What are your first 5 corals...?

ebranger · May 27, 2021

Okay, so let’s assume you‘ve spent a lot of time cycling a Redsea Reefer 250 (with two Red Sea LED 90s) and making sure your system is stable (or as stable as a beginner can get). You’ve got fish in your tank and spent months with lights off, to avoid widespread algae growth. You’re now ready to take your first steps into corals.

Your end goal is a mixed coral tank. Maybe a few softies (you have a love of zoas and the colors they offer, but want to avoid GSPs/Xenia and other softies that will eventually dominate the tank). Largely LPS, but willing to try some of the simpler, less demanding SPS.

And while money isn’t unlimited, you don’t want to just start with the cheapest coral out there, only to eventually wish you could get rid of it and replace it with something else.

What are the first 5 corals you introduce to your tank?

SchrutesReefs · May 27, 2021

I started my current tank with:
mid range zoas (about 5 diff ones)
Monti cap (tryee green, starburst, vivids purple)
Superman rhodactis

Dilan Patel · May 28, 2021

1. Tyree toadstool
2. Some type of hammer coral
3. Frogspawn
4. Some type of plating Cap
5. Some type of chalice

jtlmnop · May 28, 2021

Gorgonian, Ricordia Florida, Duncan, wall hammer(thought it was branching type when I ordered it), and blastomussa merlettii.

HB AL · May 28, 2021

Green slimer
Red monti cap
Duncans
Branching hammers
Torches

DirkCourage · May 28, 2021

Toadstool (easy, adds movement, eye catcher)

Frogspawn (easy, adds movement, eye catcher)

Monti (pretty easy, and room to grow early)

Zoas (great color and texture)

Acan (not nearly as difficult as reported, but do benefit massively from direct feeding!)

Heatherhigg · May 28, 2021

ebranger said:
Okay, so let’s assume you‘ve spent a lot of time cycling a Redsea Reefer 250 (with two Red Sea LED 90s) and making sure your system is stable (or as stable as a beginner can get). You’ve got fish in your tank and spent months with lights off, to avoid widespread algae growth. You’re now ready to take your first steps into corals.

Your end goal is a mixed coral tank. Maybe a few softies (you have a love of zoas and the colors they offer, but want to avoid GSPs/Xenia and other softies that will eventually dominate the tank). Largely LPS, but willing to try some of the simpler, less demanding SPS.

And while money isn’t unlimited, you don’t want to just start with the cheapest coral out there, only to eventually wish you could get rid of it and replace it with something else.

What are the first 5 corals you introduce to your tank?

bg2311 · May 28, 2021

Here are some recommendations with photos of each from our tank:

1. Green star polyp on it's own little rock island. This was our very first coral. Lots of color and movement, hard to kill and cheap plus your fish may host in it (our clowns do). Just keep it on it's own rock surrounded by sand so it can't crawl if you don't want it to spread.

2. Yellow tip acropora. Fast grower and relatively hardy.

3. Firework clove polyps on their own island. Lots of color and flow, hard to kill, relatively cheap and as long as they stay isolated they won't go all over.

4. Bubblegum digitata. Again, cheap, hardy and lots of color.

5. Blue Yuma mushrooms. These add a lot of color and will split eventually giving the rockwork some nice covering. They change from orange to blue depending on certain factors like lighting.

Heatherhigg · May 28, 2021

I would start with either a teal hammer or a bi color hammer, some frogspawn, maybe a orange Yuma, some Rasta zoas and some green candy canes (trumpet coral). I would suggest a Duncan but keep in mind they grow pretty slow.

Leo_ian · May 28, 2021

1- toadstool
2-GSP
3- a monti of some sort
4- duncan
5- blastomussa

jurgenph · May 28, 2021

my 2 cents...

soft: zoa, any kind that you like...
lps: euphillia, whatever they aren't charging and arm, leg and kidney for
mushroom: rhodactis (they are less finnicky than ricordea) and come in many nice colors these days
sps: close call... digitatata or birdsnest.

J.

Wasabiroot · May 28, 2021

I would avoid acropora entirely. I would go with a nice favia (durable), a leather tree, zoanthids, monti cap, and if I felt I had alk stable, a Frogspawn or torch.

dkfrosty1 · May 29, 2021

bg2311 said:
Here are some recommendations with photos of each from our tank:

1. Green star polyp on it's own little rock island. This was our very first coral. Lots of color and movement, hard to kill and cheap plus your fish may host in it (our clowns do). Just keep it on it's own rock surrounded by sand so it can't crawl if you don't want it to spread.

2. Yellow tip acropora. Fast grower and relatively hardy.

3. Firework clove polyps on their own island. Lots of color and flow, hard to kill, relatively cheap and as long as they stay isolated they won't go all over.

4. Bubblegum digitata. Again, cheap, hardy and lots of color.

5. Blue Yuma mushrooms. These add a lot of color and will split eventually giving the rockwork some nice covering. They change from orange to blue depending on certain factors like lighting.

Thank you for the awesome pics to go with each one!