LPS to avoid as a beginner

Xclusive Reef · Mar 25, 2017

list any LPS that beginners like myself should avoid ? I read other posts where certain corals take over your tank as these spread very fast. corals that might sting other corals etc..

here is a list of corals i would like to have but concerned about:

GSP, Xenia, ALL mushrooms, kenya trees, blue clove polyps

Bubble coral, galaxea, favia brains

Bubs2 · Mar 25, 2017

You can keep some mushrooms if you like but try to isolate them on a rock so they don't over spread

Macdaddynick1 · Mar 25, 2017

Scolymia,

donnievaz · Mar 25, 2017

nycluis718 said:
list any LPS that beginners like myself should avoid ? I read other posts where certain corals take over your tank as these spread very fast. corals that might sting other corals etc..

I can't think of any LPS that you really have to worry about taking over the tank. That's mostly soft coral like some Mushrooms, Kenya Tree, Green Star Polyps (GSP), and Xenia. Euphyllia such as Frogspawn, Hammers, and Torches are a pretty good beginner LPS. They can sting other corals so leave them a little room. Trumpets, Favia, and some Acans are pretty easy as well although for some reason I have better luck with SPS than LPS...

Shep · Mar 25, 2017

Elegance corals

Xclusive Reef · Mar 25, 2017

donnievaz said:
I can't think of any LPS that you really have to worry about taking over the tank. That's mostly soft coral like some Mushrooms, Kenya Tree, Green Star Polyps (GSP), and Xenia. Euphyllia such as Frogspawn, Hammers, and Torches are a pretty good beginner LPS. They can sting other corals so leave them a little room. Trumpets, Favia, and some Acans are pretty easy as well although for some reason I have better luck with SPS than LPS...

I don't have any experience with LPS but I watched some youtube videos and others on the forum talk about how their Kenya trees have taken over their tank ? I am not trying to have multiple rocks with corals on them. I am looking to have 2 structures and have mixed soft/lps together to create a nice reef.

Fish Werx · Mar 25, 2017

nycluis718 said:
I don't have any experience with LPS but I watched some youtube videos and others on the forum talk about how their Kenya trees have taken over their tank ? I am not trying to have multiple rocks with corals on them. I am looking to have 2 structures and have mixed soft/lps together to create a nice reef.

You might be confusing LPS with Softies? As far as being invasive at least. I know a lot of us wish our euphyllia and such would grow in weed like proportions! Haha! What you've named in the first post are softies. The first group anyway. And can be invasive. You just have to be careful to keep them isolated on their own rock or section if you don't want them to take over.

Fish Werx · Mar 25, 2017

Nvrmnd. I think I totally misunderstood your question! Haha! Sorry.

DeniseAndy · Mar 25, 2017

Galaxia is not for a beginner. Most i have ever seen will die due to lack of food. They need to be fed more like the goniopora. Most die over the first year. Careful mixing some of those softies with lps as they could over power them. Definitely stay away from scolys, acanthephyllia, cynaria, eligance, torch. Those are the biggies that can be temperamental and just plain too expensive for a beginner to test with.

How large a tank? In smaller tanks, mixing too many lps will cause issues unless it is the correct mix. They will fight and some have amazingly long stingers.

Easy starters are duncans, hammer, some (and I mean some) favias. I have not had bubbles, but I would want you to be a bit more comfortable with parameters and flow before trying as a beginner.

Sabellafella · Mar 25, 2017

Shep said:
Elegance corals

Bingo! And some wild gonis or any maricultured lps as well

Fish Werx · Mar 25, 2017

Might be better to ask what LPS that are easier to take care of?
Candy Canes were some of my first LPS. Still got em, thinning and fragging regularly. Also, some standard frogspawn are fairly hardy. I got a small piece of Red Monti Cap the size of a nickle when i first started getting into corals. Its almost 10" across now. Moved from tank to tank and fallen/knocked over more times than I can remember. So, Id say they are pretty easy! Ive heard most cyphastria are fairly easy to grow and care for. Im just now venturing in that realm, so no personal experience.

40B Knasty · Mar 25, 2017

I have 12 Zoanthids, candy cane, xenias, 2 frogspawn, and 2 gold Aussie torches now that all seem to be pretty plug and play. What to avoid really depends on water quality, lights, and what you have for room. I have heard the elegance coral is up there for ones to avoid. Very prone to disease.
Just do your research on pests before you buy. Those can be worse than the coral.

thaitopher · Mar 25, 2017

nycluis718 said:
list any LPS that beginners like myself should avoid ? I read other posts where certain corals take over your tank as these spread very fast. corals that might sting other corals etc..

here is a list of corals i would like to have but concerned about:

GSP, Xenia, ALL mushrooms, kenya trees, blue clove polyps

Bubble coral, galaxea, favia brains

Easily flowerpot coral. For experts only. I accidentally bought one last week. Oops.

AntarcticIkeelu · Mar 25, 2017

Coral that is good for beginners: zoanthids, mushrooms (avoid jawbreakers and Bounces), favia, star polyps (caution needs to be taken as these can be invasive), nepthia trees, montipora, trumpet coral, chalice coral (must be less that $60 for about a 1 inch frag)

Moderate level corals: expensive chalice, frogspawn, hammer coral, galaxy coral, brain corals, plate corals, bubble coral, blastos (only solid red, or red and green) acans, cynarina (green only) torch coral (green) Duncan coral

Hard Level corals: scolymia, acanthrophyllia (meat coral), cynarina (reds, yellows, pinks), red gonoporia (red flowerpot), gold torch coral, jawbreaker mushrooms, blastos (the ones with yellow are the hardest), high end zoas (stratospheres and speckled kraks are some of the hardest),

Expert Level corals: gorgonians, all non-photosynthetic sponges, sun coral, green flowerpot, carnation trees, elegance coral,

I did not list many sps corals (except monti) but price typically helps dictate some of the difficulty of these. most of the expensive ones are slow growers and can be lost easy

Vegasgundog · Mar 25, 2017

Lps really aren't going be anything that is going to take over an aquarium. Most don't encrust and those that do, like acans are slow growers. I started an acan garden on a small rock with about 5 different colored colonies 6 months ago. The have filled in nicely with more heads so when inflated there is no space between them. But when they deflate at night, the flesh is still on the original frag plugs and not on the rock yet. However it took me the first couple of years to figure out light, alk and acans.

Xclusive Reef · Mar 26, 2017

DeniseAndy said:
Galaxia is not for a beginner. Most i have ever seen will die due to lack of food. They need to be fed more like the goniopora. Most die over the first year. Careful mixing some of those softies with lps as they could over power them. Definitely stay away from scolys, acanthephyllia, cynaria, eligance, torch. Those are the biggies that can be temperamental and just plain too expensive for a beginner to test with.

How large a tank? In smaller tanks, mixing too many lps will cause issues unless it is the correct mix. They will fight and some have amazingly long stingers.

Easy starters are duncans, hammer, some (and I mean some) favias. I have not had bubbles, but I would want you to be a bit more comfortable with parameters and flow before trying as a beginner.

75 gal

DeniseAndy · Mar 26, 2017

75 is a good tank size. I would try some trumpet, hammer, duncan as starting points. If you like the movement. If not, cheap chalices (watch out for long stingers), christmas favia as a starting point. Inexpensive lobos are good too. Need lower flow.

Let us know what you try. I love lps and have had many over the years. Still do.

nano reef · Dec 18, 2019

Fish Werx said:
You might be confusing LPS with Softies? As far as being invasive at least. I know a lot of us wish our euphyllia and such would grow in weed like proportions! Haha! What you've named in the first post are softies. The first group anyway. And can be invasive. You just have to be careful to keep them isolated on their own rock or section if you don't want them to take over.

I just bought some favias that looked so pretty as a single button frag then relized that they need to isolated on an island. Is there a way to keep them trimmed and small and on the bridge structure. I dont have room for an island in a 10 gallon! Not to mention that anything that resembles a brain is not attractive to ma, huge mistakes on live sale and had to pay as you went! never again! Big rip of, promises of 5 dollar coral, and the first day everyone I clicked on would say page not available! I also got platygaria, another really ugly brain coral..thank god that was 5 bucks! Acan and zoas! All need to be on an island. Thats what I get for taking a crash corse on beginner corals! haha Not realizing the way they grow and no time to google or someone else would snag it up! so out 130.00 bucks and dont like most! I am stocked about my chalise, duncan, some of the zoa's. I missed a torch coral for 5 bucks when I was scrolling through there pages for the more expensive corals since they werent putting out many 5.00 or cheap ons and when I did they put out some good ones!

will25u · Dec 18, 2019

These aren’t LPS, but are usually attractive to people and grow like weeds and can be hard to control: Xenia, GSP, Sympodium, those really pretty clove polyps

LPS are my favorites. I’ve never had good luck with the open brain corals even though I adore them. I haven’t tried one in 8 years. Maybe its time to try again.