For my reef tank, I had three goals:
- My coral selection should only be captive bred corals due to an expected higher mortality rate. I don’t want my mistakes to contribute to the degradation of our natural reefs.
- My coral selection should be hardy and tolerant of mistakes to minimize mortalities, saving money or fellow hobbyist’s time (e.g. gift corals).
- My coral selection should come from the same geographic location to mimic a natural setting if possible.
Since I currently have a scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) which originates from a broad swath of the Pacific and Indian ocean, that leaves me plenty of leeway to make a biosphere that doesn’t break rule 3. My Nassarius snails are (in theory, since positive identification is all but impossible) from Tonga which east of Australia but still in the Pacific ocean. Thanks to the amazing book Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History by Eric H. Borneman, I was able to do quite a bit of research in my home. Ignoring the snails as a mild exception, I came up with the following coral genus list of corals I found attractive (note: author Eric points out the “soft”, “LPS”, and “SPS” distinctions commonly used have no consistent usage or taxonomic basis, and thus do not convey useful information):
- Subclass Octocorallia: Heliopora, Sarcophyton, Heteroxenia, Xenia
- Subclass Corallimorpharia: Discosoma
- Subclass Hexacorallia: Zoanthus, Pocillopora, Acropora, Seriiatopora, Caulastrea, Euphyllia, Physogyra, Plerogyra, Fungia
Out of the above, I began to look for a mix that could accept my lighting (which varies from indirect to bright thanks to my Kessil A360WE) and relatively low flow (there may be a single region in my tank that can be considered moderate). In addition, corals lacking external skeletons as a general rule tend to be toxic inhibit the growth of neighboring stony corals. The book had notes for each genus, and I looked for a pattern. Also, my smaller tank size means it will likely be a higher nutrient environment. Finally, the Discosoma (mushroom) and Euphyllia (hammer) are both considered useful “canary” corals in that they easily show displeasure at bad water parameters, but are relatively survivable. In the end, my tank is likely going to resemble a kind of lagoon tank, with shallow water, bright light, some shade, and low current. I opted for mostly order Scleractinia corals (e.g. generally stony) corals that are naturally found in environments like this to ensure I have maximum compatibility between species.
Indo-Pacific Coral Mix
| Genus | Geographic Origin | Lighting | Current | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discosoma | ??? | Shade | Low | 1 |
| Acropora | Indo-Pacific | Any | Any | 2 |
| Seriiatopora | Indo-Pacific | Moderate | Low | |
| Caulastrea | Indo-Pacific | Indirect bright | Moderate | 3 |
| Euphyllia | Indo-Pacific | Indirect bright | Low | 4 |
| Physogyra | Indo-Pacific | Low | Low | 5 |
| Plerogyra | Indo-Pacific | Low | Low/Mod | 5 |
| Fungia | Indo-Pacific | Bright | Low | 1 |
1. Keep away from other corals as these genus have strong chemical defenses and will kill or inhibit their neighbors.
2. More sensitive to temperature than other corals. While tricky to acclimate and care for, is very common and cheap due to mass captive breeding.
3. Requires high nutrient water to keep its color.
4. Sweeper tentacles are released in response to high current, and can be painful.
5. Prefers attachment to vertical surfaces.
Given my tank size is approx. 20″ x 20″, I may have just enough space to put one of each of these species in the tank. I will probably drop the Acropora and Physogyra first from my stocking list; the Acropora due to its higher difficulty in keeping (despite its iconic status) and the Physogyra because it is so similar to the Plerogyra.
Jellyfish Care Blog 