First Corals: What to avoid. What to get?

[Kongar]

Just stay away from expensive acros for a year or so IMO. You can spend the rest of your life killing those once you're an expert

Edit
I'll also add: decide what you want long term. If you want encrusted rocks - then by all means go for leptoseris, encrusting montis, leptastrea, chalices, etc. If not - make sure they live on their own islands.

 

[jfoahs04]

Great suggestions so far. I'd add that you should try and have a plan. Not something carved in stone because things will change, but at least a general idea of what you'd like to do (i.e. SPS dominant, mixed reef, softies/LPS only) and start accordingly. Much easier tweak a plan than to start all over. The biggest challenge to this is not filling up your tank with coral as soon as you can. Be selective/smart.

I'm going to go ahead and disagree on GSP. I think it's a nice color pop, offers excellent movement, and is easy enough to contain. It's best when you can keep it isolated on its own rock or use it to cover a back wall (you'll have to trim the wall occasionally though). Otherwise it can take over. Xenia is highly dependent on your preferences. It spreads much more easily (releases polyps and they'll drift/reattach), but it is nice looking. I have a small chunk in my tank that came on a rock. I keep it, but I've removed stray polyps as part of my maintenance.

 

[Coxey81]

Great suggestions so far. I'd add that you should try and have a plan. Not something carved in stone because things will change, but at least a general idea of what you'd like to do (i.e. SPS dominant, mixed reef, softies/LPS only) and start accordingly. Much easier tweak a plan than to start all over. The biggest challenge to this is not filling up your tank with coral as soon as you can. Be selective/smart.

I'm going to go ahead and disagree on GSP. I think it's a nice color pop, offers excellent movement, and is easy enough to contain. It's best when you can keep it isolated on its own rock or use it to cover a back wall (you'll have to trim the wall occasionally though). Otherwise it can take over. Xenia is highly dependent on your preferences. It spreads much more easily (releases polyps and they'll drift/reattach), but it is nice looking. I have a small chunk in my tank that came on a rock. I keep it, but I've removed stray polyps as part of my maintenance.

I fine with lps and softies. I like ones that move with the current the most, but want a diversity. It's a relatively small tank so I don't want anything that will grow big and too fast or take over.

 

[Coxey81]

I've seen tanks with beautiful positioning of GSP so it looks like a perfect manicured lawn complimenting the yard. But others say it spreads fast and takes over the tank rocks.

Is it just the green stars that are considered invasive?

What about blue eye starred and mint starred? I'm assuming they fall in the same category.

 

[Lavey29]

Is it just the green stars that are considered invasive?

What about blue eye starred and mint starred? I'm assuming they fall in the same category.

Not really sure on that one. I am in the beginning stages also like you and went with softies and LPS. Will try SPS maybe after the first year. Just lost 6 beautiful corals to BJD but things have recovered now hopefully.

 

[MaxTremors]

If you have never kept corals, I would start with some softies and once you’ve kept them alive and thriving for a few months, try some LPS, and once they’ve been thriving for several months, try some SPS ad/or anemones. I completely disagree with the people telling you not to get Xenia or GSP, they are both great corals and are completely manageable if you be place them strategically, when tanks get taken over by corals like these the corals either weren’t placed appropriately or they weren’t properly managed/maintained (or a combination of both). That said, here are some recommendations for easy/beginner friendly corals in each category.

Softies: mushrooms, zoanthids/palythoas, Xenia, GSP, Kenya trees, Sinularia/Nepthea, clove polyps, leathers, and then not technically a soft coral, but equally as hardy, rock flower and maxi mini anemones.

LPS: micromussa/acan lords, Duncans, blastomussa, lobophyllia, candy canes, cyphastrea, turbinaria (large polyp variety), some chalices, galaxea, and favia/Favites/goniastrea.

SPS: Montipora (capricornis, digitata, and some of the encrusting varieties), birdsnests (seriatopora), anacropora, hydnophora, pavona, Bali Slimer (Acropora yongei), and porites. And for anemones, start with a bubble tip, then try a long tentacled, sebae, carpet, etc.

I don’t think Toadstools are good beginner soft corals, they can be finicky and pouty, and while they are hardy, they can lead someone inexperienced to become discouraged and or tinker with things above their experience level thinking there is something wrong with their water. Euphyllia/Fimbriaphyllia (torches/hammers and frogspawns) also don’t make good beginner LPS, they can be sensitive drama queens (sort of similar to toadstools), and they just aren’t as hardy as some of the other LPS listed above. Both of these corals/types of corals are relatively/comparatively easy, but I wouldn’t call them beginner corals.

 

[DinoMagnet]

Stay away from Kenya trees and gsp unless you isolate it on an island

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Toadstool. Kenya tree. Zoas. Mushrooms.
Finger leather. Any of these...
D

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

If you do het cloves. Get the larger prettier ones. Not the small purple or.blue ones.
I also suggest anthiellia or wavy hand. Pulsing xenia.
D

 

[Rmckoy]

I would suggest zoas , paly , donut , open brains are nice .

I have a hard time keeping Duncan’s , torch corals , trumpets ,

I have Xenia and gsp coming out of everywhere

 

[Rmckoy]

As a beginner . I would avoid torch chalice , acro ,

 

[shakacuz]

avoid anything “high end” or “expert level” until you know enough to care for them.


as a beginner i actually did my research on what corals i was interested in because i see this hobby as an investment(i can frag and make my money back). i got GSP but isolated it and it’s doing fine. zoas i keep on a “mountain” i have isolated. and for the rest of the corals in my tank i have them spread out where i want them.

 

[MaxTremors]

avoid anything “high end” or “expert level” until you know enough to care for them.


as a beginner i actually did my research on what corals i was interested in because i see this hobby as an investment(i can frag and make my money back). i got GSP but isolated it and it’s doing fine. zoas i keep on a “mountain” i have isolated. and for the rest of the corals in my tank i have them spread out where i want them.

I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, and this isn’t necessarily aimed at you. but I really, really dislike the idea of the ‘investment hobbyist’. It use to be that the community fragged corals and shared them with each other/sold them at cost to other reefers, that’s how so many of the OG names corals became popular and spread literally from continent to continent. And now there are the gold rush/investment hobbyists who operate frag tanks instead of display tanks, who ride the wave of coral trends and are only interested in named corals with the intent of making money. And it’s bad for the hobby as a whole, it reinforces the name game, artificially raises prices across the board, and prices a lot of people out of the hobby (so many hobbyists can only afford to stay in the hobby because the community shares frags at low or no cost). When it becomes solely about recouping what you’ve spent, it becomes kind of soulless and gross. I have no issue with people fragging corals that have outgrown their tank and selling them for a fair price, but that is very different than people who only buy corals with the intent to frag them within an inch of their lives the second they’ve grown large enough to do so. I don’t know, again I’m not aiming this necessarily at you (and I’m not accusing you of doing any of these things), but going into the hobby looking at it as an investment instead of doing it because you love the ocean/sea life/aquaria is, IMO, the wrong mindset.

 

[shakacuz]

I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, and this isn’t necessarily aimed at you. but I really, really dislike the idea of the ‘investment hobbyist’. It use to be that the community fragged corals and shared them with each other/sold them at cost to other reefers, that’s how so many of the OG names corals became popular and spread literally from continent to continent. And now there are the gold rush/investment hobbyists who operate frag tanks instead of display tanks, who ride the wave of coral trends and are only interested in named corals with the intent of making money. And it’s bad for the hobby as a whole, it reinforces the name game, artificially raises prices across the board, and prices a lot of people out of the hobby (so many hobbyists can only afford to stay in the hobby because the community shares frags at low or no cost). When it becomes solely about recouping what you’ve spent, it becomes kind of soulless and gross. I have no issue with people fragging corals that have outgrown their tank and selling them for a fair price, but that is very different than people who only buy corals with the intent to frag them within an inch of their lives the second they’ve grown large enough to do so. I don’t know, again I’m not aiming this necessarily at you (and I’m not accusing you of doing any of these things), but going into the hobby looking at it as an investment instead of doing it because you love the ocean/sea life/aquaria is, IMO, the wrong mindset.

non taken! of course this is a hobby first, and many many many people do it for the love of it. but the hobby dies eventually. either we pass it on or try to make some money back from it due to exigent circumstances or just plain old losing the passion for it. realistically speaking, anything you love doing can be made a profit of. it’s only if you want to make money off it or not that matters. i see this hobby as an investment because that’s just how i am as a person. if i’m spending money on something i want it to keep its value or increase it. look at the coral farms and the companies who we buy frags from. they make money doing what they love.

i have not been in the hobby long enough but i do have a passion for it.

….that being said!! OP, just do research on corals you find appealing. then base it on your level of knowledge to keep them nice and healthy! some grow slower than others so take that into consideration.

 

[Coxey81]

non taken! of course this is a hobby first, and many many many people do it for the love of it. but the hobby dies eventually. either we pass it on or try to make some money back from it due to exigent circumstances or just plain old losing the passion for it. realistically speaking, anything you love doing can be made a profit of. it’s only if you want to make money off it or not that matters. i see this hobby as an investment because that’s just how i am as a person. if i’m spending money on something i want it to keep its value or increase it. look at the coral farms and the companies who we buy frags from. they make money doing what they love.

i have not been in the hobby long enough but i do have a passion for it.

….that being said!! OP, just do research on corals you find appealing. then base it on your level of knowledge to keep them nice and healthy! some grow slower than others so take that into consideration.

I see nothing wrong with making some money off of it... whether for profit or to at least cut some expense. It's not like it's a cheap hobby.

Only thing I would ask if I was to buy from you is that you kept clean tanks that were disease free. That's the only thing that worries me about buying from local reefers as a newbie. I know some things to look for, but not all. I plan to quarantine all fish and inverts... but corals I only plan to dip due to the extra cost of having to quarantine them (lights, etc).

 

[agueybana81]

I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, and this isn’t necessarily aimed at you. but I really, really dislike the idea of the ‘investment hobbyist’. It use to be that the community fragged corals and shared them with each other/sold them at cost to other reefers, that’s how so many of the OG names corals became popular and spread literally from continent to continent. And now there are the gold rush/investment hobbyists who operate frag tanks instead of display tanks, who ride the wave of coral trends and are only interested in named corals with the intent of making money. And it’s bad for the hobby as a whole, it reinforces the name game, artificially raises prices across the board, and prices a lot of people out of the hobby (so many hobbyists can only afford to stay in the hobby because the community shares frags at low or no cost). When it becomes solely about recouping what you’ve spent, it becomes kind of soulless and gross. I have no issue with people fragging corals that have outgrown their tank and selling them for a fair price, but that is very different than people who only buy corals with the intent to frag them within an inch of their lives the second they’ve grown large enough to do so. I don’t know, again I’m not aiming this necessarily at you (and I’m not accusing you of doing any of these things), but going into the hobby looking at it as an investment instead of doing it because you love the ocean/sea life/aquaria is, IMO, the wrong mindset.

This is exactly what me and a cousin will do. We're in a limited budget starting out the hobby. We don't have any friends in it or know anyone close so we decided to share our corals as they grow in our DTs. Mine is in the middle of the ugly stage so it will take a while but I guess there's nothing wrong with planning ahead.

 

[Coxey81]

This is exactly what me and a cousin will do. We're in a limited budget starting out the hobby. We don't have any friends in it or know anyone close so we decided to share our corals as they grow in our DTs. Mine is in the middle of the ugly stage so it will take a while but I guess there's nothing wrong with planning ahead.

I'm curious about the ugly stage. I've read and heard about it... but so far am avoiding it. I acquired my tank about a month ago. It was a 4 month old used setup at that point. There was some algae on the sand bed when I got it... could have been dinos though... wasn't as familiar with them then as now.

I did probably a 80-90% water change when I moved the tank. Was a 4.5 hour drive so hard to take much water.

All the fish and shrimp have done fine... I did have some issues with hermits going cannibal... but previous owner had like 20+ in a 40 gallon which seemed extreme and I think he may have over fed. Snails have all done ok.

Right now I my rocks are covered with green coralline and it's being over taken by purple in patches.

I have elected to keep the lights off during the day and only have them on from 4:30 to 9:30 in the evening. Seems to help the coralline and the fish definitely like it.

No algae growth yet at all other than the coralline. And everyone seems happy. Figure I'll stick with this til December and then turn the lights on for 10 hours and start adding coral and a few more fish slowly.

 

[agueybana81]

I'm curious about the ugly stage. I've read and heard about it... but so far am avoiding it. I acquired my tank about a month ago. It was a 4 month old used setup at that point. There was some algae on the sand bed when I got it... could have been dinos though... wasn't as familiar with them then as now.

I did probably a 80-90% water change when I moved the tank. Was a 4.5 hour drive so hard to take much water.

All the fish and shrimp have done fine... I did have some issues with hermits going cannibal... but previous owner had like 20+ in a 40 gallon which seemed extreme and I think he may have over fed. Snails have all done ok.

Right now I my rocks are covered with green coralline and it's being over taken by purple in patches.

I have elected to keep the lights off during the day and only have them on from 4:30 to 9:30 in the evening. Seems to help the coralline and the fish definitely like it.

No algae growth yet at all other than the coralline. And everyone seems happy. Figure I'll stick with this til December and then turn the lights on for 10 hours and start adding coral and a few more fish slowly.

It truly looks ugly. Overnight the tank was just brown all over. The sand bed, the dry rock and even the walls. I turned the lights off and the next day it looked like if it never happened. Lights back on and boom, back to ugly again.

Lately, I've been noticing that some days are worse than others. I've also seen spots on the rock looking normal from time to time, so maybe it's finally starting to shift to looking normal again, or so I hope.

I'm also going to be introducing some trochus snails over the weekend, so hopefully they will help.