Best Corals For Beginners

If you are new to reef keeping it can be very confusing as to which corals to choose… some are hard to keep and some are relatively easy.

Likewise, some corals are relatively cheap whilst others are very expensive and you don’t want to be blowing a ton of money experimenting.

Don’t be tempted to just grab any old frag and see what happens. That way lies disappointment, frustration and a dwindling bank balance.

It’s important to start slowly and be patient. Ideally, you should not add corals to a new saltwater tank until it is at least 3 months old and you have been successful in keeping a few fish.

Your tank will then be mature and stable enough to start adding some of the best corals for beginners.

Easy Corals For Beginners

As a very general rule, the easiest corals to keep are the Soft Corals. These corals do not form a hard skeleton and spread across the rocks rather like plants.

The polyps in these corals contain zooxanthellae which are photosynthetic, drawing their energy from light. They also have tiny mouths with which they can catch tiny particles of food from the water column.

As such, they do really have any special feeding or lighting requirements and can be kept successfully in just about any tank that has fish and marine aquarium lighting.

These corals will draw photosynthetic energy from the lights and also pick up tiny particles of uneaten fish food and waste.

That said all corals will benefit further from the occasional addition of phyto and zooplankton or a good coral food.

Zooanthids

• Lighting: Low to Moderate
• Flow: Low to Medium
• Placement: Bottom to Middle
• Feeding: Phytoplankton, Coral food

Zooanthids (or Zoas) are one of the most common corals found in the hobby and are great for beginners.

They come in a wide variety of stunning colours and can be placed just about anywhere in the tank where they can grow and spread around the rockwork.

They are very hardy and can tolerate a wide range of water parameters but they are known to prefer ‘dirtier’ water that is high in nutrients.

Trumpet Coral

• Lighting: Low to High
• Flow: Low to Medium
• Placement: Bottom to Top
• Feeding: Phytoplankton, Coral food

Trumpet corals are one of my favourites due to the fact that they can be placed anywhere, grow quickly, are stunning to look at, and are easy to care for.

They are not a soft coral but rather a Large Polyp Stony (LPS) coral and they form a branching hard skeleton as they grow and add more heads.

Green Star Polyps

• Lighting: Moderate to High
• Flow: Low to High
• Placement: Bottom to Top
• Feeding: Phytoplankton, Coral food

Green Star Polyps (GSP) are pretty much indestructible, cheap to buy and easy to care for.

They look stunning under marine tank lighting and provide some mesmerising movement in your tank.

Be aware though that it will spread throughout your tank and could take it over so GSP is best placed on a single rock island away from your main rockwork.

Duncan Coral

• Lighting: Moderate to High
• Flow: Medium to High
• Placement: Middle
• Feeding: Phytoplankton, Coral food, frozen mysis and brine shrimp

Duncan coral are a great addition to any reef tank providing plenty of movement and interest.

If happy, they grow quickly adding new heads rapidly so you’ll soon have a whole colony.

They definitely benefit from the occasional spot feeding of frozen mysis and brine shrimp and coral food.

Mushroom Coral

• Lighting: Low to Moderate
• Flow: Low to Medium
• Placement: Bottom
• Feeding: Phytoplankton, Coral food

Mushroom corals are the very definition of a beginner coral. They are very easy to care for, grow easily and spread well.

There are some stunning colours available but be aware they do spread very easily and are quite difficult to frag and remove.

Best placed at the bottom of the tank in low-flow areas.

Toadstool Coral

• Lighting: Moderate to High
• Flow: Medium to High
• Placement: Middle
• Feeding: Phytoplankton, Coral food

Toadstool Corals can be quite stunning with different colored varieties of polyps that sway nicely in the current.

They can get very large though and may overshadow other smaller corals.

Pulsing Xenia Coral

• Lighting: Low to Moderate
• Flow: Low to Medium
• Placement: Bottom to Middle
• Feeding: Phytoplankton, Coral food

Their hypnotic ‘pulsing’ polyps make Pulsing Xenia one of the most fascinating corals in the hobby.

They will only ‘pulse’ though if they are happy and are best placed in lower flow areas with moderate lighting.

Unfortunately, they have a major drawback in that they can spread very easily and take over your tank. Even if placed on a rock island the polyps can escape and take root anywhere.

Kenya Tree Coral

• Lighting: Moderate to High
• Flow: Medium to High
• Placement: Middle to Top
• Feeding: Phytoplankton, Coral food

Kenya Tree Coral are another great beginner coral, easy to care for and hardy.

They grow quickly and will drop branches that will sprout into new corals so you’ll soon have a whole forest.

We hope our article on the best corals for beginners has given you some ideas.

If you have any easy corals for beginners that are your own particular favourites please drop a note in the comments below.

All the corals listed above will do well in a small starter tank. For more information on setting one up, see our article, Best Saltwater Fish Tank Starter Kit.

Corals For Beginners FAQs

What is the easiest coral to start with? – The easiest corals to start with are the soft corals. These corals are photosynthetic, drawing most of their energy from light. They are hardy and don’t require specific feeding.

Soft corals include Zoas, Toadstool and Mushroom corals, Green Star Polyps, Trumpet corals, Duncan corals, and Kenya Tree corals.

What is the best coral for a small tank? – Hardy soft corals such as Zoas, Toadstool, and Mushroom corals are excellent for a small tank.

Also, some Polyp corals and LPS corals, like Hammer and Torch corals, though care should be given to keep them as far apart as possible.

When should I add my first coral? – As with fish, you should only add corals once your tank has been fully cycled and is ammonia-free. Acclimatize any new corals as you would with fish before adding them to your tank.

Do I need to feed corals? – Many corals get their energy from the tank lights and also pick up tiny particles of uneaten fish food and waste and don’t need anything else.

However, all corals will benefit from the occasional addition of phyto and zooplankton or a good coral food.