amount of coral

M

maverick1320

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May 29, 2009
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This should be an easy one but I haven't seen anything written about it. Is there a general rule of thumb on how much coral you can add per tank size ? I know it will depend on the bio load but from what i am reading the bio load on coral is alot lower then fish.

Thanks,
 
There is not hard and fast rule about how much you can add. The only thing to keep in mind is aleopathy..This is where aggressive corals touch others and cause chemical warfare. So, ensure there is distance between corals and keep in mind that distance is not just physical appearance, its also about how much a coral can extend its tentacles.
 
The more I read about certain must have corals (in my mind at least) the more I realize that I will either have to forego those corals or get a much bigger tank due to the aggressive nature of some of my favorite. My tank isn't all that big so I really have to be mindful of placement.

I plan on setting up two little regions that will have more agressive species each (one already has a very nice sized condy) the other will have a nice frogspawn. I am trying to leave at least four inches around the frogspawn (it will be on a crest so I think I can get away with this shorter distance ...will see). The Condy is on a cliff that juts out a bit so it can't get to anything around it.

I did notice, however, that some of my polyps weren't doing well at all. I had attributed this to the fact that they were survivors from the "incident". However, last night I noticed that the ones that were furthest away from my damaged, but recovering, toadstool, were doing much better. My theory is that the toadstool is still putting off mild amounts of toxins as a result of its stress/injuries. So I moved the zoas to the bottom and they opened right up. Very interesting...
 
What would be nice is a listing of corals and photos showing their reach. I know I've got a couple that don't look like they would have tentacles that could reach as far as they do.
 
The LiveAquaria webpage has some information for each type of coral. I am sure there are other webpages out there that provide the information, but that is just the one that I have found so far. I have been looking into getting some books on corals, but haven't found any that are moderately priced just yet. But would love to have them as a resource.
 
I have a pretty good book called CORALS A Quick Reference by: Julian Sprung. I think ther are more by this author too. Check for the author on Amazon.
 
I don't think there is a rule regarding coral stocking on a per gallon / per tank basis. It is very much about spacing and the chemical / physical warfare abilities of each coral. There are corals that'll only reach out a very, very short distance (if at all) to fight with neighboring corals (or simply release chemical inhibitors / toxins into the water), but many that'll reach out a foot or further with their sweeper tentacles to make sure another coral isn't getting too close.

How much coral is more a question of what corals you'd like to keep together in a particular tank size, and how large to you want them to grow before having to worry about fragging them just to keep them pruned to fit in the area set aside for them?
 
The info was great guys. That pretty much what I was guessing. I being very selective in what I want otherwise I'll need a 300 gallon tank. The wife would kill me. I already too down the main supporting wall in my house and restructured it just to build the tank custom (help to do contract work). I don't think the wife will take my more. remember the first rule of marriage.... "It's always easier to get forgivness then approval "
 
I have an awesome orange crush acan that has personally killed at least five different corals. At first I had no idea it was that acan. One night I looked in the tank and it was attacking another acan colony. I have placed everything at least 4" around it and so far it has been fine.
 
What does the orange crush acan look like. Is that the one that is in the back on the rightside of your tank?
 
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