montipora care

picked up a montipora frag this weekend, its about 3" diameter. anyways i have some questions;D, they are an SPS right? do i need to dose? its in an 8 gal with a 24w PC bulb and an atinic, about 2 and a half inches from waters surface. also i have a 240GPH powerhead pointed at it about 3" away, is that too much, not enough or just right? the polyp's are really extending.

 

I don't know. But I am curious. I will follow and wait for others to reply.

 

Yes they are sps.

Montipora seem to handle many different lighting situations and flow depending on what the coral is used to. If it is maintaining it's color and polyp extension than that is good. Under PC lighting it will probably have to be higher up in the tank anyway. No need to dose yet. Just monitor the big 3 ( Calcium, Magnesium, Alkalinity), as it gets larger or you cut down on routine water changes, you may need to dose.

 

Corailline,
Is it true these are among the easier SPS to care for?

 

Yup, they are pretty darn easy to care for.

The only issue is, sometimes they come from lower lighting tanks that do not have intense MH, LED and some T5 (perhaps older bulbs). We than stick them up top because we think they need the most intense lighting because they are sps. Next thing you know they bleach and it takes weeks or longer to get the color back.

The do best with excellent lighting but they have to work up to it IMO. And they do just fine under PC lights.

 

Montipora grow pretty quick under happy conditions as well.

 

it seems to have colored up pretty good. yeah my Lfs reccomended it to me as an easy SPS. one more question? how big do they get and how long does that take?

 

That varies by species and water conditions. It could outgrow your tank in a year or less if it loves the conditions.

 

Well I have a pink/orange monti- its about 14 inches long by 6 inches wide- I am going to sell it very soon, it just doesnt interest me any more- sps is cool, but lps is where the action is imho- but more difficult to care for too. I guess I am more a shallow reefer type then the deep water type. I have been asked for frags many times- I ususally trade for them, but I am tired of doing this. I want blue jaw triggers.

So if any one has an offer or wants to trade something I would prefer, let me know. I am going to down size most of my SPS- so I can cut lighting requirements, and there by over all aquarium costs.

 

SPS live in shallower water than most LPS.