Birdsnest Coral Care

100%hydrophylic · 04/10/2010, 07:20 PM

Hey all, from reading on this site, Birdsnest corals seem to be a pretty hardy, fast growing SPS that does not need insane amounts of care. But, online vendors always list this coral as Difficult...

i find it kinda confusing that on liveaquaria they have birdsnest listed under begginer corals then the profile says its a difficult coral http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...418&pcatid=418

are these corals easy or difficult? are they ok with a little bit dirty water from feeding LPS corals and do they neeed a skimmer? i ask because i thought about trying something different in my pico. but i dont want to get one and fight a definite loosing battle.

thanks for any help!

Mrs.kbmdale · 04/10/2010, 07:30 PM

its an sps. its not for beginners, it is difficult. yes u need a skimmer. itll be fine with the feeding needs of ur lps. medium to high flow, lots of light, high calcium levels, stable params, etc. it will not be fine in ur 3g pico.

crvz · 04/10/2010, 07:31 PM

They do allow a bit more leeway in terms of water quality than acros, and I find them very easy to care for and super fast growers. The one thing I will say is that they do NOT tolerate being out of the water for very long at all. If the tips dry out, you'll have a good amount of death on the coral, but they recover pretty quickly. If I were you, I'd give it a shot.

100%hydrophylic · 04/10/2010, 07:42 PM

i dont really buy into the "all tanks need skimmers" fad (because ive kept 3 nanos without them), but i do recognize some species need the cleaner water.

i keep monti caps and digis just fine in my 75g, but thats as far as my experiments with sps go. i was thinking of putting something a little more light demanding in my pico because i am in the process of mounting some DIY LEDs

which led me to sps, which then led to birdsnest.

so far i have two contrasting answers. any other opinions?

oh and thanks guys!

sdc19982002 · 04/10/2010, 09:38 PM

I'm on the do it side. I,ve grown several coloies out to football size. I dont feed them, but I do skim because of my fish load. They are super growers, My green went from a 4 stem frag to 8" round nest in less than a year. Only down side is that they are more prone to RTN on you than most corals.

micrors4racer · 04/11/2010, 04:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crvz

They do allow a bit more leeway in terms of water quality than acros, and I find them very easy to care for and super fast growers. The one thing I will say is that they do NOT tolerate being out of the water for very long at all. If the tips dry out, you'll have a good amount of death on the coral, but they recover pretty quickly. If I were you, I'd give it a shot.

Trust him on this. My fist sized colony turned white and lost about 70% of branches. Now its all green with algae. Will the living polyps grow over that?

Rybren · 04/11/2010, 06:18 AM

I have one in my 30G that is lit with 2x96W PC. It is as high up in the tank as I can get it. It has grown like wildfire for me.

droth335 · 04/11/2010, 06:59 AM

My birdsnest is the fastest growing of my sps (also have green, red, purple cap, poker star, sunset, rainbow monti's and hydnophora (sp?), purple, orange, green digi, yellow scroll and a couple of small acro frags whose names escape me right now)...the birdnest started out as a 4" twig 6 months ago and I've already fragged it 2x (cleaning/aquascaping incidents ;-) and all 3 are growing like weeds...

crvz · 04/11/2010, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by micrors4racer

Trust him on this. My fist sized colony turned white and lost about 70% of branches. Now its all green with algae. Will the living polyps grow over that?

I would try and trim back any of the dead parts of the coral. The algae will probably fade away in time, but birdsnests don't really encrust like and acro or monti would. If you can get to the dead parts of the skeleton with ease, I'd certainly remove it.

Falconeer · 04/11/2010, 02:22 PM

I say do it. I have a small frag of another birdsnest-like SPS (don't know the name, but it's a green deep-water SPS) in my 10 gallon DIY nano. I don't have a skimmer, am using PC lighting, and the growht and coloration has been very good.

It's a good little coral, and if you want to try it, go ahead.

skh · 04/11/2011, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Falconeer

I say do it. I have a small frag of another birdsnest-like SPS (don't know the name, but it's a green deep-water SPS) in my 10 gallon DIY nano. I don't have a skimmer, am using PC lighting, and the growht and coloration has been very good.

It's a good little coral, and if you want to try it, go ahead.

I'll second this - birdsnests seem to do quite well in high-nutrient, lower-light tanks.

prsnlty · 05/08/2012, 08:44 AM

I have a birdsnest frag. It was doing great and beginning to grow. Now the base is turning white. Tips look fine. The only thing I've done around the time it became white was treat the tank for cyano with chemiclean for red slime. I am dosing AA and once a week reef snow (because I still have a slight HA problem even with bio pellets, microbactor 7 and phosban). Is my birdsnest dieing?

No3=0
P04=0
CA=480
ALK=10 dkh
Mag= 1305
PH-8.3-8.5 (I leave my sump light on at night)
Temp=76*night-78*day (it does this naturally)

My other coral frags are doing great, growing and tripling! (toadstool and finger leathers, frogspawn, torch, fire and ice zoas, orange monti, candy cane, pulsating xenia and waving hand xenia).

I don't have iodine and strontium test kits so I rarely dose (every other week and as recommended on the bottles divided by 2 so I don't overdose) I change 30g water every 2 weeks (opposite of dosing and reef snow)

One more thing... I have AI Sol Blue LEDs. It is placed 24" down from the 70* lenses at varying par. (sun - up/down) lights are not set at more than 80% at their brightest. The white base is completely around with no shadowing. The flow is on a wave maker and the BN is near the overflow end of the tank.

f3honda4me · 05/08/2012, 09:02 AM

You should probably start a new thread. But the chemiclean is probably the culprit. I'm not sure why people try to treat algae or cyano with chemicals...

prsnlty · 05/08/2012, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by f3honda4me

You should probably start a new thread. But the chemiclean is probably the culprit. I'm not sure why people try to treat algae or cyano with chemicals...

Yes, I just hate to post something is someone else brought up the subject before (sometimes forums get a little ticked if you do that).

I haven't treated my tank before with chemicals but tried everything previous to it and no luck.

Do you think the birdsnest is dieing?

WillM · 05/08/2012, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by f3honda4me

You should probably start a new thread. But the chemiclean is probably the culprit. I'm not sure why people try to treat algae or cyano with chemicals...

Start a new thread in the SPS section. Most "New to Hobby" people don't keep SPS. I'm one of them and I have no idea if your coral is dead. It just looks out of focus to me.

ggabe145 · 01/06/2014, 09:11 AM

I just added one to my tank, well it was one big one but now it is 3 better sized for my tank ones. they seem to be growing fine already, IDK why but sps coral grow really fast in my tank/ I say add it, they are great to have in a tank.

Art13 · 01/06/2014, 11:14 AM

I had the opposite success with sps. I got a bonsai, green acro, birdsnest and digi. the last two were supposed to be the easiest to care for, same acclimation for all 4, only two i lost were the digi and birdsnest.

cpbirds407 · 01/16/2014, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillM

Start a new thread in the SPS section. Most "New to Hobby" people don't keep SPS. I'm one of them and I have no idea if your coral is dead. It just looks out of focus to me.

This made me laugh!!

iluvmyfishes · 06/12/2015, 10:12 PM

Birdsnests are rated difficult because you have to keep the algae off of them. Otherwise they are easy.

Sapelo · 06/13/2015, 05:25 AM

I do agree that some corals work in some tanks and some don't. I have two sps doing just fine, but had no luck with a birdsnest.

Grkgod36 · 06/13/2015, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrs.kbmdale

its an sps. its not for beginners, it is difficult. yes u need a skimmer. itll be fine with the feeding needs of ur lps. medium to high flow, lots of light, high calcium levels, stable params, etc. it will not be fine in ur 3g pico.

It's one of the easiest sps corals I would say.

04/10/2010, 07:20 PM	#1
100%hydrophylic Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: GA Posts: 1,636	Birdsnest Coral Care Hey all, from reading on this site, Birdsnest corals seem to be a pretty hardy, fast growing SPS that does not need insane amounts of care. But, online vendors always list this coral as Difficult... i find it kinda confusing that on liveaquaria they have birdsnest listed under begginer corals then the profile says its a difficult coral http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...418&pcatid=418 are these corals easy or difficult? are they ok with a little bit dirty water from feeding LPS corals and do they neeed a skimmer? i ask because i thought about trying something different in my pico. but i dont want to get one and fight a definite loosing battle. thanks for any help! __________________ :) Current Tank Info: 75g mixed reef, 28g nano SPS

04/10/2010, 07:30 PM	#2
Mrs.kbmdale Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Pulaski, Tn Posts: 808	its an sps. its not for beginners, it is difficult. yes u need a skimmer. itll be fine with the feeding needs of ur lps. medium to high flow, lots of light, high calcium levels, stable params, etc. it will not be fine in ur 3g pico. __________________ Happpy Reefing (: Brianna :) Live, Love & Laugh like there's no tomorrow, otherwise, you miss today!

04/10/2010, 07:31 PM	#3
crvz Team RC Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: houstonia Posts: 7,989	They do allow a bit more leeway in terms of water quality than acros, and I find them very easy to care for and super fast growers. The one thing I will say is that they do NOT tolerate being out of the water for very long at all. If the tips dry out, you'll have a good amount of death on the coral, but they recover pretty quickly. If I were you, I'd give it a shot. __________________ -Chris- You don't win friends with salad. "Look! They're trying to learn for free!" ... "Use your phony guns as clubs!" Current Tank Info: rectangluar? wet?

04/10/2010, 07:42 PM	#4
100%hydrophylic Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: GA Posts: 1,636	i dont really buy into the "all tanks need skimmers" fad (because ive kept 3 nanos without them), but i do recognize some species need the cleaner water. i keep monti caps and digis just fine in my 75g, but thats as far as my experiments with sps go. i was thinking of putting something a little more light demanding in my pico because i am in the process of mounting some DIY LEDs which led me to sps, which then led to birdsnest. so far i have two contrasting answers. any other opinions? oh and thanks guys! __________________ :) Current Tank Info: 75g mixed reef, 28g nano SPS

04/11/2010, 06:18 AM	#7
Rybren Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 1,642	I have one in my 30G that is lit with 2x96W PC. It is as high up in the tank as I can get it. It has grown like wildfire for me. __________________ 120G Mixed Reef, 28G AIO zoa/pipefish tank

04/10/2010, 09:38 PM	#5
sdc19982002 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Wills Point,Texas Posts: 925	I'm on the do it side. I,ve grown several coloies out to football size. I dont feed them, but I do skim because of my fish load. They are super growers, My green went from a 4 stem frag to 8" round nest in less than a year. Only down side is that they are more prone to RTN on you than most corals.

04/11/2010, 06:59 AM	#8
droth335 Registered Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Iowa Posts: 794	My birdsnest is the fastest growing of my sps (also have green, red, purple cap, poker star, sunset, rainbow monti's and hydnophora (sp?), purple, orange, green digi, yellow scroll and a couple of small acro frags whose names escape me right now)...the birdnest started out as a 4" twig 6 months ago and I've already fragged it 2x (cleaning/aquascaping incidents ;-) and all 3 are growing like weeds... __________________ Dave Current Tank Info: 210 sps dominant reef: 40g sump, kalk,4 reefbreeder photon 32's ; 300DD mixed reef with 180 gallon sump, 4 Reefbreeder Photon 32's.

04/11/2010, 02:22 PM	#10
Falconeer Can I get another tank? Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Wilmette Posts: 330	I say do it. I have a small frag of another birdsnest-like SPS (don't know the name, but it's a green deep-water SPS) in my 10 gallon DIY nano. I don't have a skimmer, am using PC lighting, and the growht and coloration has been very good. It's a good little coral, and if you want to try it, go ahead.

05/08/2012, 08:44 AM	#12
prsnlty Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Inverness, Florida Posts: 232	I have a birdsnest frag. It was doing great and beginning to grow. Now the base is turning white. Tips look fine. The only thing I've done around the time it became white was treat the tank for cyano with chemiclean for red slime. I am dosing AA and once a week reef snow (because I still have a slight HA problem even with bio pellets, microbactor 7 and phosban). Is my birdsnest dieing? No3=0 P04=0 CA=480 ALK=10 dkh Mag= 1305 PH-8.3-8.5 (I leave my sump light on at night) Temp=76night-78day (it does this naturally) My other coral frags are doing great, growing and tripling! (toadstool and finger leathers, frogspawn, torch, fire and ice zoas, orange monti, candy cane, pulsating xenia and waving hand xenia). I don't have iodine and strontium test kits so I rarely dose (every other week and as recommended on the bottles divided by 2 so I don't overdose) I change 30g water every 2 weeks (opposite of dosing and reef snow) One more thing... I have AI Sol Blue LEDs. It is placed 24" down from the 70* lenses at varying par. (sun - up/down) lights are not set at more than 80% at their brightest. The white base is completely around with no shadowing. The flow is on a wave maker and the BN is near the overflow end of the tank. __________________ I'd rather have reef livestock, coral or equipment than new clothes! Current Tank Info: 180g AGA - drilled, 55g sump, Apex, DC12000 return, Custom LR overflows & return column, RO skimmer150, 2- AI Sol Blue LEDS, 6 X 80W ATI T5s, 2 x wp40 PH, JBJ ATO & 20g tank, Jebao DP4, 3 x TLF 150 Reactors for carbon and GFO

05/08/2012, 09:02 AM	#13
f3honda4me Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 1,218	You should probably start a new thread. But the chemiclean is probably the culprit. I'm not sure why people try to treat algae or cyano with chemicals...

01/06/2014, 09:11 AM	#16
ggabe145 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 18	I just added one to my tank, well it was one big one but now it is 3 better sized for my tank ones. they seem to be growing fine already, IDK why but sps coral grow really fast in my tank/ I say add it, they are great to have in a tank.

01/06/2014, 11:14 AM	#17
Art13 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: South Jersey Posts: 1,444	I had the opposite success with sps. I got a bonsai, green acro, birdsnest and digi. the last two were supposed to be the easiest to care for, same acclimation for all 4, only two i lost were the digi and birdsnest.

06/12/2015, 10:12 PM	#19
iluvmyfishes Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Orange County CA Posts: 143	Birdsnests are rated difficult because you have to keep the algae off of them. Otherwise they are easy.

06/13/2015, 05:25 AM	#20
Sapelo Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: North Georgia Posts: 869	I do agree that some corals work in some tanks and some don't. I have two sps doing just fine, but had no luck with a birdsnest.