Beginner-friendly LPS

[Wasabiroot]

Many lps coral are medium or low light, and medium or low flow.

For a beautiful easy coral that doesn’t have special needs, but should have stable calcium and alkalinity, I would recommend dragon soul favia. This is mine, I bought it as a single polyp for 40$ and when that polyp started spreading over the frag plug, I put the plug in a small 2.5” rock. When it spread over that rock, I placed on a 4” piece of shelf rock. It has grown nicely encrusting Rock to rock and makes it appear as a single piece. This whole process took 2 years to grow from single polyp to the below picture

Other good choices for beginners:

Duncan (left)

Palythoa grandis - something about a gigantic head paly group in a small tank makes it very interesting- these heads are each .75-1.5” each and unlike zoa you can feed them flake or mysis for faster growth

When you want to step up a little to something higher end and have stability proven, a single Cynarina can be an excellent centerpiece in a small tank. There’s lots of varieties and only need to be fed once a week, at night. These corals have become a favorite of mine due to their slow growth and unique variations

Torch is another of my favorites, they need good parameters, varying medium flow, and occasional feedings. Pick a small one because they do grow and stretch out

Eventually you can have a LPS garden they will have a variance of colors, textures, and motion

Amazingly helpful post!

Clowns LOVE rubbing all up on corals that they decide to take up a home in, so be warned anything soft and fleshy with a fragile skeleton can be loved to death. I had a heliofungia that was doing amazing for a few months and then one day my clown decided he would make fish face skidmarks for hours at a time on it, and...good night sweet prince (the coral, not the fish lol)

 

[PotatoPig]

My 2c on picking beginner corals in any category:

Cheap ones.

A lot of cheap corals aren’t cheap because they’re not good looking or aren’t interesting in the tank. They’re cheap because they do well in aquariums. They have high survival rates and often grow fast compared to more expensive variants, so people who keep them are frequently fragging them for a very saturated market.

There’s some risk to this approach with Softies as it might turn out they're too easy and take over the tank, this isn’t nearly as much a concern with LPS.

A secondary bonus is you’re not going to be out a small fortune on livestock if it turns out your tank isn’t right for them yet.

/This means cheap corals within a given category vs their variants, and compared to a given vendors prices. It’s not saying go for the cheapest vendor you can find - make sure to vet your suppliers.

 

[kingranch2003]

Favia are semi aggressive depending how big they are and what you put them near

Small favia have small sweepers. Larger favia have much longer ones

Small favia small sweepers

Larger favia sweepers

And random sweepers can get several inches if they want to

Favia are semi aggressive depending how big they are and what you put them near

Small favia have small sweepers. Larger favia have much longer ones

Small favia small sweepers

Larger favia sweepers

And random sweepers can get several inches if they want to

The pictures demonstrate what you mean perfectly. A piece like that deserves a little space. I really appreciate this. I have just completed my 40 gallon build aquascaping. I'm cycling and have yet to purchase a coral. There's just something about favia that got me.

 

[VintageReefer]

The pictures demonstrate what you mean perfectly. A piece like that deserves a little space. I really appreciate this. I have just completed my 40 gallon build aquascaping. I'm cycling and have yet to purchase a coral. There's just something about favia that got me.

I don’t know why sometimes the long ones come out. To me, it’s random. Most of the time there are no sweepers or just the little ones. But occasionally there are large ones so planning needs to be factored for. That’s why mine is not mounted on the main rock structure and instead on a mobile rock island

I have it close to the green donut coral (moseleya) because the large mp40 pump above creates constant undertow that pulls water to the right and upwards, so when the sweepers come out, they flow away from the moseleya.

 

[kingranch2003]

I don’t know why sometimes the long ones come out. To me, it’s random. Most of the time there are no sweepers or just the little ones. But occasionally there are large ones so planning needs to be factored for. That’s why mine is not mounted on the main rock structure and instead on a mobile rock island

I have it close to the green donut coral (moseleya) because the large mp40 pump above creates constant undertow that pulls water to the right and upwards, so when the sweepers come out, they flow away from the moseleya.

It's great to get real answers from someone who actually keeps this coral. I love the scale of you reef! That favia is a gem piece. I really appreciate this.

 

[VintageReefer]

It's great to get real answers from someone who actually keeps this coral. I love the scale of you reef! That favia is a gem piece. I really appreciate this.

This was when I got it

 

[Reef Puncher]

Favia are semi aggressive depending how big they are and what you put them near

Small favia have small sweepers. Larger favia have much longer ones

Small favia small sweepers

Larger favia sweepers

And random sweepers can get several inches if they want to

holy crap i didnt know they got that long. can they hurt zoas?

 

[VintageReefer]

Yes it can sting and hurt most corals Whatever it can’t hurt would be something capable of hurting the favia such as anemone and torch

 

[corosato]

My Duncan was my first LPS I popped in my tank...it got knocked off the rock head first into the sand multiple times, then decided to fall off the frag plug...head first into the sand. Found it in the morning, glued it directly to the rock...it stayed closed for like a week and I was about to give up on it, it's now my second happiest coral, it's got 4 new heads popping out and is always puffy as it can be. They are VERY forgiving.