New to the Salty side...coral IDs?

[Guy25]

After 12 years on the freshwater side I decided to take a stab a the salty side. Nothing crazy to start out just a small 10 gal with a kessil A80 for lighting. No fish yet, the corals are more fascinating at the moment Salinity is on point and after being in the tank a few days my "guinea pig" corals I picked up seem to be doing great...but...not sure what one of them is, they weren't labeled. One I'm quite certain one is a Xenia the other...is I think a favite? The gal at petco said both are easy to grow which I took with a grain of salt as I've learned over the years ...but thought why not give it a try as that's part of the fun. See photos/video. Thx in advance for any tips/ID help ...and any more suggestions on picking coral, it's like being a kid in a candy store not sure which one to get next.

 

[mimo91088]

Can you get a closer brighter pic of the first one? I agree the 2nd is xenia. The first one looks like it could be favia. But it could also be lepastrea. Leaning towards favia though.

 

[Guy25]

I think you are right, going based off your suggestions I think it is lepastrea - here is a better photo for confirmation.

 

[mimo91088]

Yea up close it does look like a lepastrea. Does it put out feeders?

 

[Guy25]

I caught it doing so once, they are quite new to the aquarium, only a few days.

 

[mimo91088]

Try to snap a pic if you see them out. But im leaning more towards lepastrea now.

 

[fishkeepinginaisa]

Nice! Welcome to the salty side. My favorite coral at the moment are my red mushrooms. You can get them in a variety of colors, but they're all hardy. A really good choice to start out with.

Green Star polyps are another good choice, but a lot of reefers consider them a nuisance coral because they grow really fast, but I like them. They look so peaceful, like a field of grass in the wind.

 

[Guy25]

Thanks! I actually picked up some GSP the other day, although they haven't opened up yet. I'll be on the lookout for some of those mushrooms, those photos look awesome!

 

[fishkeepinginaisa]

Thanks! I actually picked up some GSP the other day, although they haven't opened up yet. I'll be on the lookout for some of those mushrooms, those photos look awesome!

Don't worry, just be patient with them, mine didn't open all the way up a day and a half.