We’ll begin with Corallimorpharians, more commonly known to aquarists as “false corals” or "mushrooms"(stemming from their mushroom like appearance of a cap on top of a stalk). The major types available to aquarists include Actinodiscus, Discosoma, Ricordea, and Rhodactis, all of which harbor Zooxanthellae (symbiotic algae) in their tissue and are photosynthetic. Care requirements for these colorful beauties are straightforward. With the exception of Ricordea, the Corallimorphs will tolerate lower light but prefer bright light and will better maintain their colors with bright light. If housed under normal output fluorescent or power compact lighting, they can and should be placed higher in the water column. If housed under T5, VHO, or metal halide lighting, care should be taken to place them a little farther down so they don’t suffer a “burn” or “bleaching” where the Zooxanthellae in their tissue is lost to too intense light at too close a range. The two members of this group that prefer and need more intense light are Ricordea and Ricordea Yuma. Their colors are typically more intense and to sustain that color more intense lighting must be provided. All Corallimorphs prefer little water movement. They will tolerate medium water movement but will shrink in size and/or migrate off their rock if constantly pounded with heavy current. Because they are photosynthetic and will get incidental feedings out of the water column, direct or target feeding isn’t required.

    Keep the afore-mentioned information in mind when adding these animals to your reef system, and they should perform nicely for you. Please always remember you can contact us with any questions you may have regarding any of our gifts from the sea. Keep reefing, and we’ll see you at All-Reef!

LPS corals, or "Large Polyped Stony" corals, are photosynthetic, and are some of the easier corals to keep providing they are acquired in good condition, i.e., no tissue recession, etc. They are very sturdy corals and their demands are relatively minimal and easily met. The main corals available in the aquarium trade for this group include but are not limited to Trachyphyllia, Symphyllia, Blastomussa, Cynarina, Scolymia, Euphyllia, Nemenzophyllia, Catalaphyllia, Lobophyllia, Favia, Fungia, Galaxea, Goniastrea, Acanthastrea, and too many more to mention. Unlike SPS or "Small Polyped Stony" corals, the LPS corals have much larger (and sometimes single) fleshy polyps that can inflate greatly with water and thereby greatly increase the size of the coral when fully expanded.

Water Movement for LPS Corals: LPS corals prefer low to medium current and will expand fully when this requirement is met. If they are blasted with too much current, they usually will not expand to their full potential. They also will not be able to absorb light for photosynthesis if they are unable to expand their tissue due to excessive water movement. There are some exceptions, such as Goniastrea and Galaxea, which are both quite content with a good random current, but overall, the LPS corals prefer low water movement.

Lighting LPS Corals: Lighting for LPS corals is usually easy to provide as they prefer medium light and typically will adjust to different levels of lighting with appropriate acclimation. Always take care not to position them or any coral too close to a light source without adequate acclimation at a lower level so the coral can adjust to its new light source. The LPS corals are known to expel Zooxanthellae (algae that lives in its tissue and provides a food source via its byproducts) and adjust the levels of it in their tissue to adapt to different levels of lighting. This is a natural process and is not harmful to the coral. Certain of these corals, such as Goniastrea and Acanthastrea, prefer much brighter light, but the majority will do well under medium light such as T5 fluorescents or power compacts. Halide lighting is acceptable providing the coral is not too close to the light source.

Feeding LPS Corals: The majority of LPS corals are equipped with tentacles and are predatory in nature. Although they are photosynthetic and do feed on the byproducts of the Zooxanthellae (algae) population present in their tissue, most are nocturnal, meaning they extend their tentacles for feeding at night. The feeding response can be stimulated by presenting meaty foods during the day and waiting a few minutes while the coral responds by extending its tentacles. Meaty foods such as Mysis shrimp, minced krill, Cyclop-Eeze, minced Silversides, etc., can easily be gently set on the coral's extended tentacles, and the coral will then transfer the food to its mouth on its own. Never place foods on a coral whose tentacles are not extended as it will only irritate the coral and the food will not be accepted.

SPS corals, or "Small Polyped Stony" corals, are the most difficult to keep of all the coral groups. They are not beginner corals and should be kept only by aquarists with considerable experience. SPS are the reef builders! There are many SPS corals from which to choose, including but not limited to Acropora, Stylophora, Seriatopora, Pocillopora, Montipora, Astreopora, Porites, Pachyseris, and more. The most popular SPS corals in the hobby today are Acropora and Montipora, but there are others equally as beautiful. There are far too many species of Acropora to mention here, but the overall care requirements are the same or similar with the majority of species, with the exception of those collected from deepwater habitats.

Water Movement for SPS corals: The majority of SPS corals require strong, random water movement. At All-Reef, we use Tsunami wavemakers to accomplish the strong current in our SPS systems, and the corals thrive in this environment. This wavemaker can accommodate 4 powerheads and has controls for each to allow you to set your flow randomly with varying time periods. It also has a feed mode so you can pause all powerheads for feeding time. Random flow is much better for SPS corals than laminar flow (straight from one direction), so we strongly suggest this method if you are going to house SPS corals.

Lighting SPS Corals: The majority of SPS corals require intense lighting (preferably halide if the tank they are housed in is over 24" deep) to thrive. There are some exceptions to this rule, but generally speaking, to maintain the intense colors of most SPS corals, intense lighting is necessary. We run shallow SPS systems so that we can use T5 and/or VHO lighting systems, which produce incredible color for our SPS corals. Again, if you are running a deeper reef system for SPS, you should consider the use of halide lighting, which can penetrate the depth of your system.

Feeding SPS Corals: SPS corals are photosynthetic but are also zooplankton feeders, and there are good foods specific to feeding SPS corals on the market today. One we use on a regular basis is Coral Frenzy, which is a pulverized food that is mixed with tank water and either stirred or shaken vigorously before introducing into the tank. We prefer to use small plastic shakers to thoroughly mix the food as stirring is not as effective. Once thoroughly mixed with tank water, it can then either be generally distributed in the tank (a tank feed) or target fed via a pipette or baster. We prefer tank feeds as all corals benefit from this food, including even filter feeders, and not just the SPS. Use care when feeding these concentrated foods so as not to overload your system with nutrients. Our routine is twice per week feedings with Coral Frenzy with a water change scheduled around the second feeding. This ensures that nutrient load is reduced. There are other excellent coral foods, too, including frozen Cyclop-Eeze (100% copepods that are small enough for the corals to handle) that we also feed our systems to benefit all who can capture the pods. We recommend feeding SPS and all corals for excellent health and vibrant colors.

Supplementation for SPS Corals: We do not dose with calcium supplements for our SPS corals unless we are doing an SPS dominant system, in which case we would recommend a two-part dosing process or the installation of a calcium reactor. We do weekly water changes with Coralife or SeaChem salt on our SPS and mixed reef systems to replace trace minerals necessary to maintain these and all other corals. Because SPS corals are the reef builders and there is an incredible uptake of calcium and other trace minerals, we highly recommend dosing if you are running an SPS dominant system. If housing only a few in a mixed reef environment, we do not find it necessary to dose provided regular weekly water changes are accomplished to replenish trace minerals.

Soft corals, also known as "Softies," are generally the easiest of the coral groups to maintain. They are more forgiving with regard to water quality, can handle a variety of lighting schemes, can adapt to different levels of water movement, and can be recommended for the beginner, with the exception perhaps of the Yellow Elegans Leather (Sarcophyton elegans), which is a stunningly beautiful coral but is considerably "fussier" than the majority of its counterparts and doesn't always ship well. Many soft corals, such as Sarcophyton, Sinularia, Nephthea, etc., will go through "slough" periods (pronounced "sloff") where the coral sheds its epidermis (top layer of tissue) to cleanse itself of debris or detrital matter that may accumulate on its capitulum (cap or head) or in its branches. When in the process, they will not extend their polyps for a few days, and you will then start to see the top thin layer of "skin" shed off of the coral. Don't be alarmed if you see this taking place. It is a natural cleansing mechanism for these corals. Once they complete a slough, they will again extend their polyps and be as beautiful as ever. Although they are not reef builders, most soft corals possess sclerites or spicules (small calcium skeletal pieces) in their tissue to assist in giving them structure and form. For example, this is very apparent in Sinularia dura, where the spicules are easily seen.

Water Movement for Soft Corals: Softies vary from one to the next with water movement needs, but most adapt to a medium flow. As is true with SPS corals, they prefer random current as opposed to laminar flow. Sarcophyton and Sinularia will happily take a little more significant current than certain other Softies, so experiment a bit with these corals to see what makes them the happiest. Again, random flow is preferred for all corals.

Lighting Soft Corals: Soft corals can more easily adapt to different levels of lighting than certain other corals. Many prefer bright and/or indirect bright light but will adapt to lower lighting levels. If placed in a system with halide lighting, most Softies should be placed lower in the water column to prevent burning them. Normal output fluorescents, T5's, and power compacts are all suitable for Softies in a shallower tank environment. Do use caution with coral placement under T5's depending upon the wattage and number of lamps. Always acclimate corals slowly to a new lighting environment, regardless of species.

Feeding Soft Corals: The majority of soft corals are photosynthetic, and all corals will get incidental feedings in a reef system where there are fish being fed and excreting waste, but the Softies like their counterparts are capable of feeding on some small zooplankton and perhaps more likely on phytoplankton which they can more readily acquire with their small polyps. They also feed on bacterioplankton and nanoplankton which is easier for them to capture. Foods such as Coral Frenzy and similarly-sized particulate foods are excellent for feeding these beautiful and forgiving corals.

NOTE: Regarding supplementation, we do not find it is necessary except as described in our SPS care section as regular water changes (weekly) have proven to be sufficient to maintain trace mineral levels for all but SPS dominant systems in our care. We highly recommend you use supplements with great caution as they can skew your water parameters if used without sufficient knowledge of their specific purposes and effects.

NOTE: Although SPS and LPS corals are both "stonies" or "scleractinians," we separate them in our descriptions merely for ease of recognition as it is a common practice within the reef aquarium hobby. We hope that you find our Coral Care articles helpful and that they assist you in caring for your various reef inhabitants and providing them with the best possible environment! Thank you for visiting our website.

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