Hmm, intersting. I will tell you this, I have an olive green acro species
under my 175 watt MH that gets absolutely blasted by current every 30
seconds from my sea swirl. It loves it, and its tentacles are expanded all
day long, it is growing and very nicely colored. If I put my open brain or
frowspawn up there, the current would rip the flesh right off the skeleton.
If that didnt happen, the intense lighting would burn them up. Maybe that
species would do just as well under reduced flow and light? Same goes for a
pink table top acro frag I have that gets directly blasted by an output in
my tank. It was not doing well in its current spot in the tank which was a
medium flow. One day while working on my tank, I moved it up to another spot
because I had to do some caluerpa removal where it was. Well, I forgot about
it and left it up in the spot by my output until I noticed it there later
that day. It looked like a totally different coral. It had expanded its
polyps and was loving it. As of today, it has attached itself the the rock I
accidently put it on, and had begun to grow new branches from the rock.
Again, it gets way more water flow than a bubble coral, hammer coral or
torch coral could ever handle.
I have done experiments in my tank with my frogspawn and open brain with
currents (and lighting as far as that goes) and I know for an absolute fact
that my frogspawn does not expand as well when it is getting anything beyond
a meduim low to medium current. Once it gets a decent "blast" of current, it
only partially opens. I can even tell from branch to branch what part of the
animal is getting too much current and what is not, just by the expansion.
Now, I am not saying that this is true for all LPS species, and visa versa
for SPS species, and maybe it is wrong to generalize all LPS and SPS under 2
categories, but in general, for me at least, if someone says "I am sending
you a coral, it is an LPS, I know what general type of environment to try
and create for it.
As always, we dont know where the particular specimens we have in our tank
are collected from, meaning, shallow water, deep water, under a ledge, reef
crest, lagoon etc. I think that is a major problem for the aquarist when
they try and place a wild caught specimen in their tank. It is evident that
my frogspawn has come from a deeper water, as it has never adjusted well to
the light or current in my tank, and only after covering it with a rock cave
and reducing the amount of current it gets has it begun to really open up.
Thats not to say the frogspawn Larry has might not like a lot more light
than mine. Its just hard to tell. Again, I think it just depends on the
individual animal. I get what Eric is saying, and I agree. He mentions "
that small polyped corals come from high light and strong water flow....they
very well might have come from such conditions and they equally much might
not have come from such conditions" and I agree. It is up to us as aquarists
to try and figure that out. I guess I just have a better idea of where to
start based on if it is an LPS or SPS.
Maybe the SPS would do fine under what I consider conditions appropriate for
LPS? Maybe it is just the tolerances of the SPS vs. the LPS? Maybe I am just
a marble head! :-)
Thanks for the info though James, I think I am going to sign up at
Reefcentral and check out what these guys have to say!
Shane
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Payne, James E [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Friday, October 05, 2001 1:29 PM
> To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]'
> Subject: RE: Ooops...
>
> > Nope, there are many differences in them. Too many to explain
> > here, but,
> > they take totally different lighting, flow and tank
> > placement. They are
> > completely different species of corals that are found in
> > completly different
> > areas of the ocean.
>
> I think you'll find that Eric Borneman would disagree with you here. He
> maintains that in reality the SPS and LPS labels are only good at perhaps
> estimating what size food is consumed. Beyond that the corals really are
> about the same. On the Reef Central board, he's gone into many a lecture
> on
> how these labels are misleading.
>
> Here's a quote from one of his posts:
>
> "I am going to keep typing this over and over again until light starts to
> dawn on all the marble heads created by false rumors and thoughts in this
> hobby, ok? Its not your fault, or anyone's, just comes from listening to
> the
> voices of the unknowing.
>
> THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BEETWEEN AN "SPS" CORAL AND AN "LPS" CORAL EXCEPT
> THE
> SIZE OF THEIR POLYPS.
>
> "SPS" CORALS DO NOT NECESSARILY REQUIRE CONDITIONS DIFFERENT FROM "LPS"
> CORALS.
>
> THEY CAN BOTH BE FOUND ON ALL TYPES OF REEFS AND IN ALL REEF AREAS.
>
> Come diving with me and I'll show you forests of Acropora, Pocillopora,
> etc.
> at 120 feet. I'll show you "SPS" corals growing under ledges behind other
> corals where the amount of light they get is about the same as a Bic
> lighter. I'll show you Montastraea and Favia growing where waves break or
> at
> the water line and exposed to noonday sun. Its just a crock of you-know
> what
> that we still think that small polyped corals come from high light and
> strong water flow....they very well might have come from such conditions
> and
> they equally much might not have come from such conditions.
>
> Please, please, please, help spread this word and let's get rid of this
> awful term and thought pattern."
>
> James Payne
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> ________________________________________
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