Question: Can leathers be toxic to other corals?

[thefishgirl]

Hi,

I have 4 large Devil's Hand leathers in my 300g. I had overheard someone say that too many leathers in a tank can actually be toxic to other corals.

I was curious as to what the fine minds here on Captive Reefs would say about that topic and what was overheard.

Thanks!

[Tom@HaslettMI]

This is technically true. Leather corals release chemicals that inhibit other coral growth. The technical term for this is alleopathy. Many corals use this strategy to compete for space on the reef. The effectiveness of these chemicals is dependent on concentration, which is directly related to the size and number of corals producing them and indirectly related to system water volume (e.g. a big leather in a small tank could be problematic). However, most reef tanks shouldn't be affected by these chemicals because we are actively removing them. Protein skimming, water changes and GAC all remove them. So, as long as there is adequate removal alleopathic competition shouldn't have a large impact on a reef tank.

Tom