What Coral would you pick?

Jaymann · 03/25/2007, 06:15 PM

I am trying to decide what center piece coral for the top middle of my 46 gallon tank with MH lighting.

Here are the ones I was thinking..

Hammer Coral
Elegant Coral
or
Frogspawn Coral

or if you have any other suggestions let me know..

Bambalam · 03/25/2007, 06:25 PM

The 3 you have mentioned are all fairly similar in appearance and care. I would suggest that whatever you decide upon, try not to get a coral that would spread onto your rockwork. I'm currently at war with some pulsing xenia that is spreading like crazy.

awestruck · 03/25/2007, 06:38 PM

Both the hammer and frogspawn are great choices. Unfortunately, for reasons currently unknown, very few elegance corals are living very long in captivity. Many seem to thrive for a while and then just start dying. Something to think about.

Pistonkev · 03/25/2007, 07:13 PM

Go for the hammer just my 2 cents.

vessxpress1 · 03/25/2007, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by awestruck
Both the hammer and frogspawn are great choices. Unfortunately, for reasons currently unknown, very few elegance corals are living very long in captivity. Many seem to thrive for a while and then just start dying. Something to think about.

+1. This is good advice.

You may as well get a nice frog and hammer. I've got 2 good sized frogspawns, a branching hammer and a wall hammer that's about a foot long now with plenty of room to spare in my 38. The hammers are my center pieces.

thecichlidpleco · 03/25/2007, 07:17 PM

Frogspawn for center piece, as mentioned elegence does not do so well in home aquariums.

thecichlidpleco · 03/25/2007, 07:18 PM

Frogspawn for center piece, as mentioned elegence does not do so well in home aquariums.

CookieJar · 03/25/2007, 08:19 PM

I've had both- Frogspawn & Hammer. Both did great and both look pretty close, go with whatever one you like the best based on the look.
FWIW I could put mine close together w/o warfare between them.

roader247 · 03/25/2007, 08:26 PM

Go with the hammer just my opinion but find a good one if it is going to be the center piece Good Luck

Mark

KAKLANGLEY · 03/25/2007, 08:33 PM

I would go with a hammer also.

1F2FRFBF · 03/25/2007, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by awestruck
Unfortunately, for reasons currently unknown, very few elegance corals are living very long in captivity. Many seem to thrive for a while and then just start dying. Something to think about.

This is the kind of thing I keep reading over and over again concerning the Elegance. I don't have personal experience keeping corals yet, but I do have a friend with a mature, healthy tank who tried two Elegance corals within the past two months, and neither survived.

The Hammer he has, however, is doing very well, and it's a beautiful addition to his collection. I don't think you'd go wrong with it. Good luck!

drummereef · 03/25/2007, 10:59 PM

Hammer or frogspawn gets my vote out of the three listed. You could also do a monti cap. They are quite dramatic, imo.

HBtank · 03/25/2007, 11:07 PM

I like both my hammer and frogspawn equally. Torch is cool to. I agree with drummer, get a monti, fun watching them grow. I keep collecting different colors I like em so much.

I never get bored with new zoos or ricordia either..

UnderCoverDork · 03/26/2007, 10:15 AM

Hammer..or green frogspawn

KJB32 · 03/26/2007, 12:21 PM

You really can't go wrong with either the hammer or frogspawn

papagimp · 03/26/2007, 01:09 PM

Do you have specific specimens in mind here? Both hammer and frogs are awesome, I have several of each and the only way I could give an honest opinion about wich I'd go for would be to see the color options

. I do tend to lean towards the frogspawns myself. They just look better in my opinion.

fwiw, I get alot less sweepers forming from my various frogspwans than I do any hammer I've owned. May just be my tank and flow though.

rustybucket145 · 03/26/2007, 01:11 PM

Just make sure you give either of them plenty of room. My hammer wiped out every coral within 6 inches of him. They extend sweeper tentacles and sting the crap out of everything they can touch.

Needless to say my hammer was demoted to the LFS.....

HBtank · 03/26/2007, 01:27 PM

Yeh, my hammer has sweepers like no other. It is also the only coral in the tank that I am actually not fond of touching at all.

Bambalam · 03/26/2007, 05:37 PM

My bad - I dropped the ball on that elegance comment. My LFS had a nice one last week, but I didn't bite.
BTW my Favites sends out sweepers waaaaay longer than my hammers!

Jaymann · 03/26/2007, 06:21 PM

What about a green bubble coral? does it have the same sweepers that the hammer has?

03/25/2007, 06:15 PM	#1
Jaymann Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 50	What Coral would you pick? I am trying to decide what center piece coral for the top middle of my 46 gallon tank with MH lighting. Here are the ones I was thinking.. Hammer Coral Elegant Coral or Frogspawn Coral or if you have any other suggestions let me know..

03/25/2007, 06:38 PM	#3
awestruck Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,572	Both the hammer and frogspawn are great choices. Unfortunately, for reasons currently unknown, very few elegance corals are living very long in captivity. Many seem to thrive for a while and then just start dying. Something to think about. __________________ I received the best gift ever today: My son told me that he loves me. Current Tank Info: 65g. w/20g. sump; Reef Octopus Skimmer; (2) x 150w. MH and (2) x 65w. pc. sump-mixed reef

03/25/2007, 07:17 PM	#6
thecichlidpleco Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Ann Arbor Posts: 1,227	Frogspawn for center piece, as mentioned elegence does not do so well in home aquariums. __________________ knowledge is power, power leads to abuse, study hard, be evil Owning a tank is like being with that girlfriend who could care less about you, but you couldn't stand being without her. Current Tank Info: 125 Reef, (3) 250w aquamedic oceanlights ETSS 600 skimmer, mag12 return, (2) Tunze 6055's with 7095 controller, 100 gallon sump

03/25/2007, 07:18 PM	#7
thecichlidpleco Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Ann Arbor Posts: 1,227	Frogspawn for center piece, as mentioned elegence does not do so well in home aquariums. __________________ knowledge is power, power leads to abuse, study hard, be evil Owning a tank is like being with that girlfriend who could care less about you, but you couldn't stand being without her. Current Tank Info: 125 Reef, (3) 250w aquamedic oceanlights ETSS 600 skimmer, mag12 return, (2) Tunze 6055's with 7095 controller, 100 gallon sump

03/25/2007, 08:26 PM	#9
roader247 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Athens GA Posts: 657	Go with the hammer just my opinion but find a good one if it is going to be the center piece Good Luck Mark __________________ Old Enough too Know Better But Young Enough Too Do It Anyway Mark Current Tank Info: 1 75 gallon fish only marine tank 1 55 fresh water tank and 1 29 gallon fresh tank

03/25/2007, 06:25 PM	#2
Bambalam Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: OH Posts: 688	The 3 you have mentioned are all fairly similar in appearance and care. I would suggest that whatever you decide upon, try not to get a coral that would spread onto your rockwork. I'm currently at war with some pulsing xenia that is spreading like crazy.

03/25/2007, 07:13 PM	#4
Pistonkev Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Santa Barbara Posts: 1,107	Go for the hammer just my 2 cents.

03/25/2007, 08:19 PM	#8
CookieJar Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Mountain View, CA Posts: 545	I've had both- Frogspawn & Hammer. Both did great and both look pretty close, go with whatever one you like the best based on the look. FWIW I could put mine close together w/o warfare between them.

03/25/2007, 08:33 PM	#10
KAKLANGLEY Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Nashville, NC Posts: 165	I would go with a hammer also. __________________ 92RR Corner, 2- Hydra 26HD, Ruby 30, 2- MP40, BM Crv5 Neptune Apex HIT EM WITH THE HEIN

03/25/2007, 10:59 PM	#12
drummereef Team RC Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: STL Posts: 14,754	Hammer or frogspawn gets my vote out of the three listed. You could also do a monti cap. They are quite dramatic, imo. __________________ -Brett 180g Marineland Starfire In-Wall 278 gallon system

03/25/2007, 11:07 PM	#13
HBtank Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Huntington Beach, CA Posts: 2,957	I like both my hammer and frogspawn equally. Torch is cool to. I agree with drummer, get a monti, fun watching them grow. I keep collecting different colors I like em so much. I never get bored with new zoos or ricordia either.. __________________ 80g Aiptasia dominated reef tank.. with fish and now a bunch of berghia! Current Tank Info: 80g tank, re-starting a reef after a zoanthid nudibranch plauge, followed by months of steady and unstoppable STN/RTN, crashed; stayed FOWLR for a couple years, currently an aiptasia dominated reef tank with fishies and BERGHIA

03/26/2007, 10:15 AM	#14
UnderCoverDork Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Detroit Posts: 429	Hammer..or green frogspawn

03/26/2007, 12:21 PM	#15
KJB32 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Maryland Posts: 46	You really can't go wrong with either the hammer or frogspawn

03/26/2007, 01:09 PM	#16
papagimp COMAS Rocks! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 8,185 Blog Entries: 2	Do you have specific specimens in mind here? Both hammer and frogs are awesome, I have several of each and the only way I could give an honest opinion about wich I'd go for would be to see the color options . I do tend to lean towards the frogspawns myself. They just look better in my opinion. fwiw, I get alot less sweepers forming from my various frogspwans than I do any hammer I've owned. May just be my tank and flow though. __________________ 58g Softie & 75g Stoney Member, Central Oklahoma Marine Aquarium Society Current Tank Info: 58g Mixed Reef Project - Started June 2011

03/26/2007, 01:11 PM	#17
rustybucket145 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: valdosta, ga Posts: 3,707	Just make sure you give either of them plenty of room. My hammer wiped out every coral within 6 inches of him. They extend sweeper tentacles and sting the crap out of everything they can touch. Needless to say my hammer was demoted to the LFS..... __________________ 400gals of various tanks in the same system. Current Tank Info: 2 175w MH, 2 VH0 Actinics, Lots of Live Rock, tons of copepods, a Fat Mandarin Goby, Niger Trigger, Yellow Tang, Falco Hawkfish, Bi-Color Pseudo, numerous soft, SPS and LPS Corals

03/26/2007, 01:27 PM	#18
HBtank Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Huntington Beach, CA Posts: 2,957	Yeh, my hammer has sweepers like no other. It is also the only coral in the tank that I am actually not fond of touching at all. __________________ 80g Aiptasia dominated reef tank.. with fish and now a bunch of berghia! Current Tank Info: 80g tank, re-starting a reef after a zoanthid nudibranch plauge, followed by months of steady and unstoppable STN/RTN, crashed; stayed FOWLR for a couple years, currently an aiptasia dominated reef tank with fishies and BERGHIA

03/26/2007, 05:37 PM	#19
Bambalam Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: OH Posts: 688	My bad - I dropped the ball on that elegance comment. My LFS had a nice one last week, but I didn't bite. BTW my Favites sends out sweepers waaaaay longer than my hammers!

03/26/2007, 06:21 PM	#20
Jaymann Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 50	What about a green bubble coral? does it have the same sweepers that the hammer has?