My First Coral??? Please Help!!!

[reefarchitect54]

I have a 46 gal. Bow front tank with a 20 gal sump/refuge. I have two Maxi-jet 900's for flow in the tank. My Aqua C Urchin protein skimmer is powered by a mag 3 pump. I have another mag 3 to return the water from the sump/refuge. The tank itself has 80lbs of indo pacific sand and about 50 lbs of live rock. I have a 6-bulb T5 set up that puts out 234 watts (about 5.1 Watts per gallon) I have a banded coral shrimp and 5 green chromis so far along with snails and hermits to clean up. I have not done a ton of research into corals as I’m just getting ready to buy my first one... Id like something that is not to hard to keep and care for as well as something that will add color and charm to my tank. I do plan on getting two Clown fish and an anemone, so I’m wondering if I should just get one of those to start. I never remember which is the easier of the two to keep… LPS or SPS??? Thanks for all your help and I look forward to researching your recommendations. If you would like to know anything else about my system just ask.. Thanks Again!!!

[blue_eyes53813]

LPS are the easier of the two.. How about a candy cane coral or frogspawn coral.?

[reefarchitect54]

Thanks for the recommendations I will be looking into the two of those. Question though is those going to be ok with the banded coral shrimp. I’ve heard he walks on things and could damage corals so I need to be careful picking corals unless I want to get ride of him... But for know I’m going to try and work with him... Thanks Again!!!

[lcstorc]

They should be fine with the shrimp. Personally I would ry softies first. Probably mushrooms. They are very colorful and easy to keep. Then move up the chain to LPS. Do not get an anemone until your tank is very well established and you have the lights for it. the clowns you can get at any time but get them together and either very small and the same size or one significantly larger than the other so you get a male female pair.

[reefarchitect54]

are mushrooms that easy to keep??? Can the shrimp hurt them???

[mswafford17]

I agree with Lynn,
Try softies, Colt coral is easy to keep and comes in a few colors and frags itself pretty quickly. You should be able to get a frag for about 10 bucks at the lfs. Shrooms are good and an open brain is really hardy....

[reefarchitect54]

Thanks I will look into the softies as well... I have to say to this point im really liking the Green Fluorescent Mushroom (Actinodiscus sp.), and the Brain Coral, Trachyphyllia (Trachyphyllia geoffroyi). Im wondering though if my banded coral shrimp would hurt these??? I really like the color both would add. Please keep the comments comming as Id like to try and get one of these guys in the next few weeks... Thanks Again!!!

[reefarchitect54]

Oh and I meant to ask what you guys think about these coral packs. Is it bad to add more than one coral at a time. The only reason I ask is because these packs come with several corals for a flat price.

Here is the beginners pack:

1 Button Polyp - Med or Colony Polyp - Med
1 Yellow Colony Polyp - Med
1 Hairy Mushroom Coral - Med
1 Bullseye Mushroom Coral - Med or Green Fluorescent Mushroom Coral - Med

They also have begginer LPS Packs:

1 Candy Cane Coral (Fiji) - Medium or Trumpet Coral - Medium
1 Plate Coral, Asst. Short Tentacle - Medium or
Plate Coral, Purple Short Tentacle - Medium
1 Brain Coral, Pineapple - Medium

And the last one is a Nano Mushroom 7 Pack. My only concer with this pack is that it is for a nano so i wonder if it is ok for my 46 gal. bow...

Let me know what you guys think I should do??? Get one of these or just buy one at a time???

Thanks

[lcstorc]

I think the frag packs are fine. Personally I have trouble with brains (insert joke here) so I would avoid that one. I would get teh first or the last. The only thing I see about the nano pack is that they are likely to be smaller frags but if the price fits then I see no reason to avoid it.

[sasquatch]

How about a nice leather? the happiest coral Ive ever had is my toadstool, it seems happy anywhere and just keeps growing, you might have to run carbon with a leather in a nano. Steve

[caitrina]

I agree with everything said here, mushrooms are very easy and soon have others will pop up all around them. I noticed no one said anything about the anemone moving though. He does move around which is the reason I don't have one. My clowns host my torch coral.The link below is interesting hope it helps you make some decisions.
Clowns and Anemones

[reefarchitect54]

I just got a mushroom coral but I’m still not sure what it is.. He mentioned the name brown hairy mushroom but I’m still not sure...It is brown in color. The little buds are retracted right know as I just got it last night. He said the tips tend to glow a green color under the blue lights... I am still learning how to take good pictures of my tank so I will try and get some up soon.. The guy at the LFS also said that they are filter feeders and I don’t really need to do anything special to feed him.. Is that true??? I will be getting some of that green hairy algae tomorrow for my sump.. Will that help feed this guy??? Thanks and I would love any input you guys have on my new mushroom. I was told mushrooms are for the beginner which is why I decided on that one... Oh and will my Coral Banded Shrimp hurt the new mushroom??? Thanks Again!!!

[lcstorc]

No worries with the shrimp and they will filter feed on whatever is in the water. Really easy to keep unless they have too much flow. Relatively low light is fine but brighter light will make them grow more quickly.
IMO the best starter coral. Don't worry about it. It should be fine as long as your parameters are fine etc.

[reefarchitect54]

I’m glad to hear I did the right thing!!! Thanks Lynn.. Please keep the comments coming!!!

[Dentoid]

Coral Banded shrimp are not to be trusted with soft coral. Keep an eye on this combination. Mushrooms are a great first coral and come in a multitude of colors and patterns. I admire your enthusiasm!