Easiest corals?

[CACAdmin]

Blaine's Dipping a toe ! (http://www.canadianaquariumconnection.com/forum/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=7354) thread got me wondering about corals. For a newbie to s/w, if one wanted to get into corals, it would be helpful to know where to begin. What would be the easiest corals to start with and what would the minimum lighting be to keep them?

[Blossom112]

After much thaught .........although they are needy and have to be fed by hand (each head with a turky baster ) I have found the
suncoral ....to be the easiest as they require food ....they multiply easily and you know they have eaten and arent starving .
maybe a frag with couple heads ....once they grow and have more heads it does become a pain to feed them all lmao ..
they were my first coral...

[thegrandpoohbah]

Sun corals are actually considered to be a more diffficult coral because they require frequent feedings. Also, a lot of people assume (because of their name) that they need intense lighting which is not the case. In fact, too much light can kill them.

Generally speaking mushrooms and zoanthids are widely considered to be the easiest corals to keep. They do not require feeding as they are photosynthetic, nor do they require intense lighting. Regular power compact flourescent light is enough to keep them thriving. I've even seen people keep them under regular old T8 bulbs.

As always, water parameters need to be good for any type of coral. The more difficult corals usually require more intense lighting such as T5HO, metal halide or the newer LED array fixtures. Of course, the price goes up considerably for these light systems. Also, SPS (small polyp stony) corals and clams will usually require calcium supplementation in order to thrive as they will quickly deplete the normal calcium levels in the water.

Here is a really good resource that I found a while back: http://www.asira.org/caresheets.

[Xiph]

Mushrooms, zoanthids, xenia, colt corals... these are easy (and pretty!) corals.

[bvlester]

yellow polups and green star polups are very easy for newbies. put them in provied light and they will do alright yellow polups have to feed but they will catch what is on the curent I do not spot feed them. GSP do not have to feed on things like myisis. they will feed n what ever is in the water and light . mushrooms don't seem to need much light at all.

Bill