12 Easiest Corals for Beginners (Hardy Soft and LPS Corals)

Your first corals should be forgiving. A new reef tank's chemistry is still settling, and hardy corals tolerate small swings far better than delicate SPS. These 12 corals are easy to keep, grow well and look fantastic.

Before you add corals

Your tank should be fully cycled with stable salinity, temperature and alkalinity. Read How to Set Up a Marine Aquarium.
Test the basics regularly. See What Should You Test For in a Reef Aquarium?
Dip every new coral to remove pests. See our coral dipping guide.

Easy soft corals

1. Mushroom corals

Almost indestructible, happy in low light and available in every colour. Browse our mushroom corals, including ricordea.

2. Zoanthids and palythoa

Colourful polyps that spread into carpets. Most do well in moderate light and flow. Shop zoanthids. Wear gloves when handling palythoa, as it can contain toxins.

3. Green star polyps

Fast-growing waving green "grass". Grows over rock quickly, so place it on an isolated rock. See star polyps and xenia.

4. Leather corals

Toadstool, finger and cabbage leathers are tough and grow large. Browse toadstools and leather corals.

5. Kenya tree

A branching soft coral that grows fast in almost any conditions.

6. Xenia and pulsing corals

Hypnotic pulsing polyps. They can spread quickly, so keep them contained.

Easy LPS corals

7. Hammer and torch corals

Flowing tentacles that sway in flow. Moderate light and gentle to moderate flow. Give them space, as they sting neighbours. Shop hammer corals and torch corals.

8. Candy cane coral

Easy, branching and fast-growing in moderate light. See candy cane corals.

9. Duncan coral

Green, tentacled polyps that grow into colonies and take food readily.

10. Acans

Bright, colourful polyps for lower areas of the rockwork. Browse acans.

11. Chalice corals

Encrusting plates with intense colours. Moderate light. See chalice corals.

12. Favia and favites

Tough brain-like corals that come in vivid colours. See favites.

Placement tips

Start new corals low in the tank and move them up gradually if they need more light.
Leave space between LPS corals: many have sweeper tentacles that sting.
Secure frags with reef glue or putty.
Keep fast spreaders such as green star polyps and xenia on their own rock.

Lighting and feeding

All of these corals do well under a quality reef LED. See our reef lighting and reef lighting guide. LPS corals benefit from target feeding with coral foods once or twice a week.