coral compatability

[WhoPoopWrasse]

I'm slowly trying to get more SPS but I read somewhere that leathers should not be kept in a tank with SPS.
What are the effects of SPS and leathers, what do the leathers do to the SPS?
Are there other corals that shouldn't be kept with SPS?
Zoas, mushrooms, xenias, etc....
What about anemones?

[Jason McK]

All Soft corals use chemical warfare to fend off or attack other corals for space. In a closed aquarium setting it can be difficult to get these chamicals out of the water.

I have seen many SPS and Softie tanks where all are doing very well. Just look at TomRs TOTM thread. But I personally have never had success.

J

[Whatigot]

man, this is such a bummer.
anyone know of a good reference site for which softies are best avoided in a sps setting?

Also, are and of the softies toxic to fish?
I have a big fat leather toadstool and nobody in my 72 will go near it.
It's a beautiful coral but takes up a lot of real estate in a pretty hot area.
??

[Drock169]

As far as I know, leather corals apparently taste really bad to fish, and only certain nudis will eat it. And the only softie toxin that I can think of that would kill fish would be palytoxin, but cases of that pretty rare or often misdiagnosed.

[Snappy]

A lot depends on your tank size and water capacity. I have some softies and run carbon to absorb toxins released but that has some other drawbacks as well. A mixed reef can be a delicate balance since the different corals have different requiements.

[Whatigot]

A lot depends on your tank size and water capacity. I have some softies and run carbon to absorb toxins released but that has some other drawbacks as well. A mixed reef can be a delicate balance since the different corals have different requiements.

exactly why I was hoping someone might have a good information resource to navigate such a tricky endeavour.

[sphelps]

Agree with Snappy, you can keep soft corals and SPS together but it should be done with caution. Leathers can wipe out an SPS colony overnight if placed too close. Leathers should be placed strategically so any shedding or "chemicals" released will be filtered out of the tank before contacting any SPS corals.

Also running carbon, effective skimming and water flow are of course key.

[fkshiu]

Keeping leathers and SPS together is tricky, but possible. I have a big yellow tonga leather in with a bunch of SPS. As mentioned, the key is to run carbon, have good flow and good skimming. Having 150+ gallons of system volume doesn't hurt either.

On the other hand, I could have saved myself a lot of headache and just separated my softies and SPS, but I have absolutely no discipline when it comes to livestock purchases :)

[digital-audiophile]

With the issues I have been facing with cyano I decided to tear my tank apart, blow the the rocks and put it back together. What I did was put all my softies on one side of the tank and SPS on the otherside. This way I was able to place my vortech on the SPS side for powerful flow and a couiple small koralias on the softie side for a more gentle water area. It's only been a week so I'll see how it turns out :)