looking at a few new corals

[crazy cajun]

saw a few corals i like at my LFS, and want to know pros and cons of them before i go back to purchase. easy or hard care???

purple tip green branching hammer 3" wide $30.00
pink/red open brain 3" wide $35.00
long tentacle plate 5"-6" wide $30.00

 

[BL1]

Hammers are very easy, I haven't had to do anything for mine and it looks great in my tank. And that sounds like a good price to me

 

[reeffreak]

Good prices,post pics if you decide to get them.A red open brain generally run around $70 or more locally.

The hammer and brain are considered easy and the plate is considered moderate difficulty.

 

[crazy cajun]

do most people have good luck with the plates??? any of them sensitive to air when handling??

 

[crazy cajun]

i also forgot they have yellow gorgonians about 6-8" in hight for $19.00
how are these??

 

[yote]

do most people have good luck with the plates??? any of them sensitive to air when handling??

Plates are like any other corals.Some folks have great luck with them while other cant keep em alive. A few seconds out of the water wont hurt em.But I would suggest wearing some rubber gloves.Some people are pretty sensitive to their stings.

i also forgot they have yellow gorgonians about 6-8" in hight for $19.00
how are these??

They are fairly easy.Do better with the addition of zooplankton like cyclops,rotifers,or similar products.

 

[Bifferwine]

Long tentacled plates are considerably more difficult than short tentacled plates. The other two are easy, and great beginner corals. I have tried keeping long tentacled plates before, and they have all died on me within a month.

 

[sen5241b]

I've had a green short tentacled plate for a year and he's fine. They will NOT tolerate phosphates! Test before you buy one. If you have any measurable phosphates then I would pass on a plate. I feed mine almost everyday. Make sure you put them on a soft surface like the sand. They do not like to rest on rough surfaces.

 

[Bifferwine]

Short tentacled plates are not the same as long tentacled plates. There's a big difference in hardiness between the two of those.

 

[Jmck]

Hrmm, i must be one of the lucky ones, I have A huge short tentacled, medium short, and two small orange ones and one Large long tentacled. All have been doing great, the long tentacle was the first coral I ever put in my tank, has been one of the easiest imo

the orange short tentacled fungias have been the hardest imo out of the plates

 

[Solarfall]

I had a hard time with tank placement with my plate. It was a short tentacle and one of my very first corals. Eventually I found a good spot (one with very little flow) where it would completely extend and ended up being flat out smothered by my continuously growing toadstool leather.

The best advice I can give you is that they like low flow areas. I guess that goes for most LPS though.

Euphyllias like Hammers are stupidly easy to keep but I find that they don't really grow unless you feed them.

I still don't really understand the whole "brain" system. There are so many different things that people call brains that I have no idea what an open brain even is.

 

[crazy cajun]

ok, i bought
the open brain $35.00
3 head green w/purple tip branching hammer $30.00
long tentacle plate $30.00
green strip mushroon frag $4.99
2 head trumpet coral frag $4.99

it was a little late once i got everything placed in the tank and if everything is open when i get home ill take a few pics


i found this at live aquaria about the long tentacle plate, says its easy for a beginner?? we will see
Plate Coral, Long Tentacle

 

[sen5241b]

I am still very curious about Biff's problems with plates. She keeps SPS no prob but her plates just die. I've had similar issues trying to keep Zoas.

I'm thinking a bacteria that is deadly to only one type of coral starts living in your tank and there is no real way to get rid of it. What kills one type of bacteria will kill all the other types including the beneficial types.

 

[Jmck]

sen, i have a similar problem with zoos.. mine don't stay on the rock, not sure why. I'm trying a large established colony and hoping it lasts.

i think it may be a small imbalance which a specific coral doesn't like.

 

[Bifferwine]

I am still very curious about Biff's problems with plates. She keeps SPS no prob but her plates just die. I've had similar issues trying to keep Zoas.

I'm thinking a bacteria that is deadly to only one type of coral starts living in your tank and there is no real way to get rid of it. What kills one type of bacteria will kill all the other types including the beneficial types.

I actually have had a short tentacled plate for the last 4 months or so, and it is thriving. It is the first out of maybe 10 plate corals that I've tried that has lived longer than a few days in my tank. This guy is in for the long haul -- it's totally healthy, has a great appetite and looks fantastic. Whatever was killing my other ones hasn't killed this one. SUCCESS!!