Corals for Beginners

Best Corals for Beginners Starting their First Reef Aquarium

It’s a very common question for people just starting out with their first reef tank: What are the best corals to add to my reef tank when I’m just getting started with reefkeeping? If you love looking at reef displays but you’ve never kept corals before, it’s natural to feel a bit intimidated. There’s a lot to know about coral husbandry but we all have to start somewhere and your fascination with these invertebrates will be a huge help while preparing for your first reef tank. To that end, here are a few of the coral frags and hardy species we recommend for your first reef aquarium:

• Leather Corals – Leather corals usually belong to the Sarcophyton genus. Sarcophyton leathers are a species of soft corals that come in several different shapes and colors. However, they all share one important trait for beginners: They’re tough as nails. They adapt fairly well to many different lighting and flow intensities and many self-propagate, which can help fill in a new reef aquarium.
• Kenya Tree Corals – Kenya tree coral is a common name for soft corals of the Capnella or Nepthea genera. These soft corals for beginners are also pretty tough, easy to care for and self-propagate when conditions are favorable. They come in a few different colors and polyp patterns and are one of the best coral species to add to a newer, cycled system first.
• Button Polyps – Button polyps are the common name for soft corals of the Palythoa genus. They tolerate many different types of lighting and flows and can cover a rock in just a few months if the water quality is close to optimal. A note of caution: these beginner corals must be handled with care, as they secrete a toxin that can result in a trip to the emergency room for those who are sensitive to it. Always wear gloves when working with Palys.
• Mushroom Polyps – Mushroom polyps usually belong to the Actinodiscus genus and come in a variety of colors from rather drab purplish-brown to electric greens, blues, and reds. These soft corals are as close to a bulletproof beginner’s coral as you can get and self-propagate on the substrate and lower rocks when water quality is decent or better.
• Candy Cane or Trumpet Corals – One of the best large polyp stony (LPS) to add to a new reef display, these corals of the Caulastrea genus are available in several colors and color combinations and when conditions are decent, the polyps can divide themselves into two polyps via binary fission. It is especially pleasing for a new coral hobbyist to watch a candy cane coral polyp begin to elongate, narrow in the center and slowly split into two separate polyps.
• Green Starburst Polyps – These softies usually belong to the Clavularia genus and have electric green polyps that wave in the current. They are hardy, very pleasing to the eye and require no special care other than decent water quality. It’s fun to watch the purple encrusting tissue grow a bit ahead of the polyps and with a little care, one Clavularia frag can encrust a whole rock in just a few months.

Hardy Coral Frags for Beginners from CoralFrags.com

Please bear in mind that your success with hardy coral frags for beginners will depend a great deal on how well you set yourself up for success by learning about coral husbandry, how to proactively manage water quality, the time you’re willing to invest in testing and charting WQ and performing basic husbandry like cleaning, water changes, etc. The good news is: we give our customers a running start on success with reefkeeping by selling healthy coral frags that are free of common reef pests that can suck the joy right out of keeping a coral aquarium. We also provide detailed information about each of the coral species we frag out and sell to our customers. So if you want to learn more specific information about keeping each of the corals listed above (and many other coral species available as frags online) just click on each species for a comprehensive overview. Good luck with your first reef tank and thanks for looking!