Corals for a newbie

[rking]

I'm probably still months away from actually adding corals to my 55 gal tank, but in the interest of getting as much research in ahead of time as I can, I have a few questions. I will be starting with the easy to care for polyps, shrooms etc, but I would like to eventually add some LPS (brains, maybe a frogspawn if I get the nerve). What would be the most compatible types of LPS for me to look at? I could be worrying too much over this, but I'd rather ask about compatibility now than ask about how to recover from a disaster later!

Thanks,

Ray

[Bruce]

Hey there rking.

You have the right idea about getting polyps and shrooms to begin with. As for the next step there are a few things to put into consideration. One thing is growth management. I have found that just because the tank or you are ready to care for a coral...it might have plans of world domination. Many LPS have long stinging tentacles that can damage and even kill other corals.

Brain corals are very hardy and would be an excellent second step. Ricordias are also a nice addition to any tank. I might even go as far as trying some montipora...from my experience they can be very hardy as a beginning sps. Actually the only time I have ever lost one was because a LPS stung it...hah.