Question on first coral,

[Tanner4403]

— Hello R2R!

I am looking into the future of my tank , and I’m not gonna lie I’m getting lost in coral land ,

Question, what do you guys who keep corals recommend for some of the nicer “easier” corals to tend to .. I will obviously want to get more advanced in the future but something to just dip my feet into the water and get the basics of keeping the easier stuff going . This is all gonna be a couple months down the line but I would like to start to get a plan together on what corals I’m gonna wanna put where in my aqua scape .

As always I appreciate everyone’s input and replies !

Thank you!
— Tanner ,

 

[Lps_lover12]

Zoas are nice and easy but will take over your tank if you don’t keep them on a isolated rock. The Duncan coral is easy to keep and grows very quick, also a nice looking coral.

 

[Tanner4403]

Zoas are nice and easy but will take over your tank if you don’t keep them on a isolated rock. The Duncan coral is easy to keep and grows very quick, also a nice looking coral.

Thanks for the replies ! So they need to have an isolated “island” or they will be all over the place ?

 

[Lps_lover12]

Thanks for the replies ! So they need to have an isolated “island” or they will be all over the place ?

Yes, there are some that are very nice and colourful and once they spread its hard to get rid of them. Personally if I could go back I probably would’ve never have got any to begin with

 

[i cant think]

Thanks for the replies ! So they need to have an isolated “island” or they will be all over the place ?

Some will - The cheaper the price tag of the Zoa usually shows how fast they grow. The cheaper ones will most likely take over the tank within a matter of months.

Another good starting coral are most of not all photosynthetic leathers. These also come in some beautiful colours now.

 

[Tanner4403]

Some will - The cheaper the price tag of the Zoa usually shows how fast they grow. The cheaper ones will most likely take over the tank within a matter of months.

Another good starting coral are most of not all photosynthetic leathers. These also come in some beautiful colours now.

Great thank you ! Another quick question if you don’t mind .. what kind of light do I need to be pushing for a successful growth to happen … this is a picture of my current light on my setup .. not sure if that gives you a idea.

 

[EricR]

I started with zoas first also and the only one I've lost was due to chocolate chip star devouring it (before I had to donate him).

Ricordea Florida next and seem pretty easy so far.

For zoa growth rate, I can only comment on the 6 cheapies I have -- takes several months (in my tank) for them to overtake/hide the frag plug and start growing out onto the rocks.
*at about 8 months since starting zoas I don't have any fear of them getting out of control but I do have all of them on about 3 rocks on one rock structure,,, not an island.

 

[exnisstech]

I think to start leathers or LPS. Both can make a tank look beautiful and also add movement. Also they won't take over a tank causing problems later on trying to remove them. Colorful zoas placed on rocks make a beautiful tank but I can not grow zoas to save my tank. They just die. As does gsp they few times I tried it.

 

[davidcalgary29]

Contact Mitchell at New Dawn Aquaculture (he's local for you) and ask him to source some Grube's Gorgonian. It's by far the hardiest gorg I've seen, grows like a weed, and is very pretty. I started a frag last year in my Evo 13.5, and is (along with a few mushroom polyps) one of the few corals that's thrived from the start.

Mitchell is also an excellent source for rock flower anemones. While not a coral, they can thrive even in young tanks, and many of them are gorgeous. The "dragon's egg" cultivar is particularly spectacular.

 

[Dkmoo]

Depending on how far into the future you are thinking or how "advanced" with SPS you plan to get, I would caution against softies even tho they are easy.

The reason has nothing bad against them, its really just if you plan later on to get SPS, specifically acros, in the same tank, bc if that happens you will require a lot more light in the tank while will be too high for most softies. This is the main reason I ended up getting rid of most of my softies when my tank gradually converted to a "acro dominated" mixed tank. The remaining softies are literally hiding in the shade of my rocks and acro colonies. For that reason alone I would suggest LPS which can tolerate higher PAR - euphilias, duncans, micromussas, leptastrea.

If you dont plan on acros, or eventually plan to have multiple tanks, then softies are a great choice for beginners.

 

[i cant think]

Depending on how far into the future you are thinking or how "advanced" with SPS you plan to get, I would caution against softies even tho they are easy.

The reason has nothing bad against them, its really just if you plan later on to get SPS, specifically acros, in the same tank, bc if that happens you will require a lot more light in the tank while will be too high for most softies. This is the main reason I ended up getting rid of most of my softies when my tank gradually converted to a "acro dominated" mixed tank. The remaining softies are literally hiding in the shade of my rocks and acro colonies. For that reason alone I would suggest LPS which can tolerate higher PAR - euphilias, duncans, micromussas, leptastrea.

If you dont plan on acros, or eventually plan to have multiple tanks, then softies are a great choice for beginners.

+1 to this, the reason I have 2 tanks at this point is to have both sides of the deal. In my smaller tank (3’x16”x1’ nano) I have a deresa clam and a few SPS (I’m aiming to go heavy with SPS) whereas in my 4’ I have LPS mixed in with Softies.

 

[MoshJosh]

A long tentacle toadstool would be cool. Zoas, palys, are another good choice.

could try pavona or monti if your wanting some beginner SPS.

maybe a Duncan? I’ve heard they are beginner friendly but I don’t have a lot of personal experience