Friends For A Sinularia?

[bitfishy]

I know sinularia aren't known for their friendliness, but I was wondering whether anyone has had any success in keeping anything beside one.

Thank you!

 

[SkiFletch]

You mean the soft coral sunularia? To the best of my knowledge they are very common corals which play nice with most others...

 

[bitfishy]

REALLY?!! My book says 'Easy to keep, but may poison other nearby animals' then goes on to say later
' highly competitive, secrete noxious chemicals that kill competitors such as other corals'

Are we talking about the same thing? Also called cabbage leather corals - my lfs called it sinularia/ 'mouse ear' coral, but I've never found anything under mouse ear.

Not sure if sUnularia was a typo....

 

[SkiFletch]

Your book is correct to a certain extent, although it's a little voracious in its claims. Sinularia make great tank mates for other soft corals, and will even do well with most other significantly hardy LPS. They do release alleopathic chemicals into the tank which will inhibit the growth of sensetive LPS, clams, and SPS. These can be controlled with carbon filtration though if you do wish to keep a mixed reef. Stronger LPS like brain corals, bubble corals, and Euphyllia genus corals do just fine with softies in the same tank. Furthermore if a sinularia is allowed to touch the skeletons of other hard corals, its rough skin will abrade them to death. This isn't a problem with brains, bubbles, or euphyllia though since their strong stinger tentacles keep the softies at bay, but SPS do not have such defense mechanisms and the physical contact of a sinularia would kill them.

Sinularia do play very nice with other soft corals. Sacrophytons, devils hand, kenya tree, xenia, palythoa, zoonathids, pretty much any other soft coral will be just fine with them.

HTH

 

[bitfishy]

Brilliant news

Thanks