Corals for beginners???

[hotdrop]

A lot of these corrals seem to be recommended because they can take lower quality lights. What are some that are easy to maintain but with decent lighting like Ai prime(s)?

[nalusachito]

On 1/20/2019 at 10:34 AM, mtnbikeracer said:

3So I spent about 3 hours last night looking at corals for beginners. Here is what I came up with. Some are duplicate to what @Clown79 posted.

 

Soft Corals

 

Cateye Zoanthid

Green Star Polyp

 

Large Polyp Stony

 

Neon Green Trumpet

War Coral

Blastomussa

Duncan

Candy Cane

Hammer

Frog Spawn

Favia

Scolys

Acanthos

Bubble Coral (plerogyra sinuosa)

 

Small Polyp Stony

 

Montipora

Madman Austera

Pink Lemonade

WWC Blueberry Fields

WWC Snowdrop Acro

CB Pink Tip

Green Slimer

Pavona coral

Thank you for updating this list. Very useful

[VictoryBell]

Toadstool Leathers. I'm fairly new to this myself and I've had no problems keeping them. (I have a yellow Fiji leather and a neon green.)

[WV Reefer]

I believe that in reefing, “easy” is a relative term depending on your system. The list can be a tool but not the end all be all. 

 

Find tanks that you like and try to replicate that while adding your own spin on things as you learn more about what works for you and your tank. 

 

I can grow a lot of different corals but zoas have never done well in my tanks.....does that mean they are “hard to grow”? Not at all. 

 

Just something to keep in mind. 🙂

[mtnbikeracer]

Added flow and lighting requirements to the list.

[Clown79]

23 hours ago, WV Reefer said:

I believe that in reefing, “easy” is a relative term depending on your system. The list can be a tool but not the end all be all. 

 

Find tanks that you like and try to replicate that while adding your own spin on things as you learn more about what works for you and your tank. 

 

I can grow a lot of different corals but zoas have never done well in my tanks.....does that mean they are “hard to grow”? Not at all. 

 

Just something to keep in mind. 🙂

Excellent point.

 

I can grow monti caps and digitata's easily yet encrusting monti's don't seem to like my tanks.

 

Birdsnest and acans grow really well yet euphyllia I have a hard time with, gsp and zoas not at all.

 

I have 3 tanks and each one has had success with some things and not others.

[Jesterrace]

I'm partial to Euphyllia.  I have a hammer and a frogspawn that I have put through the ringer so to speak over the last couple of years (ie fluctuating salinity, salt accidentally getting dumped directly on them, a tank transfer, major rockwork shift and addition, got picked on by some fish).  My branching hammer shed virtually all of it's polyps at one point.  Here is what they looked like a few months after the aforementioned:  

 

 

 

Here is what they look like today (the two biggest ones in the video): 

 

 

[Firefish15]

Mushroom corals (Discosoma/Actinodiscus) are supposed to be some good starter softies. You can get a wide variety of colors too, depending on how much you want to spend.