Keeping mushrooms ricordia and other soft coral with fish

kilo · #1 01/25/2007, 08:51 PM

Can you keep mushrooms rics and other softies with the so called none reef safe fish. Please list wich corals you can keep.

T-T-Trigger · #2 01/25/2007, 11:22 PM

depends on the fish

luke33 · #3 01/26/2007, 11:56 AM

Triggers, maybe, puffers in the Dogface family, nothing besides star polyps imo.

pdpreef · #4 01/26/2007, 12:54 PM

puffers? absolutely not. triggers, probably will be ok. star polyps wont be eaten by anything though in my experience. my triggers never eat any of my corals, but my dogface and mappa tried to eat everything.

fishox · #5 01/26/2007, 03:27 PM

I've got a lunare wrasse, a harlequin tusk, and used to have a picasso trigger with mushrooms, various zoanthids, gsp and a flower pot coral. The fish don't touch anything.

I tried an open brain coral and the Lunare and Picasso both picked at it.

clekchau · #6 01/27/2007, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by pdpreef
puffers? absolutely not. triggers, probably will be ok. star polyps wont be eaten by anything though in my experience. my triggers never eat any of my corals, but my dogface and mappa tried to eat everything.

hmmm i'm somewhat disheartened by this as i've researched this a bit and there are several people keeping puffers in reefs successfully. i have a 12 year old dogface puffer that i will not give away, he is part of the family and i hope to put some softies/mushrooms in my tank with him. i guess i could just try and see...

I like Triggers · #7 01/27/2007, 12:22 PM

ive never seen dogface puffers in a reef, and i had 2. They ate 4 medium sized LPS colonies, and 3 colonies of zoanthids. I have never heard of a dogface working in a reef. but triggers... yes.

clekchau · #8 01/27/2007, 01:10 PM

i don't plan on keeping lps or zoas but the noxious soft corals and some mushrooms. have you had any experience with those type of corals?

i've done some research and here is a good thread of a guy who's user name is zeppelin highly recommends puffers specifically the porcupine puffer in a reef, he's had a few for years.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...ghlight=puffer

here is his website

http://www.porcupinepuffer.com/

T-T-Trigger · #9 01/27/2007, 01:17 PM

porcs are very unique among pufferfish species. there is not much to compare between the two (or any arothron spp. puffer really) in terms of reef compatibility. porcs are the exception to the rule - not the other way around.

of course it is certainly worth trying since the invert additions would add so much to the look of your tank. plus you have an older specimen that may be quite satisfied with his current diet and may not feel the need to try and digest a colt coral....

clekchau · #10 01/27/2007, 01:23 PM

that is dissapointing, but i'll give it a try with some cheap mushrooms i guess, getting rid of stumpy isn't an option

I like Triggers · #11 01/27/2007, 01:44 PM

these were my test corals i guess. the mushshrooms are now starting to grow back, so is the bubble, the frogspawn and zoas were all toast though.

clekchau · #12 01/27/2007, 01:48 PM

i like triggers, did you try this experiment with any other fish, specifically any angels, wrasses or triggers?

cook · #13 01/27/2007, 11:53 PM

I have a pink tail trigger with zoos and mushrooms, I have never seen him pick.

kilo · #14 01/28/2007, 03:38 PM

I like Triggers
What were the fish that ate your corals?

luke33 · #15 01/29/2007, 07:58 AM

Your dogface will eat all of the above, i wouldn't suggest it, and he'll do it within days imo, i've never seen one not. GSP are about eh only thing he won't touch.

I like Triggers · #16 01/29/2007, 12:48 PM

I tried this experiment with the following fish in my tank (225 gallon and 80 gallon):

Humu trigger
niger trigger
clown trigger
dogface puffer (A. nigropuntatus)
mappa puffer (a. mappa)
and some tangs and eels who wouldnt eat corals anyways.

The mappa puffer ate my zoanthids if I remember correctly, and the dogface eat the frogspawn, zoas, mushrooms (rhodactus and discoma), and a bubble.

The humu and niger trigger never ate anything. The clown trigger eats zoanthids though.

I had green star polyps as well but they dont get touched.

clekchau · #17 01/29/2007, 02:35 PM

thanks i like triggers. what about the dogface with leather corals?

I like Triggers · #18 01/29/2007, 03:38 PM

I only had my mappa with leathers, and he didnt touch them. Most soft corals like leathers, xenia, and things like that, are poisonous to the point that fish usually dont eat them.

luke33 · #19 01/30/2007, 02:15 PM

I wouldn't trust a dogface with any leathers. He may not eat them, but will more than likely sample them to death.

clekchau · #20 01/30/2007, 05:19 PM

thanks guys i guess that is fair warning, i could always keep the dogface in a 150 gallon stock tank i have and even plumb it into my tank. that might be the safer route.

what about a clown trigger?