Types of Corals

[stephen1_fergus]

I will try to say this so I don't seem completely stupid. I am having trouble grasping the difference between types of corals. I will soon be getting some candy cane corals, I have brown polyps, will get wellsophylia, and some mushroom rocks, and frogspawn. The person who I am getting these from say they are rather easy-to-keep stony corals. Well, I have recently read stuff about SPS corals and that they are much harder to keep (needing more intense light and better water conditions). I don't realy know what SPS or LPS are other than that they stand for small polyped stony and large polyped stony. Please help me understand a little better.

 

[deklin]

LPS usually have a combination of hard underskeleton with fleshy polyps mantles or tentacles extending while SPS have a completely stoney appearence with just small polyps extending on occasion.

frogspawn and candy cane are examples of LPS. Mushrooms and brown polyps are examples of softies.

 

[drummereef]

Aquarium Corals by Eric Borneman is a great book that explains in detail the different classification of corals. I highly suggest picking one up.

 

[bertoni]

I also recommend Eric Borneman's book.

 

[stephen1_fergus]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have another quick question: are the SPS harder to keep than the LPS?

 

[magdelan]

for a beginner- yes. After you get your water chemistry down and can keep lps and softies without a problem, be sure to have good vho or mh lighting and try a sps coral like, pocillopora or monipora capricornis/digitata

 

[jokeloma]

I agree all the way around. IMO LPS and softies are much more forgiving.

 

[alexb518]

monti caps are pretty easy to keep. good beginer sps

 

[danch]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10215588#post10215588 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stephen1_fergus
Thanks for the suggestions. I have another quick question: are the SPS harder to keep than the LPS?

Yes, except for the SPS that are easy and the LPS that are difficult

The Borneman book doesn't use those classifications and he does explain why.

 

[stephen1_fergus]

Thanks!

 

[Frick-n-Frags]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10215588#post10215588 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stephen1_fergus
Thanks for the suggestions. I have another quick question: are the SPS harder to keep than the LPS?

NOPE, just different

I can keep brown Pocillapora alive in my toilet, good luck on that elegance. Montipora d is also a very hardy easy stony coral
people have had green Pocillapora overrun their tank and become a total pest.

If you give the coral the physical conditions it likes, it will do great
your job is to figure out the best lighting/flow/nutrient levels/feeding regimen/water params for a particular coral

and not all of them like the same thing, so that's where it gets interesting.