size sweepers do you know which type of hydnophora?

It was either H.rigida or a branching H.exesa.

One nice thing about these is that aiptasia doesn't grow around it

[charlesr1958]

"don't keep them in the same tank theory"

That theory is probably one of the greatest reasons for the cause of a great many problems with other species. I think a great many hobbyists would be surprised at just how much mucus a coral releases into the water, (which a skimmer helps in removing). Such mucus is also usualy loaded with nematocysts. The same can be said of anemones, which is why I would not recommend mixing certain species of corals or anemones in with other certain species of corals. A "mixed" tank looks great, but can also be the tanks downfall over the long term.

Chuck

[mps9506]

I think a great many hobbyists would be surprised at just how much mucus a coral releases into the water, (which a skimmer helps in removing). Such mucus is also usualy loaded with nematocysts.

I'm not familiar with the coral mucus having nematocysts in them. Where did you find this info?

[charlesr1958]

Looking for something specific, and may have to go back to the source(s) that told me that and ask them the same thing. I may also have the contents of the shed / released mucus confused for something as equaly harmfull as I have always been told that corals such as the one mentioned create water borne problems for other more "gentle" coral species. At least I have something to study up on today....lol

Chuck

[charlesr1958]

Hey Mike, Thanks for asking that question! Had you not, I would still be under the wrong impression of what a corals mucus contains. Turns out it is a rare event that such mucus would contain nematocysts, and if so, its doubtfull the cell could survive long and would not be in sufficient quantities to be of concern. I did however learn a great deal about the role a corals mucus plays and was amazed at just what goes on within and under a corals mucus layer(s). The only real concern with mixing the aggessive species in with gentle species is one of actual physical contact through sweepers and/or mesenterials.
Again, thanks for making me think! Check this out if you haven't already done so.

The Silent Sentinels - the Demise of Tropical Coral Reefs

Chuck