Cyphastrea care and maintenance

[sSjey]

I recently picked up a nice meteor shower cyphastrea, and I'm looking to ensure it's receiving the proper care. It's currently situated about 10 inches beneath a 250w MH, slightly off to the side. I've got a reeflux 12K and spider reflector in place.

The polyps seem to be extending nicely, but I want to confirm I'm providing it with the right conditions.

The flow is quick, yet gentle - the bird's nest nearby does get blown around a bit, though the cyphastrea polyps appear pretty still.

I've attached an older picture of the tank, which shows the location pretty well. The frag rack is in the same spot, just bigger now - the cyphastrea is roughly where the front edge of the rack is.

Should I consider moving it lower in the tank, or is where it is sufficient?

[brooklynx]

I'd recommend placing it as low as possible with high indirect flow. This way, it'll maintain its color and promote healthy growth. Cyphastrea corals tend to thrive even in areas with semi-shaded conditions, so don't worry if it's not directly under the MH.

[bigtide]

I've had great success with Cyphastrea corals - they're super adaptable to different lighting conditions. I've got five types of Cyphastrea Sp. spread across my tanks, from low-light setups with my Acans to intense lighting with my SPS. As long as you acclimate them slowly to your tank's lighting, they seem to thrive.

My sister's got an 8-tube T5 setup, and her meteor shower is this gorgeous light teal/baby blue color with light pink polyps. Friends of mine with deeper tanks and 4-tube T5s have a nice deep green/teal color with dark red polyps. My point is, this coral family is pretty easy-going. They might prefer less intense lighting, but they'll do great if you acclimate them slowly to more intense schemes. The end result is usually lighter-colored corals.

[sSjey]

Just made the move, dropped it to the bottom of the tank. If I notice any lightening, I'll slide it under an overhang for some extra shade. Will grab some pics soon.

[cavallo]

I've had great success with my Cyphastrea, they're super adaptable to lighting. My emerald green one's been thriving under my 7x54watt Constellation, it's grown like crazy and kept its vibrant color - it's even outpaced my anthelia. I also have a couple tucked away in the rockwork, out of direct light, and they're doing just as well, retaining their bright orange and emerald green with orange polyps colors. My flintix9t one, similar to the meteor shower, is on the sand with no shade and it's growing well, keeping its blue and red hues.

[LyricFly]

Our cyphastrea does incredibly well in low light conditions but really struggles in high light, I've noticed a huge difference in growth and overall health between the two.

[Tidalore]

I've found the same thing with lighting, my blue and orange cyphastrea changed to green and orange after being blasted with intense light.

[Euphoric]

I've had similar experiences with my meteor shower and green with pink polyps Cyphastrea. The MS handled the 250w MH just fine, but the green one didn't take to it at all and lost its color, turning brown. Moving it to the bottom of the tank was the solution, and it regained its vibrant hues. Both corals are getting plenty of flow from the 4 Koralias and 2 Maxi Jets that alternate every 25 seconds.

[sSjey]

I ended up relocating the meteor shower cyphastrea to the sand, and for now, it seems to be holding steady. The polyps are still extended, and its color hasn't changed dramatically. I'm going to keep a close eye on it and see how it adapts over time. Thanks for the advice, everyone.

[daxil]

I'm curious about the growth rate of these cyphastrea corals - are they relatively fast or slow growers compared to other LPS? They remind me of montiporas, but with larger polyps, which got me wondering - do they grow at a similar pace to montis?