Your Guide to Coral and Anemones
Coral and anemones transform a saltwater aquarium from a fish tank into a living reef. These invertebrates provide the brilliant colors, intricate textures, and natural habitat structures that make reef keeping one of the most visually stunning hobbies in the world. Whether you are adding your first mushroom coral to a nano tank or building a full-blown SPS-dominant reef, understanding how coral and anemones work is essential to long-term success.
At ItsyBitsyPets, we break down coral and anemone care for hobbyists at every level. The reef keeping community — from the massive forums at Reef2Reef to local frag swap events in cities like Los Angeles, Miami, and Houston — is one of the most passionate and generous groups in the pet hobby. We are here to help you tap into that knowledge.
Types of Coral for Reef Aquariums
Corals fall into three broad categories based on care difficulty and growth requirements. Soft corals — including mushrooms, zoanthids, leather corals, and xenia — are the most forgiving group and ideal for beginners. They tolerate moderate lighting and flow, grow quickly, and come in an incredible range of colors. Zoanthid and palythoa colonies in particular have developed a collector culture all their own, with rare color morphs selling for hundreds of dollars per polyp at frag swaps and online retailers.
LPS (large polyp stony) corals like hammer corals, torch corals, and brain corals represent the middle ground. They need slightly more stable water chemistry and stronger lighting than soft corals but reward keepers with dramatic flowing tentacles and vivid coloration. SPS (small polyp stony) corals — acropora, montipora, and stylophora — sit at the top of the difficulty scale, demanding intense lighting, strong flow, and extremely stable calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium levels.
Anemone Care for Home Aquariums
Sea anemones are iconic reef invertebrates, most famous as the natural hosts for clownfish. Bubble tip anemones (Entacmaea quadricolor) are the most commonly kept species and arguably the best choice for home aquariums. They host readily with clownfish, come in stunning color varieties including rose, rainbow, and green, and can thrive under moderate to high LED lighting.
However, anemones are not beginner-friendly. They require a mature tank — ideally six months or older — with stable water parameters and strong lighting. Anemones also move around the tank until they find a spot they like, and they can sting neighboring corals or even get pulled into powerhead intakes. Many experienced reefers on r/ReefTank recommend adding anemones only after you have mastered basic coral care.
Lighting for Coral and Anemones
Light is literally food for most coral and anemones. These animals contain symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae that photosynthesize and provide the host with up to 90 percent of its energy needs. Without adequate lighting at the right spectrum (primarily blue, in the 400-500 nanometer range), coral will slowly bleach and starve.
Modern reef LED fixtures from brands like AI Hydra, Ecotech Radion, and Kessil have revolutionized coral keeping by providing customizable spectrums, sunrise and sunset ramp schedules, and moonlight modes — all while using a fraction of the electricity that older metal halide systems consumed. For a mixed reef with soft and LPS corals, a mid-range LED fixture with PAR output of 100 to 200 at the rock surface is sufficient. SPS corals need PAR values of 250 or higher.
Water Chemistry for Coral Health
Coral and anemones demand tighter water parameter control than fish-only systems. Beyond the basics of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, reef keepers need to monitor and maintain calcium (400-450 ppm), alkalinity (8-11 dKH), and magnesium (1250-1350 ppm). These three elements are consumed by stony corals as they build their calcium carbonate skeletons, and allowing them to fluctuate causes stress, slow growth, and tissue recession.
Dosing systems — either manual two-part solutions or automated dosing pumps — keep these parameters stable between water changes. As your coral collection grows, you will eventually want to invest in an ICP-OES test from a service like ATI to get a comprehensive snapshot of 30-plus trace elements in your water.
Building Your Coral Collection
One of the best things about coral keeping is the fragging community. Coral fragging — cutting small pieces from a parent colony to grow into new colonies — means hobbyists can trade and sell corals locally and online. Local reef clubs host frag swaps where you can pick up corals at a fraction of retail prices while meeting fellow reefers. Online marketplaces and auction groups on Facebook have also made rare coral morphs accessible to hobbyists nationwide.
Start with hardy, fast-growing species like mushrooms, GSP (green star polyps), and kenya trees. As your tank matures and your skills develop, gradually add more demanding species. Pair your coral with appropriate tank mates — saltwater fish that are reef-safe, marine crustaceans for algae control, and snails as part of your clean-up crew. Visit our reef tank setup guide for a complete walkthrough of building a thriving reef aquarium from scratch, and browse the saltwater pets section for more species profiles.