Top 5 Corals You Will Regret (Along With 8 Great Alternative)

Not all corals are for everyone. There are a few species of corals that almost every marine hobbyist regrets just after some time of having them in their tank. To be on the safe side, it would be better for your not to buy these troublesome corals, therefore here are the top 5 corals that you will regret along with 8 great alternatives to choose from instead (By Reef Drok).

1. Plume Rock

This incredible colony consists of the host corals, with several beautifully colored tart creatures living beneath it. Its multi-color fins feather out individually and quickly retreats if the light above them is blocked or if they sense movement from a potential threat. 

It is an amazing sight to watch and if you see one in your local fish shop, then you should surely have a close look for as long as you can. But do know that they are extremely difficult to keep in the home aquarium and even attempting to do so should be reserved for only the most experienced aquarist with the most established tank.

Alternative: Clams

Clams are massively underrated and not all of them are especially difficult to keep. If you can keep SPS corals, you can probably keep a clam. Similar to Christmas Tree Worms, they retract when light is covered above them or when they think any predator is nearby.

They can get quite big and certain fishes like the Bicolor Blenny, Cleaner Wrass, and most of the Angels and Butterflies will probably pick at them. But if you don't have these fishes in your tank then you can easily keep any of those fish.

2. Wall Hammer Coral

These are an absolute staple of the LPS corals for eternity and many people wouldn't be without one. They come in two forms:

  • Branching
  • Walling

The wall hammer is the trickier of two, which is why it makes to the list. It forms one giant coral along the wall of a skeleton whereas the branching hammer sprouts into several individuals' heads and there lies the problem.

If a wall coral starts to die for whatever reason the chances of it recovering are massively reduced. It is effectively a single head of coral. So, it will probably just drip back and tear it all dead. 

Alternative: Branching Hammer

Hammers also tend to be pretty expensive, so that is not a risk with taking. The branching hammer will grow several heads so if one dies there are good chances that the other ones will survive.

So, the obvious alternative is the branching hammer, and it gets pretty much everything the walling hammer does but with a built-in fail-safe which means itis more likely to pull through if your tank parameters slip for whatever reasons.

Octospawn

It is another Euphyllia so it is from the same family as the hammer. This means that it can be kept next to hammers in a Euphyllia garden. Furthermore, it is believed to be the most beautiful Euphyllia corals. 

They are a little more difficult to come by, so you might have to buy your time to find one, but good things come to those who wait for it.

3. Sun Corals

The reason why you will regret this coral is that they are very difficult to keep. They are non-photosynthetic, i.e. they eat food not light, and because of this, you will have to feed them at least two to three times a week which in turn means adding much more food to your tank than you'd like. This is likely to give rise to high phosphate and undesirable algae. 

Alternatively, you can cover them with the end of a two-liters drink bottle and direct food into that or remove the corals, put it in a bowl and feed it outside the tank. But whatever option you choose, it's a real ball lake and one most people will get bored of rather quickly.

Alternative: Ducan Coral

The good old-fashioned Ducan coral is a good alternative, they have a similar multi-pollock look to the Sun corals but are vastly more simple to keep. They are not much more to say about Duncan, they are super common and a cracking way to move into the world of LPS corals.

4. Goniopora

Also popular as the flowerpot corals, these are excellent coral, but they have a reputation for sulking for no obvious corals or dying off just after six-months having previously thrived.

If you can get Goniopora to thrive in your tank, then salute to you and you will have an absolutely beautiful coral. But the more likely outcome is that they will be a constant frustration for you.

And when a coral you love is struggling, you try everything you can get it looking good again and that can often be to the detriment of the rest of your tank which is why they are on this list. 

Alternative: Alveopora Corals

This is a very similar-looking beast. If this is your main criteria that a better criterion than gunny, but even they can still be hit and miss. So, there are two more alternatives for it.

Torch Coral

If wavy tentacles are what attracted you to the Goniopora then it doesn't get much better than this. There are loads of color morphs, usually with different colored tips to the body. They will need a bit of space as they do like to sting their neighbors and this is one Euphyllia that doesn't do well next to other Euphyllia because of its aggression.

Cyphastrea

These corals look a lot like short tentacles Goniopora, because of their different colored base than their polyps. It is also much easier to keep than Goniopora and it doesn't have long finger tentacles like the torch.

It is also a great coral to keep even if you choose to have a Goniopora in your tank.

5. Elephant Ear Corals

To be fair, this probably won't be on many people's shortlist but if there ever was a coral you will regret it. You will find them in your local shops from time to time but rather surprisingly they are fish eaters. 

They will even specialize in eating clownfish. 

Alternative: Cabbage Corals

Unless your water is on point, the Cabbage corals can look a little bland and soft corals like Mushrooms are not the favorites corals of many hobbyists.

Florida Ricordea

This a great alternative to the Elephant corals. Though they are not as easy to keep as normal mushroom corals they are also not very hard. So, unless you are a complete beginner, this coral is worth a shot. They don't grow as fast as the mushrooms, so they will not take over your tank and even if they did, you will not be unhappy about it.

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