Easy/cheap corals for nano tank

[_cpate3_]

I have a Fluval 13.5 you can check out in my build thread! I do not want many corals as I am going to be moving my tank back and forth from college this falls and corals make the move much harder. So I was wondering if anyone had opinions on cheap corals (in case they die during the move I don’t lost much) that are also easy and nano tank safe. My tank is fairly new. I was thinking just like a GSP and Kenya tree but if anyone has any other ideas that would be great

 

[blaxsun]

Anything soft (zoas, mushrooms, leathers, xenias, polyps, etc.) will be fairly hardy and easy to keep.

 

[bradreef]

Personally ide stay away from gsp, xenia, mushrooms, and things that you cant control easily. They will take over everything.

Ide do an island of zoa's. And maybe some easier lps coral. Are there any shapes or looks you really like and we can suggest an easy option?
Example,
plating- scroll coral or pagoda cup.
Encrusting- meteor shower, or hollywood stunner

 

[_cpate3_]

Personally ide stay away from gsp, xenia, mushrooms, and things that you cant control easily. They will take over everything.

Ide do an island of zoa's. And maybe some easier lps coral. Are there any shapes or looks you really like and we can suggest an easy option?
Example,
plating- scroll coral or pagoda cup.
Encrusting- meteor shower, or hollywood stunner

This is my Aquascape right now, I don’t want anything on the big arch because it’ll be too hard to move. There is a small island in the back I was thinking of covering in an encrusting coral, and then some sort of movement for the larger boot shaped island

 

[Stephen8169301]

Just do a big Zoa garden that way you get beautiful colors and don’t have to worry about dosing

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have a Fluval 13.5 you can check out in my build thread! I do not want many corals as I am going to be moving my tank back and forth from college this falls and corals make the move much harder. So I was wondering if anyone had opinions on cheap corals (in case they die during the move I don’t lost much) that are also easy and nano tank safe. My tank is fairly new. I was thinking just like a GSP and Kenya tree but if anyone has any other ideas that would be great

this tank, unless upgraded has limited lighting and with stock light, some will be candy cane-xenia- toadstool leather- zoa- frogspawn- mushroom coral- green star polyps and duncan coral

 

[_cpate3_]

It is upgraded with an AI prime 16HD, an Aqamai KPS powerhead, and a synccra sicce 1.0 silent. Thank you for the suggestions

 

[bradreef]

Boot shaped island, i would go frogspawn/ hammers for movement that you want. Not light or flow demanding.

Smaller island- i like zoas , as many have said you can get really colorful. the island isolates them from spreading.

You could throw a couple favias in the open area's. Maybe some acans on the arch if you decide to add coral there.

 

[UkiahTheTurtle]

Devils hand leather

 

[vetteguy53081]

It is upgraded with an AI prime 16HD, an Aqamai KPS powerhead, and a synccra sicce 1.0 silent. Thank you for the suggestions

I have an Aquami and what a nightmare to connect to WiFi

 

[Acroconut]

Running an AI Prime you could do encrusting Montipora. I have a large Sympodium coral in my fluval 13.5 and it's much less invasive than GSP but gives you a similar look. Frogspawn has done well for me and adds a lot of movement to the tank. Zoas are always a great choice for easy care. I run a Jebao 3 in my tank and even my acros seem to have enough flow to do well...soon to upgrade to a 10 as many of my acro frags are growing and becoming much larger.

 

[_cpate3_]

Running an AI Prime you could do encrusting Montipora. I have a large Sympodium coral in my fluval 13.5 and it's much less invasive than GSP but gives you a similar look. Frogspawn has done well for me and adds a lot of movement to the tank. Zoas are always a great choice for easy care. I run a Jebao 3 in my tank and even my acros seem to have enough flow to do well...soon to upgrade to a 10 as many of my acro frags are growing and becoming much larger.

i was originally thinking some sort of Euphyllia, of the 3 which would you say would thrive best in a nano?

 

[Will_W]

Boot shaped island, i would go frogspawn/ hammers for movement that you want. Not light or flow demanding.

Smaller island- i like zoas , as many have said you can get really colorful. the island isolates them from spreading.

You could throw a couple favias in the open area's. Maybe some acans on the arch if you decide to add coral there.

I agree with this setup. Also In my opinion I would stay away from zenias and gsp as they take over and spread very very quickly

 

[_cpate3_]

I agree with this setup. Also In my opinion I would stay away from zenias and gsp as they take over and spread very very quickly

I have a GSP, and 1 Zoa polyp who isn’t growing very quickly, and then I went with pipe organ instead of Xenia because it grows slower and kinda looks the same

 

[Wasabiroot]

Idk why, but I feel like Fimbriaphyllia/euphyllia type coral isn't something I'd consider a beginner, easy coral. They seem to do better in mature tanks and don't like alk fluctuations very much. Their skeletal tissue can be irritated by hosts of things. Then again, I am a relative novice in the hobby compared to some.

I agree re soft stuff like shrooms, zoas, and leathers. Would also add gorgonians; are incredibly hardy and gorgeous as well, but the ones that stay small are uncommon so you'd have to trim. But, really any soft coral other than the hard to keep stuff would do well. "Leptoseris" // Pavona type stuff is pretty forgiving too, if you like encrusting stuff.

Edit: Stuff counter = 4 lol

 

[Acroconut]

i was originally thinking some sort of Euphyllia, of the 3 which would you say would thrive best in a nano?

I don't have any hammer or torch coral in my tank so can't comment on how either of those would do. My frogspawn has done very well and now has 3 heads. I put it in the tank about 2 months after my tank had cycled. Have 2 acans and 1 blasto that have done very well also. Oh one of the things I do like about my frogspawn is that it doesn't put out the long sweepers like hammers do, so I don't worry about it stinging my zoas and acros that are in the same area.

 

[paragrouper]

I have a GSP, and 1 Zoa polyp who isn’t growing very quickly, and then I went with pipe organ instead of Xenia because it grows slower and kinda looks the same

That sounds like a nice group. I found that some Zoa’s can be a bit of a pain, but you can add another frag or two of them to help fill out the area.

 

[kevgib67]

Not a coral but rock flower anemones are very colorful and relatively easy to keep. They do well on vertical surfaces. I have 6 here are 4. Oh , and unlike other anemones they tend to stay where you place them.

 

[nothing_fancy]

Thats a nice looking setup! I started with a ten gallon desktop AIO when that was a new thing back in 2011. I put a Duncan in there and I still have it! I've moved 3 times since. So I would go with Duncans, frog spawns, maybe some zoas. If you're at a point where you get comfortable with your parameters you could do a Nem. I would avoid the urge to go SPS however if you do, maybe some stylophora as they are easy to care for but do need some light. You could also get away with some garden variety plating montipora if you have decent enough lighting. These are just a few things on my "hard to kill" list.

 

[_cpate3_]

Not a coral but rock flower anemones are very colorful and relatively easy to keep. They do well on vertical surfaces. I have 6 here are 4. Oh , and unlike other anemones they tend to stay where you place them.

Already got 2 of them lol