Coral Questions!?

Question

What is the difference between hard and soft coral?

Are they good tankmates?

How long do they live?
Thanks,
HC

Answer 1

check out for hard corals:

http://www.reefed.edu.au/explorer/animals/marine_invertebrates/corals/hard_corals.html
for soft go to:
http://www.reefed.edu.au/explorer/animals/marine_invertebrates/corals/soft_corals.html

they basically do not die, if kept properly. They are good tank mates, depending on the fish. For example, seahorses do not do good around corals that they can wrap their tails around, or ones that can sting them. If they wrap their tails around coral, then they are likely to eventually kill it.

On the other hand ammenonies (sp?) are a must have if you have clown fish. think Finding Nemo. they basically clean the anemonie and the anemonie protects the fish.

You need to make sure that your lights are strong enough, as a lot of corals require strong lighting. a good saltwater store can provide you with more detailed information.

Some mushroom corals can be used with standard saltwater lighting (ie not so great) as long as they are kept as close to the light as possible (still within the water).

Where ever you buy coral, they should also be able to have a good supply of food for the coral. its just a liquid you squirt into the tank, such as zooplankton or photoplankton, depending on the corals you have.

Answer 2

hard corals have a calcareous skeleton which contribute to reef structures if kept in the right environment they live (and grow large) a long time.soft coralssoft corals are made up of calcite, a form of calcium carbonate.hard corals are harder to keep and can also trap small fish. if you are new to coral keeping, stick to the soft corals, which are a bit more forgiven in the water department and lights needed

Answer 3

I agree with Paul f. Soft corals are the way to go. Also when dealing with corals, you have to look at what else you have in your tank. Theres a lot of fish that are not reef safe. If your into agressive fish, a good portion of them are not reef safe.