I have had my tank running for about three months now. I have two ocellaris clowns and I am ready for some corals. I have been researching for weeks on corals and everyone has their own opinion on what is the BEST STARTER coral. I was heading towards green star polyps but I am not sure if I want a coral that will spread so fast as my FIRST coral. What do you guys think of the green star polyp? I know most people say mushrooms are hardy corals and good for beginners, but WHICH mushrooms? I don't want to start off with toadstool. What do you think about the red mushroom? Also, what do you think about zoas? I would really appreciate all of your advice and opinions:dunno:
new to corals...
- Thread starter rems
- Start date
dixiegirl21191
Reef Junkie
If you lived close to me and you wanted it, I would just give you all of my gsp! I just don't like it in my tank. I do however love zoas, candycanes and frogspawn are also easy.
GSP is fine....it does tend to grow like weeds but you can easily manage it and where it is allowed to grow. If you think of it as a pretty weed you'll be fine...it just needs to be pruned a little more regularly than a lot of other things.
There are many zoas/palys like this as well. I received a frag of seafoam palys from Pacific East about 8 months ago and it is everywhere now. They grow very quickly. I've been pruning them and it has worked so far. Wish they were a little more attractive, though...at least GSP looks nice under actinics. haha
As for starter corals, mushrooms are good. It really depends on your budget. You can get a nice mushroom rock from a lot of places online for pretty cheap. Alternatively, you could try something like ricordea yuma...which are FAR more attractive and just as easy to keep.
To be honest, I don't much believe in a "starter coral" anymore anyway. Pretty much any common zoa, paly, mushroom, leather, or similar will do just fine in your tank as long as your water is good (which I assume it is).
Therefore, just browse around. Saltwaterfish.com always has some good specials running...or Pacific East always has a nice buy 6 get the 7th free all under $15 special running.
Or if you have a reliable LFS you could do that as well (but I find LFS prices to be higher and all of mine only sell $50+ colonies....no need to spend the dough on a colony when most of the easy stuff will grow into that anyway).
My first coral was radioactive dragon's eyes. They were easy as pie. Still in the tank....they've grown a moderate amount but not as much as a lot of other corals I have now. If I were you, I'd just get something you like, whether it be softies, zoas, LPS, etc.
Just steer clear of SPS for awhile and NPS for even longer and you should be fine imo.
There are many zoas/palys like this as well. I received a frag of seafoam palys from Pacific East about 8 months ago and it is everywhere now. They grow very quickly. I've been pruning them and it has worked so far. Wish they were a little more attractive, though...at least GSP looks nice under actinics. haha
As for starter corals, mushrooms are good. It really depends on your budget. You can get a nice mushroom rock from a lot of places online for pretty cheap. Alternatively, you could try something like ricordea yuma...which are FAR more attractive and just as easy to keep.
To be honest, I don't much believe in a "starter coral" anymore anyway. Pretty much any common zoa, paly, mushroom, leather, or similar will do just fine in your tank as long as your water is good (which I assume it is).
Therefore, just browse around. Saltwaterfish.com always has some good specials running...or Pacific East always has a nice buy 6 get the 7th free all under $15 special running.
Or if you have a reliable LFS you could do that as well (but I find LFS prices to be higher and all of mine only sell $50+ colonies....no need to spend the dough on a colony when most of the easy stuff will grow into that anyway).
My first coral was radioactive dragon's eyes. They were easy as pie. Still in the tank....they've grown a moderate amount but not as much as a lot of other corals I have now. If I were you, I'd just get something you like, whether it be softies, zoas, LPS, etc.
Just steer clear of SPS for awhile and NPS for even longer and you should be fine imo.
I think you can start with different mushrooms and zoanthids. GSP is fine. You can just keep it on one rock, and don't let the rock be touching other rocks. That way it's like one controlled area just for your GSP. You can try looking at this website for coral ideas: Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums
Kully3xf
Reefer Madness
I would chime in and say you should opt for zoa's... they are exceptionally beautiful... they grow kind of fast, but not too fast... and relatively inexpensive (depending). Mushrooms are also a good option, but they tend to grow crazy fast, and i've seen them take over tanks. There are alot of really great corals to start with! If you have the lighting for it, don't be afraid to try some harder frags :)
my favorite easy ish coral is the monti-cap. They are awesome plating coral, and depending on the flow you give them, they can make some really awesome shapes!
Good luck, and ALWAYS dip your coral. Go pick up some coral RX, watch the nasty's just fall off. some sort of dip is an excellent investment.
and think about a qt tank just for coral too :)
my favorite easy ish coral is the monti-cap. They are awesome plating coral, and depending on the flow you give them, they can make some really awesome shapes!
Good luck, and ALWAYS dip your coral. Go pick up some coral RX, watch the nasty's just fall off. some sort of dip is an excellent investment.
and think about a qt tank just for coral too :)
noy
Reefing newb
if you start off with GSP - see if you can get a nice mature patch from a local fellow reefer. I wouldn't buy a big block of it from a LFS - just too expensive.
Toadstools are not mushroom corals - they are leather corals. I think you were the one that bought the Borneman book - the beginner mushrooms are the genus Actinodiscus (=Discosoma) at p. 201. There a whole plethora of colors and varieties (pin stripped, dotted, hairy). The husbandry for them are the same.
The nice thing about leather corals and mushrooms is that they can actually thrive even if your water chemistry and tank condtions are far from perfect. As an example, today I found a frag of mushroom that my tangs dug up which i had given up for lost - it was all shriveled up and probably buried or stuck under the rockwork for weeks. I put it in the nano tank and in a few hours it opened up as if nothing happened. They are also ridculously easy to frag. I have a frag box in which i have some green pinstrips. Everytime i pull them out of the frag box - there is a little residual flesh of the stem that remains. In a few months i get a new mushrom from the residual flesh.
I think zoa's and palys are a little less forgiving in terms of water and light conditions but I would still put them in the beginner category.
I would stay away (for now) anything with a calcium skeleton (SPS/LPS) because they require much more management (low nitrates, low phosphates, suitable cal/alk levels). All of which you have to monitor and maybe install reactors to manage. Euphyllia's (frogspawn,anchor,torch,hammer corals) are probably the exception - I would put them in the easy category.
And don't even think about non-photosyntheic corals (sun corals, gorgonians).
At the end of the day its whatever you want to decorate your reef tank with.
Last edited:
