FishChannel Forums / Saltwater Forums / For Reefkeepers / Best Coral / Latest Posts

RE: Best Coral

plecodiscus — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:46:32 GMT

I'd go with zoanthids or button polyps.

RE: Best Coral

Armand — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:50:43 GMT

I would start with Zoanthids, they are pretty easy and hardy.

RE: Best Coral

Saltwater Aquarist — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:03:09 GMT

Look into Xenias they are some what hardy and grow like a weed. Also my first coral was a trumpet coral, it took a beating but is ok now. lol

Good luck!

RE: Best Coral

Shark Hunter — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 13:23:32 GMT

Thank you as well.

RE: Best Coral

deluxerider — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:06:09 GMT

The best advice I can give is DO YOUR RESEARCH!!! There are alot of great websites out there to help you along, but I seem to gravitate to Peteducation.com. It's full of great information.

Lighting is key!, but if you are a beginner, most likely you have the basic light that came w/ the tank itself. (just a couple of fluorescent basic light bulbs) good for fish, but not for corals. Some will say that that is enough and that is what I beleived when I started only to buy low light corals to have them wither away because they did not have sufficient lighting. You don't need 150w Halides, but if you want your corals to thrive, upgrade your lights. A good rule of thumb is @ least 4w per gallon.

After that do I suggest buying some cup mushrooms or actinodiscus mushrooms. These are hardy corals and require medium light. Placement will depend on your light strength. Low light (high) Medium light (medium) etc. Star polyps are a good start as well.

Good luck! and remember you are not in a cheap hobby.

RE: Best Coral

Shark Hunter — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:36:33 GMT

Thank you, I'll put your advice to good use.

RE: Best Coral

Nep2Ns PlumR — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:24:36 GMT

I'd start with a fish tank. Learn the basic chemistry and maintenance first. Zoanthids and mushrooms would be my suggestions for starters. Then as you learn to provide for the individual needs of your charges maybe some of the soft/leather corals. Moving on form there would be some of the more demanding soft corals and the larger polyp stony corals. But keep in mind, everything is relative. There are members of all of these groups that can be difficult (or easy) to keep.

Never impulse buy. Know what you're buying, know whether or not it's compatible with the livestock you already have and know if your system is able to meet it's individual needs. Too many animals die needlessly because they were purchased by a well meaning aquarist that thought "it was pretty".

Reef keeping is a great hobby. Start slow and enjoy every minute of it.

Best Coral

Shark Hunter — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 09:49:26 GMT

What is the best begging coral for inexperinced reef keepers?