type of corals advice sought

[Nanocube41]

I'm planning to change my nanocube to a reef tank. My plan is live rock, clean up crew, 2 corals and a dwarf angel fish. I want to keep it simple.

I'm seeking advice on the corals. First the tank has compact fluorescents, so I need to go with hardy, basic corals. I would like the first coral to be a simple coral that would move with the current - something like green star polyps or zenia. I'd like the second coral to be a leather coral with some nice shape.

So I seek advice on specific corals that would work in this situation.

Thanks for any input.

 

[flower]

Hi,

Xenia will quickly outgrow your nano tank. Mushroom coral would be a good choice, and there are several colors you can go for and make an awesome looking nano.

 

[Nanocube41]

in the past, I've had a hard time keeping xenia alive! I've heard its real easy, but never did well for me.

What about green star polyps?

 

[pegasus]

Green star polyps is an extremely easy coral, but can spread like crazy. Once it covers your rocks, it can be hard to remove. Rhodactis mushrooms are good choices, too. Actidonis and some Discosoma mushrooms can reproduce quickly, which may not be a good thing in a small tank, unless you plan to keep them thinned out. Ricordea Floridas would be a good soft coral for small areas. Anthelia is similar to xenia, but hardier. It can spread quickly as well, but is easier to manage.

 

[Nanocube41]

Thank you! I will look into the options you suggested.

I don't mind if it spreads easy. I'll have a lot of room with only 2 corals in the rank.

I love ricordias, but they are pricey for the amount of area they cover.

 

[Nanocube41]

Another thought as to why I originally thought Xenia or green stars over mushrooms.... I was looking for something that would have some movement in the current.

 

[flower]

in the past, I've had a hard time keeping xenia alive! I've heard its real easy, but never did well for me.

What about green star polyps?

If Xenia does well, it does really well, and populates like fire... if it doesn't, nothing seems to work to keep them alive. Kenya tree would flow in the current, and is pretty hardy, it too will spread, but the green neon is a much slower growing, fancier version of the regular.

 

[Nanocube41]

A Kenya tree would be a good option instead of the leather coral. That or a colt coral. The whole point of a leather or Kenya would be to have something with some height that also looks "branchy"