LPS vs SPS vs Soft Coral

Complete species breakdown by coral type. 148 species across 4 categories, with care data from 7 sources.

SPS

LPS

Soft Coral

Anemone

SPS

35 species

Small Polyp Stony corals have small polyps on a hard calcium carbonate skeleton. They typically require high light, strong flow, and stable water parameters. Popular with experienced reefers.

Genus	Species	Common Name	Light	Flow	Care	Cards
Acropora	Acropora	Acropora	High	Med-Hi	difficult	—
	Acropora cervicornis	Staghorn Coral	High	High	expert	41
	Acropora horrida	Parilis Acropora	High	Med-Hi	difficult	—
	Acropora millepora	Millepora	High	High	expert	222
	Acropora parilis	Parilis Acropora	High	Med-Hi	difficult	—
	Acropora selago	Selago Acropora	High	Med-Hi	difficult	—
	Acropora tenuis	Tenuis Acropora	High	High	expert	197
	Acropora tortuosa	Oregon Tort	High	High	expert	220
	Acropora valida	Tricolor Acro	High	High	expert	—
	Acropora yongei	Green Bali Slimer	High	High	moderate	116
Anacropora	Anacropora	Anacropora	High	High	moderate	172
Cyphastrea	Cyphastrea decadia	Branching Cyphastrea	Low-Med	Med	easy	739
	Cyphastrea meteor	Meteor Shower	Low-Med	Med	easy	—
	Cyphastrea sp.	Meteor Shower	Low-Med	Med	easy	52
Leptoseris	Leptoseris mycetoseroides	Leptoseris	Low-Med	Med	easy	—
Montipora	Montipora	Montipora	High	Low	moderate	2168
	Montipora capricornis	Plating Monti	Med-Hi	Med-Hi	moderate	148
	Montipora digitata	Branching Monti	High	Low	moderate	27
	Montipora foliosa	Plating Monti	Med-Hi	Med-Hi	moderate	—
	Montipora setosa	Setosa Monti	High	Low	moderate	49
	Montipora spongodes	Encrusting Monti	Med-Hi	Med-Hi	moderate	2
Pavona	Pavona cactus	Potato Chip Coral	Med-Hi	Med-Hi	moderate	94
Pocillopora	Pocillopora	Cauliflower	High	High	moderate	101
	Pocillopora damicornis	Cauliflower Coral	Med-Hi	High	moderate	26
Porina	Porina	Acropora	High	High	difficult	3407
Porites	Porites cylindrica	Jeweled Coral	High	High	moderate	67
	Porites lobata	Lobe Coral	High	High	moderate	—
Psammocora	Psammocora contigua	Branching Psammocora	Med-Hi	Med-Hi	moderate	177
Seriatopora	Seriatopora	Bird's Nest	Low	High	moderate	339
	Seriatopora guttatus	Green Bird's Nest	Med-Hi	High	moderate	—
	Seriatopora hystrix	Bird's Nest Coral	Med-Hi	High	moderate	—
Stylocoeniella	Stylocoeniella	Stylocoeniella	Low-Med	Low-Med	moderate	199
Stylophora	Stylophora	Cat's Paw	High	High	moderate	331
	Stylophora milka	Milka Stylophora	Med-Hi	High	moderate	—
	Stylophora pistillata	Cat's Paw Coral	Med-Hi	High	moderate	—

LPS

69 species

Large Polyp Stony corals have bigger, fleshier polyps on a hard skeleton. Generally more forgiving than SPS, they do well with moderate light and flow. Great for intermediate reefers.

Genus	Species	Common Name	Light	Flow	Care	Cards
Acanthastrea	Acanthastrea echinata	Acan Echinata	High	High	easy	469
Acanthophyllia	Acanthophyllia	Meat Coral	Low-Med	Low	moderate	219
	Acanthophyllia deshayesiana	Meat Coral	Med	Low	easy	—
Alveopora	Alveopora	Alveopora	High	Med-Hi	moderate	387
	Alveopora gigas	Daisy Coral	Med	Med	moderate	—
	Alveopora tizardi	Daisy Coral	Med	Med	moderate	—
Blastomussa	Blastomussa	Blastomussa	Low	High	easy	568
	Blastomussa merleti	Blasto Merleti	Low	Low	easy	—
	Blastomussa wellsi	Blasto Wellsi	Low	Low	easy	123
Catalaphyllia	Catalaphyllia jardinei	Elegance Coral	High	Med	moderate	149
Caulastraea	Caulastraea echinulata	Trumpet Coral	Med	Med	easy	7
	Caulastraea furcata	Candy Cane	High	Low-Med	easy	185
Cycloseris	Cycloseris	Plate Coral	Med	Low-Med	moderate	10
	Cycloseris cyclolites	Orange Plate	Low-Med	Low	easy	1
Cynarina	Cynarina	Button Coral	Low-Med	Low	moderate	168
	Cynarina lacrymalis	Button Coral	Med	Low	moderate	1
Diaseris	Diaseris	Plate Coral	Med	Low-Med	moderate	—
	Diaseris distorta	Plate Coral	Low-Med	Low	easy	—
Dipsastraea	Dipsastraea pallida	Favia Brain	Med	Med	moderate	—
Duncanopsammia	Duncanopsammia axifuga	Duncan Coral	Low-Med	Low	easy	168
Echinophyllia	Echinophyllia	Chalice	High	High	moderate	1987
	Echinophyllia aspera	Chalice Coral	Low-Med	Low-Med	moderate	—
Echinopora	Echinopora lamellosa	Hollywood Stunner	High	High	easy	39
Euphyllia	Euphyllia	Euphyllia	Low	Med-Hi	moderate	54
	Euphyllia ancora	Hammer Coral	High	Med	moderate	836
	Euphyllia divisa	Frogspawn	High	Med	moderate	421
	Euphyllia glabrescens	Torch Coral	High	Med	moderate	1031
	Euphyllia paradivisa	Frogspawn	Med	High	moderate	59
Favia	Favia	Favia	Low-Med	Med	moderate	1460
Favites	Favites pentagona	War Coral	Low-Med	Med	moderate	217
Fimbriaphyllia	Fimbriaphyllia ancora	Wall Hammer	Med	Med	moderate	70
	Fimbriaphyllia divisa	Wall Frogspawn	Med	Med	moderate	3
	Fimbriaphyllia paraancora	Branching Hammer	High	Med	moderate	379
Fungia	Fungia	Plate Coral	High	High	moderate	406
	Fungia repanda	Disk Coral	Low-Med	Low	easy	—
Galaxea	Galaxea fascicularis	Galaxy Coral	High	Med-Hi	moderate	142
Goniastrea	Goniastrea edwardsi	Maze Brain	Med	Med	moderate	84
Goniopora	Goniopora	Flowerpot	High	Low-Med	moderate	1392
	Goniopora djiboutiensis	Flowerpot Coral	Med	Med	expert	—
	Goniopora stokesi	Flowerpot Coral	Med	Med	expert	—
Heliofungia	Heliofungia actiniformis	Long Tentacle Plate	Med	Med	moderate	15
Homophyllia	Homophyllia	Homophyllia	Low-Med	Low-Med	moderate	—
	Homophyllia australis	Scoly	Low-Med	Med	moderate	214
	Homophyllia bowerbanki	Bowerbanki	High	Med	moderate	144
Hydnophora	Hydnophora	Horn Coral	Med	Med	moderate	134
Indophyllia	Indophyllia	Indophyllia	Low-Med	Low-Med	moderate	77
Leptoseris	Leptoseris	Wrinkle Coral	High	Low-Med	moderate	413
Lithophyllon	Lithophyllon	Plate Coral	Low-Med	Low-Med	moderate	137
Lobophyllia	Lobophyllia	Lobo Brain	Low	Low	moderate	413
	Lobophyllia corymbosa	Lobo Brain	Med	Low-Med	moderate	—
	Lobophyllia hemprichii	Lobo Brain	Med-Hi	Med	moderate	—
	Lobophyllia radians	Dent Brain	Low	Low	moderate	47
Micromussa	Micromussa	Acan Lord	Low-Med	Low-Med	easy	64
	Micromussa amakusensis	Acan	Low-Med	Low-Med	easy	9
	Micromussa lordhowensis	Acan Lord	Low-Med	Low-Med	easy	1550
Mycedium	Mycedium elephantotus	Peacock-Eye	Med	Low-Med	moderate	41
Oxypora	Oxypora	Chalice	Low-Med	Low-Med	moderate	1
	Oxypora lacera	Chalice Coral	Low-Med	Low-Med	moderate	—
Pectinia	Pectinia	Pectinia	Med	Low	moderate	181
Physogyra	Physogyra lichtensteini	Pearl Bubble	Med	Low-Med	moderate	—
Platygyra	Platygyra daedalea	Maze Brain	Med-Hi	Med	moderate	—
	Platygyra lamellina	Worm Brain	Low-Med	Low-Med	moderate	55
Plerogyra	Plerogyra sinuosa	Bubble Coral	Med	Low-Med	moderate	40
Scolymia	Scolymia	Scoly	High	Low-Med	moderate	417
Symphyllia	Symphyllia radians	Dent Brain	Med-Hi	Med	moderate	—
Trachyphyllia	Trachyphyllia	Open Brain	Low-Med	Med	moderate	302
	Trachyphyllia geoffroyi	Open Brain	Med	Med	moderate	4
Turbinaria	Turbinaria	Scroll Coral	Med	Med	easy	77
Wellsophyllia	Wellsophyllia radiata	Folded Brain	Low-Med	Low	moderate	—

Soft Coral

35 species

Soft corals lack a hard calcium carbonate skeleton. They are typically the hardiest corals, tolerating a wider range of conditions. Many are excellent for beginners.

Genus	Species	Common Name	Light	Flow	Care	Cards
Anthelia	Anthelia glauca	Waving Hand	High	Med	easy	22
Briareum	Briareum asbestinum	Corky Sea Finger	Med-Hi	Med-Hi	easy	—
Capnella	Capnella imbricata	Kenya Tree	Med-Hi	Med	easy	56
Cespitularia	Cespitularia	Blue Xenia	High	Med	moderate	14
Cladiella	Cladiella	Colt Coral	Med	Med	easy	1
Clavularia	Clavularia viridis	Clove Polyps	High	High	easy	144
Discosoma	Discosoma nummiforme	Smooth Mushroom	High	Low	easy	1870
	Discosoma sanctithomae	Warty Mushroom	Low	Low	easy	—
Gorgonia	Gorgonia ventalina	Purple Sea Fan	High	High	moderate	73
Lobophytum	Lobophytum pauciflorum	Devil's Hand	Med-Hi	High	easy	17
Pachyclavularia	Pachyclavularia violacea	GSP	Med-Hi	Med	easy	190
Palythoa	Palythoa	Button Polyp	Med	Med	easy	—
	Palythoa mutuki	Paly	Med	Med	easy	—
	Palythoa toxica	Paly	Low	Med	easy	313
Protopalythoa	Protopalythoa	Button Polyp	Med	Med	easy	—
Pterogorgia	Pterogorgia anceps	Angular Sea Whip	Med-Hi	High	moderate	3
	Pterogorgia citrina	Yellow Sea Whip	Med-Hi	High	moderate	—
Rhodactis	Rhodactis inchoata	Bullseye Mushroom	Low-Med	Low	easy	10
	Rhodactis indosinensis	Hairy Mushroom	Low	Low	easy	207
	Rhodactis indosinesis	Hairy Mushroom	Low-Med	Low	easy	—
	Rhodactis osculifera	Warty Mushroom	Low-Med	Low	easy	—
Ricordea	Ricordea florida	Florida Ricordea	Low	Low	easy	251
	Ricordea yuma	Yuma Ricordea	Low	Low-Med	moderate	128
Sarcophyton	Sarcophyton ehrenbergi	Toadstool Leather	Med-Hi	Med-Hi	easy	—
	Sarcophyton glaucum	Toadstool Leather	High	High	easy	580
Sinularia	Sinularia brassica	Cabbage Leather	Med-Hi	Med	easy	—
	Sinularia dura	Cabbage Leather	Med	Med	easy	—
	Sinularia flexibilis	Flexible Leather	Med-Hi	Med-Hi	easy	3
Sympodium	Sympodium	Blue Sympodium	Med	Med	easy	57
Xenia	Xenia elongata	Pulsing Xenia	High	Med	easy	44
	Xenia umbellata	Pulsing Xenia	Med	Med	easy	—
Zoanthus	Zoanthus	Zoa	Low	High	easy	4273
	Zoanthus pulchellus	Zoa	Low-Med	Med	easy	—
	Zoanthus sociatus	Sea Mat	Low-Med	Med	easy	—
	Zoanthus vietnamensis	Zoa	Med	Med	easy	—

Anemone

9 species

Anemones are cnidarians closely related to corals. They host clownfish and require stable, mature reef tanks. Most need moderate to high light and gentle flow.

Genus	Species	Common Name	Light	Flow	Care	Cards
Entacmaea	Entacmaea quadricolor	Bubble Tip Anemone	Low	Med-Hi	moderate	369
Heteractis	Heteractis crispa	Sebae Anemone	High	Med	expert	—
	Heteractis magnifica	Magnificent Anemone	High	High	expert	—
Macrodactyla	Macrodactyla doreensis	Long Tentacle Anemone	Med-Hi	Med	moderate	—
Phymanthus	Phymanthus crucifer	Rock Flower Anemone	Med-Hi	High	easy	53
Radianthus	Radianthus crispa	Sebae Anemone	High	Med	expert	42
	Radianthus doreensis	Long Tentacle Anemone	Med-Hi	Med	moderate	108
	Radianthus magnifica	Magnificent Anemone	High	High	expert	68
Stichodactyla	Stichodactyla haddoni	Haddon's Carpet	High	Low-Med	expert	127

Care Data Sources

LiveAquaria (181) AllCorals Reference (129) Top Shelf Aquatics (127) Tidal Gardens (72) Tidal Gardens (Articles) (45) World Wide Corals (12) Strictly Fish (6)

Care parameters are aggregated from multiple authoritative sources. Priority: Tidal Gardens > LiveAquaria > WWC > Top Shelf Aquatics.

LPS vs SPS vs Soft Coral

SPS

LPS

Soft Coral

Anemone

Care Data Sources

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