Are LPS as demanding as SPS in your mind?

[10" Red Devil]

Just wondering what you all think on this subject? I have kept softies, lps, and sps and I gotta say I have noticed that the only thing that is demanding about lps is their need for constant feedings every 2-3 days and with some like Caulastrea having to feed everyone of those little mouths can be a burden sometimes. Water quality is important but not as much as say SPS water quality. I have noticed that I have been able to keep lps for years on just weekly water changes and regular feedings. With SPS I have to maintain CA, Alk, Mag above and beyond what water changes provide.

[dadonoflaw]

well as a person having troouble with sps but sucessfully keeping various species of lps including elegance blastomussa acans suncoral and brains that it is substantially more difficult to take care of sps than lps. no doubt about that

[T Man]

I would say that SPS require a great deal more care than LPS, especially the lighting and Ca. requirements. I have been keeping LPS only tanks for years and been fortunate enough to sustain Gonioporas for years- I have one goni that I have had for going on seven years with no problems whatsoever. As far as feeding the LPS regularly, I use two plankton reactors that dose phyto and zoo daily through the water column only.
I like the looks of an LPS dominated system over the SPS, there is more varieties of shapes, colors and movement in the water column that appeals to the layperson who observes my system. Here are pics of what I'm taking about......TinMan

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Beautiful corals, Tinman! I agree that SPS are generally more demanding. HOWEVER!! I think when considering flow (which has always been the hardest thing for me to perfect), LPS are more difficult. Some require a little, some a lot. Some have long polyps that can tear and bend, while others don't. Getting the flow just right in an LPS dominated tank is much more difficult, in my opinion.

[T Man]

Originally posted by Der_Iron_Chef
HOWEVER!! I think when considering flow (which has always been the hardest thing for me to perfect), LPS are more difficult. Some require a little, some a lot. Some have long polyps that can tear and bend, while others don't. Getting the flow just right in an LPS dominated tank is much more difficult, in my opinion.

I can't agree with you more Der_Iron_Chef, chaotic and alternating currents are hard to accomplish in a controlled environment, another factor that I have had to deal with when I changed from a 125 to a 210 is placement, LPS only give you a few shots at that! TinMan

[Scythanith]

Loving that chalice tinman!!!!

[All Delight]

IMO, no.

[RichConley]

Originally posted by Der_Iron_Chef
Beautiful corals, Tinman! I agree that SPS are generally more demanding. HOWEVER!! I think when considering flow (which has always been the hardest thing for me to perfect), LPS are more difficult. Some require a little, some a lot. Some have long polyps that can tear and bend, while others don't. Getting the flow just right in an LPS dominated tank is much more difficult, in my opinion.

Gotta agree...flow can be tough with LPS...its tough with SPS too though....theres a fine line between "not enough" and "ripping the flesh off"


To whoever said it above, you really dont need to feed caulastrea....I dont and its doing fine. Feeding will get you quicker growth, but they grow pretty quick anyways.

[10" Red Devil]

Originally posted by RichConley
Gotta agree...flow can be tough with LPS...its tough with SPS too though....theres a fine line between "not enough" and "ripping the flesh off"


To whoever said it above, you really dont need to feed caulastrea....I dont and its doing fine. Feeding will get you quicker growth, but they grow pretty quick anyways.

Why do they have mouths then?

[RichConley]

Originally posted by 10" Red Devil
Why do they have mouths then?

Why do SPS have mouths? Why do Zoos have mouths? Why do we have tailbones? Appendixes? Why do cave tetras have eyes?


These animals CAN eat, yes. But they are primarily photosynthetic. In most cases, there is absolutely no need to target feed them. Remember, in the wild, they CATCH their own food. Why do you think theyre not doing that now?

[porky]

Originally posted by RichConley
These animals CAN eat, yes. But they are primarily photosynthetic. In most cases, there is absolutely no need to target feed them. Remember, in the wild, they CATCH their own food. Why do you think they're not doing that now?

Very well said...
I have been keeping an LPS tank since '02 and have found that my corals do better when NOT target fed. IME, my corals are "happier" when allowed to hunt their own food.

[MechEng99]

Personally, I loooooove to feed my LPS (especially my Bubbles...they're pigs!!!) Most of my LPS know when it's dinnertime. I've tried not feeding the tank, but that didn't work out so well (I don't have fish.)

Tinman, beautiful corals. Thanks for helping out on my other thread. Where did you get your phyto reactor?

[redFishblue]

Originally posted by porky
Very well said...
I have been keeping an LPS tank since '02 and have found that my corals do better when NOT target fed. IME, my corals are "happier" when allowed to hunt their own food.

When you say hunt, do you mean live organisms that are breeding in the tank or just
catching bits of food that is fed into the tank?

[T Man]

Originally posted by MechEng99
Where did you get your phyto reactor?

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merch...y_Code=Special

I bought two of these, the light reactor IMO is overpriced- I bought a cheapo florescent aquarim light for ten bucks and it has served me well and saved me big $$, amazingly enough you don't need very much wattage to grow a culture. The algal and zoo cultures are resonable enough to keep a constant supply of phyoplankton, brine shrimp and rotifers. I have even traded phyto for store credit at my LFS! TinMan

[T Man]

Originally posted by redFishblue
When you say hunt, do you mean live organisms that are breeding in the tank or just
catching bits of food that is fed into the tank?

Yes, a mature tank will have many types of nutrients in the water column, for example- every time we clean the glass/acrylic inside the tank,we are feeding our corals. The simple act of a coral feeding could be construed as hunting, I agree. TinMan

[10" Red Devil]

Originally posted by RichConley
Why do SPS have mouths? Why do Zoos have mouths? Why do we have tailbones? Appendixes? Why do cave tetras have eyes?


These animals CAN eat, yes. But they are primarily photosynthetic. In most cases, there is absolutely no need to target feed them. Remember, in the wild, they CATCH their own food. Why do you think theyre not doing that now?

I hear what your saying. It would be nice to get some scientific data to back up this statement though. I thought I read in Borneman's book that any coral with a mouth needs to be fed at least occasionally.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

I know zoanthids have mouths, but don't really know anyone who feeds theirs.

[RichConley]

Originally posted by 10" Red Devil
I hear what your saying. It would be nice to get some scientific data to back up this statement though. I thought I read in Borneman's book that any coral with a mouth needs to be fed at least occasionally.

Whos saying theyre not getting fed?

I'm arguing about the need to TARGET feed them. They get plenty of food when we feed the tank.

[Sk8r]

My lps have doubled and tripled in size in 1 year, and I never feed, except the fish, and except the occasional dose of phyto for the clam and dusters. I use two opposed sea-swirls for turbulence in a pretty good flow, opposite walls of a 54g. My lps haven't fared so well [I mistook the time for a light change and had an underpowered skimmer, things now corrected, and lps are recovering after some rtn.] So I'd say if you make mistakes, as I did, lps are more forgiving, and they certainly survive crappy water better than sps---they even like it, up to a point. I started with 3 heads on a hammer, my largest, and now have 12 or so: it's a monster. Lost many of my sps in the house move, and had to install the survivors in what amounted to a new tank [it cycled because my rock cooked while I was trying to get the plumbing connected, and I was starting with new sand]. Both acropora and montipora are finally starting to grow again in a tank only set up in early April. The hammer never noticed there was a problem.

[porky]

Originally posted by redFishblue
When you say hunt, do you mean live organisms that are breeding in the tank or just
catching bits of food that is fed into the tank?

Both!
When I feed my fish the corals do a good job of "catching" the food out of the water column.
At night, when all the feeder tentacles come out, they do a good job of "hunting" the copepods and mysid shrimp and other critters that come out at night.
IMO, target feeding is unnecessary and probably more detrimental especially with regards to water quality.
Like Rich said they aren't fed in the wild and do just fine as they are primarily photosynthetic.

[joedirt54]

When you make a mistake with a LPS you get a closed coral for a time 'till the problem is fixed...When you do the same with a SPS you get a nice white rock to grow some zoas on.

I just made a very small error on my temp(84 for 2 days) and my acro started to bleach...I've since saved it, but WOW...couldn't imagine dealing with a whole SPS reef bleaching over a small error/equipment failure.

Dirt

[10" Red Devil]

Originally posted by RichConley
Whos saying theyre not getting fed?

I'm arguing about the need to TARGET feed them. They get plenty of food when we feed the tank.

I see what your saying! Man you need to work harder on saying what you really mean! J/K! I need to work harder on not reading into things. Lol!

[Chester08]

but by target feeding arent we "promoting" a growth factor of supplying a definate source of food for the coral? I agree with everything said that thes corals do it on their own in the wild. why should we sit here and shoot cyclopeez and mysis into their mouths like feeding a baby.lol. But what are the grow rates between an acan in the wild "catching its own food" or us target feeding.

[RichConley]

Originally posted by Chester08
but by target feeding arent we "promoting" a growth factor of supplying a definate source of food for the coral? I agree with everything said that thes corals do it on their own in the wild. why should we sit here and shoot cyclopeez and mysis into their mouths like feeding a baby.lol. But what are the grow rates between an acan in the wild "catching its own food" or us target feeding.

Food is only a small part of what determines growth.

Theres also light, calcium, alkalinity, etc.

I havent seen any difference in my tank between corals that are fed, and corals that aren't.

[dangeroo]

Now i have a question. My tank has been primarily softies except for 8 heads of caulastrea, which i had target fed brine shrimp. I feed the shrimp about once or twice a week, and formula one pellets every other day (10 g, 1 false perc). On sat i added a torch coral the size of a tennis ball and fed it for the first time today. Am i wasting my time???

sorry if i highjacked the thread!