(HERE IS AN ARTICLE BY THE RENOUNED AUTHOR LISTED BELOW I THOUGHT WOULD BE OF SOME INTEREST)
(PART-1)
by Michael Paletta
In the past couple of years LPS corals have lost a little of their luster among the reef-keeping elite with the rising popularity of small polyped stony corals (SPS) like Acropora and Pocillopora. Part of the reason for this change was that SPS corals had just become available, and their brilliant colors and exacting requirements added further to their mystique. But, as many reef-keepers have recently discovered, the brilliant colors of SPS corals often fade; and their sudden bleaching or dying overnight has frustrated many a hobbyist.
Fortunately, the knowledge gained from keeping small polyped stony corals has led to much better husbandry for LPS corals. Since the early days of reef-keeping, many new types of LPS corals are being imported, including Scolymia, Herpolitha, Trachyphyllia and Cynarina. Almost all of the new LPS corals are relatively easy to maintain, with a few even reproducing in captivity, and I'm sure they'll remain a favorite among reef keepers for years to come.
Size Matters
The first and most obvious difference between LPS and SPS corals is the size of the polyps. An SPS coral colony consists of many hundred small coral animals whose polyps are usually only a couple of millimeters in diameter. The entire skeleton is very rigid and only a thin veneer of living tissue actually covers the skeleton. Colonies of SPS corals are usually either branching or encrusting. Corals of this type include Acropora, Montipora, Pocillopora, Stylophora and Seriatophora.
LPS corals, on the other hand, are often composed of only one or a few individual polyps. The tissue of these corals extends out from the skeleton dramatically (sometimes five to six times larger than the hard skeleton itself) and new hobbyists often mistakenly think these corals are soft corals or anemones owing to the polyp extension. The skeleton of these corals looks like a cup or vase when the tissue is removed and the inner portion contains numerous indentations called septo-costae, which divide the colony into segments. Readily available members of this group include corals of the genera Euphyllia, Catalyphyllia, Plerogyra, Lobophyllia, Trachyphyllia, Fungia, and Scolymia.
Large Margin for Error
SPS corals come from the fore reef where the water is extremely clean, light and high in oxygen, and the current is very strong. Conversely, LPS corals predominate in the lagoon and back reef areas where conditions are not always optimum. In these back reef areas the water is often turbid and light levels are often much lower than on the fore reef; the back reef often contains more nutrients as well, due at least in part to the slower flow of water. That LPS corals survive and thrive in these conditions is a large reason why they are often the first corals with which we achieve success. I'm not suggesting that LPS corals should be given less than optimum conditions, but there's a larger margin of error with them.
Lighting
For starters, lighting does not need to be as strong as in a SPS tank. In my opinion, LPS corals do just as well and possibly better under fluorescent lighting than they do under metal halide lighting. In fact, I have seen several LPS corals burn under metal halides, but recover and thrive once they were placed under fluorescent lighting. I personally have a Bubble Coral that is just past its 14th birthday. For the first seven years I kept it under varying types of fluorescent lighting, and it is now under indirect metal halide lighting (indirect meaning it rests in an overhang away from direct metal halide lighting). When it was directly under metal halides, the "bubbles" did not fully expand, looked shriveled in appearance and the coral did not appear to be thriving. Only when placed away from the direct light did the coral achieve its optimum appearance.
Filtration
LPS corals do not demand much filtration. I have kept them in systems utilizing trickle filters where the tanks were full of Caulerpa and microalgae (and high nitrate levels when the algae was removed), and these corals always did fine. Currently my LPS corals are housed in a tank with a Berlin system and also in one utilizing the ecosystem method, and they are doing fine.
Water Movement
One area where these corals are demanding however, is water movement. LPS corals seem to require a moderate current across their bodies to stay in optimum condition. This is not to say that the current should be of the same intensity as waves crashing against the reef, like SPS corals require, rather, they seem to do better with water movement that has moderate strength, like that of water moving about the lagoon. The current should be strong enough to move the polyps about, but not so strong as to cause the polyps to retract or be ripped from the skeleton. The reason that moderate current is so essential is that the polyps of these corals seem to be especially "sticky", and just about everything (food, detritus, fish waste, etc.), seems to adhere to them. If adequate movement does not occur these compounds end up sitting on the coral, causing deterioration.
The LPS that seems least tolerant of low currents is the Torch Coral (Euphyllia glabrescens). I had this coral growing nicely and producing new polyps for two or three years before I had to move it because it was burning its neighbors. The move was only six inches or less so the conditions were almost identical. Unfortunately, soon after the move the coral suddenly perished. Only after analyzing all of the conditions did I realize that the one thing that had changed was water movement; it was inadequate in this new location, which was fatal for this coral. Since then, whenever I move these corals I also adjust the water movement and fortunately, no fatalities have occurred.
Trace Mineral Supplementation
LPS corals also need fewer trace element supplements than SPS corals. Any good general trace element supplement seems to be all that they require in addition to maintaining proper levels of calcium and alkalinity. When I first started keeping these corals I did minimal calcium supplementation through monthly water changes and as a result, these corals did not grow very rapidly, nor did they reproduce. However, since I have gone to the Berlin system with constant calcium supplementation there has been a dramatic increase in the growth of these animals (a threefold increase in the size of the coral skeleton over two years, and a comparable increase in the soft tissue mass as well). Several LPS colonies have begun reproducing as well - Euphyllia colonies have grown and then divided into more colonies; Mushroom Corals (Fungia, sp.) and Elegance colonies have budded off daughter colonies which have grown into new colonies.
In my opinion, all of these events are a result of better calcium management; not only supplementation, but also testing to make sure that the calcium levels in my tank are at or over the desired level of 400 ppm. Also, by using kalkwasser as my calcium supplement the phosphate level in my tanks has decreased as well. Keeping phosphate to a bare minimum is essential for coral growth and it also seems to reduce the tendency for the tissue to pull away from the skeleton.
(PART-1)
by Michael Paletta
In the past couple of years LPS corals have lost a little of their luster among the reef-keeping elite with the rising popularity of small polyped stony corals (SPS) like Acropora and Pocillopora. Part of the reason for this change was that SPS corals had just become available, and their brilliant colors and exacting requirements added further to their mystique. But, as many reef-keepers have recently discovered, the brilliant colors of SPS corals often fade; and their sudden bleaching or dying overnight has frustrated many a hobbyist.
Fortunately, the knowledge gained from keeping small polyped stony corals has led to much better husbandry for LPS corals. Since the early days of reef-keeping, many new types of LPS corals are being imported, including Scolymia, Herpolitha, Trachyphyllia and Cynarina. Almost all of the new LPS corals are relatively easy to maintain, with a few even reproducing in captivity, and I'm sure they'll remain a favorite among reef keepers for years to come.
Size Matters
The first and most obvious difference between LPS and SPS corals is the size of the polyps. An SPS coral colony consists of many hundred small coral animals whose polyps are usually only a couple of millimeters in diameter. The entire skeleton is very rigid and only a thin veneer of living tissue actually covers the skeleton. Colonies of SPS corals are usually either branching or encrusting. Corals of this type include Acropora, Montipora, Pocillopora, Stylophora and Seriatophora.
LPS corals, on the other hand, are often composed of only one or a few individual polyps. The tissue of these corals extends out from the skeleton dramatically (sometimes five to six times larger than the hard skeleton itself) and new hobbyists often mistakenly think these corals are soft corals or anemones owing to the polyp extension. The skeleton of these corals looks like a cup or vase when the tissue is removed and the inner portion contains numerous indentations called septo-costae, which divide the colony into segments. Readily available members of this group include corals of the genera Euphyllia, Catalyphyllia, Plerogyra, Lobophyllia, Trachyphyllia, Fungia, and Scolymia.
Large Margin for Error
SPS corals come from the fore reef where the water is extremely clean, light and high in oxygen, and the current is very strong. Conversely, LPS corals predominate in the lagoon and back reef areas where conditions are not always optimum. In these back reef areas the water is often turbid and light levels are often much lower than on the fore reef; the back reef often contains more nutrients as well, due at least in part to the slower flow of water. That LPS corals survive and thrive in these conditions is a large reason why they are often the first corals with which we achieve success. I'm not suggesting that LPS corals should be given less than optimum conditions, but there's a larger margin of error with them.
Lighting
For starters, lighting does not need to be as strong as in a SPS tank. In my opinion, LPS corals do just as well and possibly better under fluorescent lighting than they do under metal halide lighting. In fact, I have seen several LPS corals burn under metal halides, but recover and thrive once they were placed under fluorescent lighting. I personally have a Bubble Coral that is just past its 14th birthday. For the first seven years I kept it under varying types of fluorescent lighting, and it is now under indirect metal halide lighting (indirect meaning it rests in an overhang away from direct metal halide lighting). When it was directly under metal halides, the "bubbles" did not fully expand, looked shriveled in appearance and the coral did not appear to be thriving. Only when placed away from the direct light did the coral achieve its optimum appearance.
Filtration
LPS corals do not demand much filtration. I have kept them in systems utilizing trickle filters where the tanks were full of Caulerpa and microalgae (and high nitrate levels when the algae was removed), and these corals always did fine. Currently my LPS corals are housed in a tank with a Berlin system and also in one utilizing the ecosystem method, and they are doing fine.
Water Movement
One area where these corals are demanding however, is water movement. LPS corals seem to require a moderate current across their bodies to stay in optimum condition. This is not to say that the current should be of the same intensity as waves crashing against the reef, like SPS corals require, rather, they seem to do better with water movement that has moderate strength, like that of water moving about the lagoon. The current should be strong enough to move the polyps about, but not so strong as to cause the polyps to retract or be ripped from the skeleton. The reason that moderate current is so essential is that the polyps of these corals seem to be especially "sticky", and just about everything (food, detritus, fish waste, etc.), seems to adhere to them. If adequate movement does not occur these compounds end up sitting on the coral, causing deterioration.
The LPS that seems least tolerant of low currents is the Torch Coral (Euphyllia glabrescens). I had this coral growing nicely and producing new polyps for two or three years before I had to move it because it was burning its neighbors. The move was only six inches or less so the conditions were almost identical. Unfortunately, soon after the move the coral suddenly perished. Only after analyzing all of the conditions did I realize that the one thing that had changed was water movement; it was inadequate in this new location, which was fatal for this coral. Since then, whenever I move these corals I also adjust the water movement and fortunately, no fatalities have occurred.
Trace Mineral Supplementation
LPS corals also need fewer trace element supplements than SPS corals. Any good general trace element supplement seems to be all that they require in addition to maintaining proper levels of calcium and alkalinity. When I first started keeping these corals I did minimal calcium supplementation through monthly water changes and as a result, these corals did not grow very rapidly, nor did they reproduce. However, since I have gone to the Berlin system with constant calcium supplementation there has been a dramatic increase in the growth of these animals (a threefold increase in the size of the coral skeleton over two years, and a comparable increase in the soft tissue mass as well). Several LPS colonies have begun reproducing as well - Euphyllia colonies have grown and then divided into more colonies; Mushroom Corals (Fungia, sp.) and Elegance colonies have budded off daughter colonies which have grown into new colonies.
In my opinion, all of these events are a result of better calcium management; not only supplementation, but also testing to make sure that the calcium levels in my tank are at or over the desired level of 400 ppm. Also, by using kalkwasser as my calcium supplement the phosphate level in my tanks has decreased as well. Keeping phosphate to a bare minimum is essential for coral growth and it also seems to reduce the tendency for the tissue to pull away from the skeleton.