Montastrea sp. care

I just picked up a small Montastrea frag yesterday. I am not sure which species it is but I suspect M. cavernosa. It looks pretty cool--I'll put some pics up as soon as I find that battery charger!

From what I understand they are carribean and they come from water deeper than 40ft. So they should be getting mediumish light, fed phyto etc..., and be treated similarly to a candy cane. And they can form either coral "boulders" or encrust.

Do I have this info correct? I am having trouble finding good husbandry information so far so I am looking for any tips that anyone can give me.

Thanks in advance for the help 3reefers! I love to pick your brains!

 

If my estimation of what you mean by mediumish light is correct, I would say yes.

Hardly any corals ingest phyto. Of the ones that do, very few digest the phyto. With that said, phyto can feed the animals that down the food chain, can feed the coral.

Yes. Target feed that puppy with meaty foods like frozen mysis after lights have been out for a while if you want it to grow faster.

 

Good stuff. Thanks for the tips. Mysis are a staple, of course. I have been thinking about getting some of those oyster eggs people on here are always talking about. I also might get some Reef Bugs--my buddy swears by that stuff.

Found the batter charger too so I will have pix up in a few hours. Did a minor rearrangment of my tank last week too so I will post those also.

 

Here are a couple of pics of the new frag:

 

How flexible is it's light requirement?

 

Lower lighting necessitates more feeding. Higher lighting means you need less target feeding. They are very adaptable.

 

Thanks. I had a feeling that might be the case. I can't wait until they start growing.

 

It seems like these are not common, judging by the lack of response to this thread. Apparently in the ocean Montastrea is a major reef-builder.