Are any of these corals easy begginner corals

[giga84]

Hi
I am from Chennai. I only have fish only tank. Couldn't get standard beginner softies like pulsing Xenia and green star polyps. But lately i am seeing these corals in the local fish stores. They say they are hardy beginner corals and i know they are lying regarding the hard corals. But the softies i don't know. So i searched the net for corals in India and came with these pictures . Could anyone give better explanation on it?

 

[nereefpat]

The leathers (Lobophytum and Sinularia) on the octocoral page would be good beginner corals.

Of the stony corals on the right, avoid any Acropora. They are not beginner corals. The Lobophyllia, Platygyra, and Diploastrea are what is called LPS in the hobby. They would be easier ones to start with. After success with LPS, the Montipora would be the next thing to try.

 

[giga84]

thanks

 

[MondoBongo]

in the first image you have a lot of Gorgonians. there's two (major) types of them. photosynthetic, and non-photosynthetic.

it has been my experience that the photosynthetic ones are easy to keep with standard reef lighting. however the non-photosynthetic (sometimes called NPS in the hobby) are very difficult to keep.

other corals that are generally considered good for beginners are things like mushrooms, kenya trees, xenia, or most other soft corals. a word of caution, particularly about things like xenia but this applies to all soft coral to an extent: they can proliferate rapidly once well established. this isn't necessarily a bad thing, just something to keep in mind.