Top 5 beginner friendly coral for reef tank
- Jan 04, 2021
- Anshika Mishra
- 378 0 0
Selecting your first coral can be an overwhelming experience because there are so many different types, and they are also different. This article is made simple for you by narrowing it down to five corals perfect for a beginner starting in the reef aquarium hobby.
It is highly recommended for any beginner to start with soft coral, so the first two on the list are from the soft coral family:
1. Zoanthids
Zoanthids are one of the most popular soft corals in the hobby today, and it is not surprising because they come in such a huge wide variety of colors and sizes. Some can really accommodate any buyer. Some have designer names that will sell for up to $100 per Pollock, but there are tons of color variations that are really beautiful, which you can pick up only for a few bucks.
Zoanthids do not need to be directly fed because they depend primarily on their light, but they tend to do best in moderate to high lighting and low water movement.
One big reason that makes them such a great coral for beginners is that they reproduce so quickly and easily propagate.
You do not need to worry a lot about the Poly toxin in these corals because they are not that dangerous. The chances of you getting Poly toxin poisoning are meager. The only way you can get it is to accidentally boil your Zoas, which is from people boiling their rocks. Or if you are fragging them and you are completely chopping them up and the mucus gro everywhere, or if you are handling them and you get them too close to your mouth.
2. Toadstools
If you want a coral with lots of movement, then this is the coral for you. It comes in different colors, though the green and pink ones are the most popular, and they can make awesome showpieces of the show tanks.
It is a very hardy coral too. You have to be aware that is coral sheds in every once in a while. When that happens, you either have to turn up your flow quite a bit, or you have to get in there and help remove the excess coat yourself.
Moving on to a couple of LPS coral that are great for beginner to start with:
3. Blastamussa
Blastamussas are easy to care for because they require low flow and shallow light, which means they can be grown in a beginner's reef tank that doesn't necessarily have a costly high output light fixture.
LPS corals are easier to take care of than SPS corals because they have much larger visible mouths. So, corals like these are a lot easier to feed.
They are extremely peaceful corals and can be found in really amazing colors.
4. Elegance Corals
There are tons of other great LPS coral in the market for beginners. Still, LPS corals make a list because so many beginners want Anemone for their coloration and movement. This coral is the most similar in appearance to an Anemone.
Anemones can actually move around on their own, and one advantage that this coral has is that they would not move around because they are LPS stony coral; they are attached to a base that you can place in the substrate or wherever you want.
They are amazingly tough corals and one of the hardiest LPS corals that you can get.
5. Montipora
If you are really set on getting some stony SPS corals and have successfully kept LPS and soft corals before then, you have to try some Montiporas, which are generally considered one of the least demanding SPS corals.
Montiporas come in many different colors and patterns; they are easily adaptable to different lighting and current condition, which makes them a great candidate for learning about stony coral propagation. Once established, they will be very hardy and fast-growing, and once you have mastered this SPS, you will definitely feel more comfortable moving forward in the SPS world.
Word to the wise
You should never impulse buy corals; yes, it is hard dot see a coral and instantly fall in love with it, but what the point of buying it if you are going to take it home and watch it slowly die.
Start with corals that are more forgiving while you learn more about maintaining a reef tank.
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