Euphyllia divisa - Frogspawn Coral Questions

[BlueDolphin]

I am pretty sure that the new coral fragment that I just bought is a frogspawn coral, however at the LFS they called it Octopus Coral. The tentacles are green, with pink tips (I will post a picture after I get it acclimated to the tank). I just had a few questions regarding this coral.

First of all, this is my first frag. I'm not sure what lighting the LFS had, but I have two power compacts with a 65 watt actinic and a 65 watt 10,000K in each. Should I limit the amount of light the coral receives at first, to avoid bleaching? Also, will it filter feed ok with the food I am already feeding my blue tang (bloodworms, prime reef, mysis shrim, vhp) or should I also be supplementing with some sort of plankton? Also, I read that it was semi-aggressive towards other corals. What about the fish? Do they ususally harm them, or not? The only fish I have in the main tank right now is a Regal Tang. I also have some various snails, hermits, and shrimp.

Any information would be greatly appreciated!

 

[BlueDolphin]

Also, what about the addition of trace elements?

 

[steve-s]

An octopus coral will look like a cross between a frogspawn and a hammer coral. At least as far as the polyp shape is concerned. Check my gallery pics, the one in there is kinda "actinic intense" but should give you an idea.

Their care is not much different than other LPS corals but I'm not sure what your light is. Is that 2x65w or 4x65w total over the tank?

If 2x65w, place the coral higher in the tank as that would be about the minimum you'll get by with. If 4x65w, I'd place it midway to lower in the tank. I have tried several variations of placement and find the color is much more vibrant if the light is not so intense.

As far as feeding, with the fish you have I'm sure it will get it's fair share occasionally. Personally I never feed them and the planktonic foods should be used sparingly if at all. Most corals don't really benefit from it directly.

Two notes, they grow like a weed once settled and you should be able to split the coral a few times a year easily enough with properly maintained chemistry. The most important is they have increadibley strong nematocyst and can cause a fair amount of damage if they decide to slime up so be careful to run carbon 24/7. When handling it or placing it I would suggest thin gloves. You will notice alot of small white chunky bits (nematocyst) attached to your skin if not wearing gloves and you will need to be sure it gets washed off in hot water or you could end up with a good sized rash.

Cheers
Steve

 

[BlueDolphin]

Steve,

Thanks for the quick reply! I have two of the the Coralife 24'' strip power compacts with lunar lighting. I usually have on both 10,000K and both actinics during the day, so I guess that's a total of 260 watts.

One more question - you mentioned about running carbon 24/7. I currently don't have any carbon running in my tank. The only things in my sump are blue-bonded prefilter pads, a prefilter sponge, my protein skimmer, and my pump. Do you recommend running carbon, and what type would you recommend?

TIA!

 

[steve-s]

There's not a whole lot of difference between most carbons with the exception of the amount of PO4 they contain so stick with the high grade brands where possible. Personally I use chemi-pure 'cause of the easy to use bag it comes in.

The carbon will help remove a good amount of chemicals given off by some types of corals that the skimmer will miss as well as free floating nematocysts. You'll find that with a decent amount or soft, LPS and any possible anemones; it will greatly improve coral health.

With the 260w of light, I'd go for midway in the tank at most. If the color fades, move it down, not up. I know it sounds backward but IME with them they seem to do better that way. Also be sure the flow is on the lower side where ever they end up. Too much flow will cause them to slime continuously and cause more cast-offs which will damage any coral it lands on. Excess flow can also cause the coral to recede.

Cheers
Steve

 

[BlueDolphin]

Thanks for the great advice, as always, Steve! Here are a couple pictures (with flash and without) of, what I believe is, the Frogspawn. I thought it also looked similar to the torch coral as well. Sorry about the blurriness of the pics. :?

 

[steve-s]

Based on those pics I'd say frogspawn but it's much easier to tell when the coral is fully extended. The octopus will not have the little buds along the sides of the polyp as the frogspawn will.

Cheers
Steve

 

[BlueDolphin]

Ah ha! Steve you are a genius. I see what you are talking about with the little buds. Frogspawn it is! Thanks again, Steve!!