Coral Identification Chart & Care Guide

How to Identify Coral

This coral glossary is a practical reference for comparing reef aquarium corals before you buy, place, or troubleshoot them. Each profile brings together the details that matter at the aquarium: common and scientific names, general care level, lighting, water flow, placement, feeding, and temperament. Use the search field when you already know a name, or browse the profile index when you are identifying a coral from its growth form, polyp shape, or trade name.

Identification is the first step, not the final care decision. Corals sold under similar common names can have different growth patterns and tolerances, while color alone can change under different lighting and nutrient conditions. Compare several visible traits, then open the individual profile for the complete care summary. If you are beginning with the broad groups, our guide to soft coral, LPS, and SPS coral types explains how those categories differ.

Aquarium Coral Types

Soft corals

Soft corals do not build the same rigid stony skeleton associated with LPS and SPS corals. Many are adaptable and bring movement to a reef, but fast-growing varieties still need deliberate placement so they do not overtake neighboring rockwork. Review each profile for its preferred light and flow rather than assuming every soft coral has identical needs.

Large-polyp stony corals

LPS corals combine a calcium-carbonate skeleton with large, fleshy polyps. Their tissue can be damaged by excessive direct flow, and many species need room for sweeper tentacles or other competitive behavior. The glossary helps compare familiar groups such as Euphyllia, brain corals, Acans, Favia, Goniopora, and chalice corals without treating them as one care category.

Small-polyp stony corals

SPS corals generally reward stable chemistry, appropriate light, and strong variable flow. Acropora, Montipora, Birdsnest, and related groups can differ substantially in placement and tolerance. Use the profiles to narrow the identification, then make changes gradually and watch the coral's response instead of chasing a single universal number.

Compare care requirements before placement

Start with the coral's current condition and the stable environment your aquarium can provide. Lighting recommendations are useful ranges, but acclimation matters whenever a coral moves between systems. Flow should keep the colony clean and deliver nutrients without pinning tissue against the skeleton. Placement also needs to account for growth, shading, and aggression from nearby colonies.

Care labels such as beginner, moderate, or advanced are a quick comparison tool. They do not replace testing or observation. Keep temperature and salinity consistent, follow alkalinity and nutrient trends, and leave enough time between adjustments to understand the result. If a coral retracts, pales, or develops tissue damage, review recent changes in light, flow, chemistry, pests, and neighboring corals before making another change.

Build a reef with compatible corals

A successful mixed reef is planned around zones. Lower-light or gentler-flow areas can suit one group, while exposed upper rockwork may support species that prefer more energy. Leave growth space around encrusting and plating corals, isolate aggressive or rapidly spreading colonies when appropriate, and remember that a small frag can become a large colony.

Coral Names and Pictures

Use photographs as an identification clue, but compare structure as well as color. Look at whether the colony branches, plates, encrusts, or forms separate fleshy heads; note the shape of the corallites and whether feeding or sweeper tentacles appear after dark. Trade names are useful labels for individual color forms, while the scientific grouping provides a more dependable starting point for care research.

Browse all profiles below to compare candidates, then use the individual guide as a starting point for acclimation and placement. For shopping rather than identification, visit our live coral collection. Keeping the informational glossary and the collection separate lets you research care first and choose livestock only after it fits the aquarium.