Is Competition Beneficial or Detrimental?

[Reefdude5]

I was thinking this might be a good topic. Is competition, speaking primarily about corals, good or bad? In our economics we generally believe that competition strengthens the individual businesses. Without driving businesses out of business, it usually stengtens everything, right? I was just wondering if this principle holds true for corals. I guess this kinda goes parallel with the question, "should corals touch". I read in a book recently, i can't remember if it was by Sprung or Tullock, but it stated that competition is very bad and is to be avoided. Is this the general viewpoint?

[icebear]

well, first someone will have to list the possible benefits....

[Spanky]

For one thing, it can hurt like all get out!

[tankgirl2]

It's both. But, it's better for those who win and worse for those who lose. IMO.

Without competition, Darwin would be an unknown nobody.

[ruhspolostar]

Hey Austin, haven't seen you around here in a long time...but I wou;d have to agree with tankgirl, for the one who wins its great but if you loose you wother away......

-Adam

[jeepjon]

Competition basically drives ecology, evolution, and adaptation...in our tanks, however, it is quite different, at least I believe. In the wild, if a coral can outgrow and shadow over another coral, it has won the competition, and would probably be the strongest individual, in a very closed environ like our tanks, perfect competition would wind up with eventually one or two corals dominating...especially in a nano-tank! ! !

[jeepjon]

Nobody wants a tank with just one coral...and if we really wanted competition in our tanks, we would give them a set amount of nutrients, and then say...go at it...and of course, the most hardy of species would thrive...and then we'd have tanks full of algae!

[Reefdude5]

Full of algae, eh? SOunds like mine! hahaha! Hey Adam, I haven't seen YOU in a while! See i'm using your name! So, no benefits, sounds like it, hmmm, any other spin off that we could take the thread in the direction of?

[tankgirl2]

I agree with all - our tanks aren't the place we want everything struggling for survival. In nature, it's a unavoidable reality - limited resources that everything fights for. There's a certain amount of that in our tanks, but we do our best to minimize it.

[Reefdude5]

So do we try to look at a certain part of the reef that our tank most imitates(if at all!) and stock it with the species that are best at competing(aka most abundant)? Or does anybody look for the weaker species that would react really well in the shelter of our tanks?

[tankgirl2]

Hi Austin,
Different corals have different ways of competing and beating out the competition.

LPS corals have stinging tentacles (nematocysts) that they can send out (at night, usually). Those tentacles can be quite long, 6" or more (Bubble corals can extend theirs up to a foot!).

SPS can also send out long mesenterial filaments that can burn other corals. But, they don't usually use them unless they're stressed. Mostly they use rapid growth to compete. They shouldn't touch each other, though.

Leather or soft corals can engage in chemical warfare and should be kept down stream from LPS & SPS.

Here's a list I got from Boomer;
________ Relative Aggressiveness of Commonly Kept Reef Invertebrates

MOST AGGRESSIVE...

1)_____ Elegance Coral_ (Catalaphyllia jardinei, "Tooth coral")
2)_____ Hammer Coral___ (Euphyllia ancora, E. fimbriata, "Torch coral")
3)_____ Other Euphyllia (E. glabrescens, E. cristala., "Frog's spawn coral")
4)_____ Bubble Coral___ (Plerogyra sinuosa)
5)_____ Grape Coral____ (Physosyra lichensteini, "Small bubble coral")
6)_____ Mushroom Coral_ (Fungia actinoformis)___
7)_____ Flower Pot Coral (Goniopora sp.)
~)_____ Telia Anemonies (Telia sp, "Strawberry anemonies; Colony anemonies")
________
8)_____ Open Brain Coral (Trachyphyllia geofroyi)
9)_____ Cup Coral______ (Taxbinaria peltata)
10)____ Moon Coral_____ (Galaxea fascicalaris)
11)____ Closed Brain Coral (Favia spead brain coral")
12)____ Star Polyps____ (Clavalaria sp.)
13)____ Leather Coral__ (Sarccphyton sp)
14)____ Tree Coral_____ (Sinalaris spFire coral")
15)____ Gorgoniana_____ (Gorgonacea sp.)________
16)____ Waving Hand____ (Anthelia sp.)
17)____ Xenia__________ (Xenia sp.)
18)____ Giant Mushrooms (Rhodactius sp., "Elephant ear coral")
~)_____ Sea Mat Anemonies (Zooanthus sp., "Sea mat rock")
~)_____ Ricordia Anemonies (Ricordia sp. "Sea mat rock")
19)____ Mushroom Anemonies (inodiscus sp., "Mushroom polyps")

...LEAST AGGRESSIVE

That list has some loopholes and it isn't that simple. But, if you look at the trend - from LPS to SPS to soft corals, it's a useful rough guide.

Good general guidelines;
Don't let any SPS touch each other.
Ricordias and mushrooms have some kind of chemistry that kills off stoney corals, so don't let them touch.
Softies aren't as physically aggressive in general and can be clumped together with a few exceptions like Capnella and some of the encrusting gorgs. When a softie and a stoney touch, usually the stoney burns the softie a little and it retracts and they kind of work it out.
Zo's get along with almost everything else.

[yardboy]

Interesting list, with lots of "loopholes" as you said.
I'm moving tanks and have found things going on I didn't realize. Singularia inhibiting practically everything in the tank; star polyps overgrowing an acropora; yellow polyps killing another acropora.
I, like many others, made the error of putting too much in my 70, and having too much competition (read as lack of growth) as a result. I got "Ultimate Marine Aquariums" for Christmas and one of the things I got from the book is how so many people expressed a wish that they'd started with fewer corals and let them grow out, as they waste too much energy in the competitive process.

[tdwyatt]

actually we use competition for nutrients to our advantage every day. Refugia use the ability of macroalgae to compete for phosphate and nitrate to export these substances from our systems when we trim the macroalgae. Coralline coverage on rock helps us prevent some of the microalgal growths we try to discourage in the tank. Light feeding regimens forces competition for herbivores to keep the tank (relatively) clear of algal growths as well.

As far as competition between "corals" we have to look at the time frame involved. When we speak of coral health, we must define whether we are speaking of the health of the individual specimen or the health of the species as a whole. Competition is usually of some disadvantage to the individual, as sooner or later an individual specimen will loose... However, this helps to winnow out those specimens that do not positively contribute attributes to the gene pool that increase either adaptability or competativeness wwithin a particular environment. This is the basis for speciation in Darwin's ToE, and it drives selection to favor the fittest.

As far as our tanks go, octocoral species have their own means of competition. Their alleopathic production of terpenes and related substances is what helps them compete with rapidly growing stony corals for real estate on the reef ridges and in lagoons.

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/sh...ght=alleopathy

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/sh...t+stony+corals

hth

[Reefdude5]

Awsome Tom, like usual! Yardboy, i totally here you! Wow Tankgirl(is there a name?) That's amazing, really good guideline! And something that happened not to long ago was my yellow polyps burned my zenia, now the tips are white, really weird!

[tankgirl2]

Tom, great comments & excellent points (as always)!!!

Austin, yep, Yellow polyps (Parazoanthus gracilis) get along with zoos, but will burn up almost anything else. You know, I used to have another name (Sheri), but it's been so long since anyone called me that, I'm not sure I'd recognize it or respond to it.
Interesting, some of this competition depends on placement. An elegance usually won't sting anything below it, but will wipe out anything above it.
Ricordias, btw, will sting anything, even humans.