Any good links for learning about coral?

I often see posts when people are building a new tank and they already know what corals they plan to put in it.

As a beginner who has never had a coral yet (and researching), are there any good links for the different types? I dont mean groups like SPS, LPS, etc...but actual names of them, how to take care of them, etc?

I'd like to start planning for my future. ;D

 

3Reef.com

im sure you can just google whatever coral it is you are interested. I'm not sure of any sites that gives a list of all aquarium kept corals and their descriptions. but if thats what your looking for I'd pick up a book on corals. makes life much easier and simpler too when looking for a a specific coral and general care.

edit.. cant think of the books i have at home but they focus exclusively on coral and their care. just type in coral book or something..

 

Hmm, bummer. It's hard to know where to start.

 

i know. i actually just tried googleing stuff that may help you but it seems like its hard to find a site that just lists corals and there related care and so on unless you goto an online store but even thats not very efficient at searching corals..

 

I understand where you are coming from... there are so many corals... it helps me to go look at the corals my LFS has in stock... if you don't have an LFS with a good coral selection, try going to liveaquaria.com or other coral sites (there are several sponsors of this forum, so I won't list them, but pretty easy to find if you navigate there).

You want to start by knowing what corals are available in the aquarium trade, what kind of tank you want to have, SPS, softies, LPS, or a combination, and what you like and what kind of maintenence you want to have...

For example, if you don't want to worry about high levels of calcium and alkalinity dosing, then stay away from SPS, and to some extent LPS, but whereas soft corals won't put as many demands on the tank.

I used to think keeping SPS was impossible, but after doing enough research, I found that it can be done with relative ease.

Once you decide how far you're willing to take the hobby, then you can pretty much pick whatever corals you like, and go from there... some folks will do whatever it takes to keep a coral if they really like/ want it... so it just depends on what you like and don't like and how much you're willing to put into it.

 

20 Gal Micro

 

Thanks guys. Okay...can spomeone explain frags to me? lol

Ive worked out that they are homne grown pieces. But those little geometric shapes they sit on don't exactly look all that natural. What do you do with them? Do they eventually grow and then you dont see that little "plug" (or whatever it is).

ETA: That link is awesome!

 

pretty much... the plugs that are shaped like large golf tees are meant to be stuck into rock work.. the other types are meant to be epoxied or glued to the rock work... eventually the coral will cover it so that it doesn't look like it's just stuck to the rockwork with a perfectly square base.

My LFS sells most of his own frags without frag plugs for this reason, so they can be attached to rockwork without a plug.

Plugs are easier to transport and put on display for sale, though.. and if you have a "frag rack" you can easily grow your frags out there until they are big enough to mount...

 

Many common corals are here. (ASIRA)

 

A good book that's a general overview on corals and systems is "Book of Coral Propagation: Reef Gardening for Aquarists" by Anthony Calfo.

A website with a whole lot of hard to find information is Wetwebmedia, Aquarium, Pond, Marine and Freshwater Fish, reef tanks, and Aquatics Information