Coral Compatibility....help.

Ok I have googled this with little success. I am dipping into the world of SPS since I finally have MHs. When I was shopping around and asking questions about good starter SPSs to one LFS in particular, he said something that I certainly didn't want to hear. It was that soft corals, my colt coral to be specific, will kill SPS with the toxins they release into the water. He said it was possible to keep the colt with them, as long as they are not "downwind" from the colt. Well my tank has 3 powerheads and so I have a lot of flow. So no matter where their placement, they will eventually receive any toxins released from anything.

My question: Is this true?? It's not that I totally don't believe him, but you know, it's always good to have a second opinion. And I know there is definitely such a thing as chemical warfare between corals......Thusfar I have 3 small SPS frags, a Birdsnest, Pocillopora, and Montipora. The Birdsnest has developed white tips, and I'm not sure if that is a sign of growth or what. I have not noticed much going on with the other two yet, good or bad. The polyps are out on all 3 everyday.

Does anyone know some corals that simply can NOT be kept together, no matter what the distance in the tank? Or a good website that might go into this deeper? Like I said I googled this without much luck. Is it completely unnatural to be keeping softies, LPS, and SPS all in the same tank together? See my sig for a complete list of my corals (and please advise me if I have some that won't last long together). All my corals are out everyday, extended as much as can be. So so far I have not noticed any negative effects if there is a chemical war is going on. Thanks!

 

To an extent, the guy at the local pet shop was right! Soft corals produce toxins which they release mostly as a mucus. These toxins vary in toxicity but even mushrooms, zoopolyps, caribbean gorgonians and green star polyps are very toxic. Some have to be within a couple inches to actually touching to do damage, whereas others can be a foot away and injure or kill portions if not whole corals.
Placement is the key with these corals. It is best to avoid placing a coral such as a Sinularia sp. right in proximity to a Montipora sp with the water flow passing the Sinularia sp. then passing the Montipora sp.(down wind). Now, with this being said, there are ways of lessening this process. Performing frequent partial water changes weekly will help against high levels of toxins in the palegic areas of your tank(water column). Carbon is another effective means of controlling and reducing the amounts of toxins as well. Adding iodine will help to aid in recovery and overall health of corals as a side note!
Now as far as genus' I would shy away from, the main one would be Sinularia(finger soft corals ie. devil's finger/hand) followed by Lobophyton then Sarcophyton. Xenia, Colts and the like are also toxic though not all species carry the same toxins or or same level of toxin.
Taking this one step further, you have to remember that LPS' and SPS' also have defense mechanisms/ participate in chemical warfare as well. Nematocysts and sweeper tentacles to name a couple enable them to protect themselves and assure they will have the power to control the growth of surrounding corals so that they will be able to grow and not be squeezed out and also lose beneficial lighting as well. The same holds true in the forests where trees and plants all fight for sunlight. The ones able to grow the tallest will have the upper hand at survival in enabling them to carry out photosynthesis!!!
So, really, it all boils down to placement. Just make sure you don't place corals too close to one another and remember that some corals Ie. Galaxy and Bubbles contain very long sweeper tentacles(3-5 inches in some cases) so keep that in mind.
And you have to make sure to dillute the toxins to keep toxin levels unde control by frequent partial water changes and carbon use as well as effective protein skimming.
Hopefully this sheds a light for you on corals and toxins. There are many good books that you can read up on regarding toxins and corals as well to help ya.
Good luck!

 

Also, I just got a red mushroom today (just one...it was $5). Could I place it with my green striped mushrooms or would it be best if they were seperate?

 

mushrooms can be placed near other mushrooms with no problems. just watch out with placing them near sps's. Mushrooms will hurt/kill them!