Top 25 SPS Corals

[C-21 USAF]

I've been reefing for about 3 years and have a very nice 150 gallon sps dominated tank, but over this time I've realized there are good looking SPS, great looking SPS, and then there are INSANE, EYE-POPPING :eek2: SPS!

For my next build and for everone else's information, let' compile a list of the top 25 SPS corals.

Is this subjective? Absolutely, so don't hesitate to submit your vote. I'm talking about the upper echelon of SPS...Blue Matrix, Purple Monster and so forth. Maybe we'll need more than 25?:worried:

Please reply with your vote :beer:

[crsaz]

naybe not the most insane colors but I would consider them must have.
red planet, pearlberry, GARF bonsai,pink lemonad, strawberry shortcake,ATL shades of fall, uww rainbowsunburst monti.

[C-21 USAF]

There's no wrong answer here....after some replies you'll start to see some common denominators

[reefWW96]

Red planet, sunset millepora, 20k lokani, rommels rainbow, 500 efflo

[ingtar_shinowa]

it should be illegal to post without pics ;-)

[fanandy8]

REd panet, pink lemonade, and strawberry shortcake are my top three. Have all but the strawberry shortcake now. Hopefully getting/ finding a frag of it soon.

[shifty51008]

30k lokani, icefire enchinata, strawberry shortcake, ora-pearlberry

[bassking16]

Pearlberry, Red Planet, Purple Monster, Palmers Blue Millie, Ice Fire Ec, Oregon Tort, Miyagi Tort, Crayola Plana, Pink Jade, Shades of Fall, Carls Candlelight, Simplex, Strawberry Shortcake, Pink Lemonade, and Lime in the Sky.

I'm sure there is more on my wish list, but these are off the top of my head.

[Dustin1300]

Ice Fire Enchinata, Pink Lemonade, and Red Planet.

[bogg]

Horrida, Blue loisetta, Formosa, aspera, robusta, red Hyacinthus, blue tortuosa, yellow yongei, blue echinata, secale, nasuta, cerealis, tri color valida, tenuis, nana, abrholhosensis, abrotanoides, to name a few.

[bs21]

it should be illegal to post without pics ;-)

agreed!

[icycoral]

Strawberry shortcake, purple monster, garf bonsai, $500 efflo, ice fire echinata, pink lemonade, 30k lokani, montipora setosa, palmers blue milli, lime in the sky, crayola plana, red planet, miyagi tort...

[GhostCon1]

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y175/ghostcon1/Aquarium/The%20Cube/100_1420.jpg
Red planet

and Pearlberry
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y175/ghostcon1/Aquarium/The%20Cube/100_1414.jpg

Figured I had some pics of them so I would post them :)

[Grant W]

a lot of the afore mentioned and add purple turaki, miagi tort,ice tort and purple efflo

[562socal]

Rainbow stylopora

[potpushr]

OOHh Rainbow stylophora sounds ridic.. Im gon have to locate that one.

[Dustin1300]

Pictures should not be mandated;)

[werdlone]

no particular order here...just randomly jotting them down
1)ice fire
2)purple monster
3)red dragon
4)pink lemonaid
5)blue tort..oregon,cali, myagi, bennetts..all good
6)upscales microclados
7)shades of fall nasuta
8)garf purple bonsai
9)red robin stag
10)30k lokani
11)setosa
12)pearlberry
13)german blue polyp
14)red planet
15)ora bellina
16)lime in the sky stag
17)tyree over the rainbow milli
18)palmers blue milli
19)yellow tenius
20)hawkins blue echinata
21)Efflo--$500 or ATL
22)pink jade
23)raspberry limeaid nasuta
24)pink prostrata/milli
25)karl's kandleight

you need more than 25..Plenty more and I didn't even get into the monti's except sotosa. There are also some very common one's that have great colors like green slimer, chips, etc. let's keep the list going!

[Dustin1300]

I only have 4 of those top 25...Looks like I need to go shopping?

[dmorel]

Agree with all on RP and PB.
mark728's Blue Tip efflo is one that makes me feel bad about not owning a piece of.
Purple rim cap, sure its common but it's a beautiful piece and I consider it a staple.
You know, pretty much everything from this thread (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1105764) or this one (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1704200).

[fcmatt]

I only have 4 of those top 25...Looks like I need to go shopping?

Go shopping? I do not think so. Keeping up with the Jones may not be the best
way to enjoy the hobby.

I have a feeling some of these top 25, in two years ,will be yesterday's news
due to everyone having them and new hot ones will replace it.

I like to think that anything that is not brown and looks good could be on any
top 25. Yellow, red, blue, or whatever are all desirable to me. I am also not a
big fan of lots of blue in my lighting so I have to wonder what a lot of these
corals would look like in my tank anyway. A lot of pics I see even the sand and
rock are not the correct colors so who knows what they may look like in person
in my tank.

With that said I am seeking out some of these listed in this thread but I refuse
to pay 40-80 dollars for a frag. Try 10-20 dollars max. I like finding deals. For example
ORA corals that have browned out and are on sale or when a nice coral is doing bad
at a LFS (tissue recession at the base) I will ask for a discount when they chop it up.

I also agree with another poster. Green slimer is really nice looking and what about a nice
birdsnest coral. Both are common but look really nice. Probably not top 25 material due to
being common.

[Dustin1300]

I'm with you on the savings and was kidding on getting them all;) I'm still looking for an Ice Fire and pink lemonade in my area. How to find at a frag swap where I can trade off some of my frags for. If I'm trading off two frags for one of them it does not hurt me as much considering I'm getting what I want for my diligent work of fragging/growing my coral out!

[tozzi]

I agree , todays top 25 will be replaced rapidly with new stuff .


Im familiar with all but
What is red dragon?

I think anything thats growin good and isnt brown looks nice. Ill agree some of sps looks nicer than others sure. AS far as monti's i think they have to be on a totally seperate list. Lot of cool ones out there

[fcmatt]

I agree , todays top 25 will be replaced rapidly with new stuff .


Im familiar with all but
What is red dragon?

I think anything thats growin good and isnt brown looks nice. Ill agree some of sps looks nicer than others sure. AS far as monti's i think they have to be on a totally seperate list. Lot of cool ones out there

here is a pic i dug up from an old thread. i have seen other pics but this one
strikes me as something that could be called "red" dragon.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p148/werdlone/reddragon.jpg

[tozzi]

Oh nice, where can i get a frag?

[reefWW96]

Im pretty sure a website that has been brought up on here sells like 1/2 inch frag for like $250. Have fun with that :)

[tozzi]

HAHAHA u can have fun wit that im not, LOL. Ill wait a yr and get one for 40, or 2 years when its commom and get one for 20

[klepto]

A few favorites of mine:
Rouge Mille
Oregon Tort
Raspberry Lemonade
German Blue Polyp
Acropora rosaria
A. granulosa
A. sarmentosa - there is a particular one (pink and yellow hues) from Fiji that I'm thinking of-
A. hoeksemai
A. echinata
A. insignus
A. desalwii
A. efflorescens
A. suharsonoi

[Dustin1300]

Im pretty sure a website that has been brought up on here sells like 1/2 inch frag for like $250. Have fun with that :)

I remember seeing this thread. I'll wait and save 200 too;)

[tnyr5]

my top 25 based on on my own preferences in color intensity and structure/uniqueness
1.aussie blue echinata
2.Live aquaria pink panther acro
3.Orenji monti
4.Setosa
5.**********'s chili pepper monti
6.yellow caroliniana
7.pearlberry
8.lokani
9.original superman
10. sunset monti
11. good ol' green slimer
12. superman milli
13. lime in the sky
14. purple stylopora
15. cali tort/oregon tort
16. copps purple bonsai
17. hawkins
18. any old school hot pink poccilopora
19. the sky blue stags you see in the european tanks ;-)
20. hoeksemai
21. purple monster ( for it's shape)
22. palmers blue milli
23. plum crazy ( lives up to it's name when at it's best)
24. sanjay's red stag
25. ken feldmans rainbow nasuta

[gatorchem]

here is a pic i dug up from an old thread. i have seen other pics but this one
strikes me as something that could be called "red" dragon.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p148/werdlone/reddragon.jpg


The funny thing is locally we can get a coral that looks exactly like this one for $25-$30, but it is not called "red dragon". I guess the name makes it 10x more...

[reefsponge]

Some of these are timeless and will be top 25 for years to come. I have yet to see an echinata as nice as the true icefire. The purple monster has been around since the 90's ,still on many want lists. A few I really like.

Purple Monster
Icefire echinata
Monti setosa(so underated, so unique in color and growth.)
GC's ultimate efflo
ff snowcone prostrata
clints red stag
Oregon tort
garf bonsai
Red Dragon
lokani
granulosa
rambleri
pink lemonade

[sweet ride]

Generally speaking most of the corals that have been mentioned are blue, purple, pink, red, green, orange. And they are all good. But what about yellow, been looking for one, and am not talking about neon greenish but more of bright yellow (more like a yellow tang)…..

[dvanacker]

Generally speaking most of the corals that have been mentioned are blue, purple, pink, red, green, orange. And they are all good. But what about yellow, been looking for one, and am not talking about neon greenish but more of bright yellow…..

It was mentioned by tnyr5 two posts up. Yellow a.coraliniana

Here is mine....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/dvanacker/200g/SEPT2010/P9212191.jpg

As far as my other picks...they have all been mentioned.

[fcmatt]

Generally speaking most of the corals that have been mentioned are blue, purple, pink, red, green, orange. And they are all good. But what about yellow, been looking for one, and am not talking about neon greenish but more of bright yellow…..


i will try to get a pic of my yellow acropora with my point and shoot in my
small tank. unsure of the species.

[klepto]

I forgot a crucial addition to the list... Dustin's Deepwater Acro. Here is a slightly older shot of Myzislow's colony.
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w245/jokeweston/dustins_deepwater_ORA_8.jpg

[tnyr5]

wow daryll that caroliniana is just stunning!
my best yellow http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v697/tnyr5/bananaberry2.png

[flamron]

Have list:
$500 Efflo
Purple Monster
Pink Lemonade
ATL Raspberry Lemonade
ORA German Blue Polyp
Pearlberry
Red Planet
Sunset Mille
Tyree Soli
Rommels Rainbow
Setosa
Tyree Sky Blue Mille
Garf Bonsai
Cali Tort
Sunset Monti
Hawkins

Want list:
Strawberry shortcake
Icefire
Oregon Tort

[PurpleMonster]

agreen my top 25 woudl be top 150 if i really thought about lol. I mean over the past years i have wanted so many corals! but from my collection:

1. Purple Monster
2. Oregon tort
a lot of the ORA! lol

I would like to get my hands on pink lemonade, and few others though just with the names being given to these i always end up paying way too much haha.

[reefWW96]

HAHAHA u can have fun wit that im not, LOL. Ill wait a yr and get one for 40, or 2 years when its commom and get one for 20
haha exactly. Or my lfs will probably end up getting a frag for like 10 bucks haha. byebye high prices...:uzi:

[tozzi]

Yup!

I like the justins deepwater, Forget what site i seen it for sale on?

[mcdonaldjosh7]

Alright, my favorite is going to have to be the pearlberry :) Eye popping? Yes.

[myzislow]

Yup!

I like the justins deepwater, Forget what site i seen it for sale on?

*Dustins deepwater. I haven't seen anyone have it for sale recently. I don't think ORA offers it anymore and the coral proved to be pretty sensitive in most systems so it seems not to many people have it.

I really need to get an updated shot as the colony is quite impressive now.

[ryanrid]

shades of fall
purple bonsai
strawberry shortcake
sunet monti
sunset milli
true tricolour
rainbow monti

got some others i love but dont know the names.

[Cantonesefish]

it should be illegal to post without pics ;-)

+1

[deangelr]

Tubs Echinata
Corbins tort
Tyree rogue mille
Tyree rainbow acro
ora blue tenuis
ice age gran from RMF

These are some of my favorites in my tank

[donkeys4hire]

no particular order here...just randomly jotting them down
1)ice fire
2)purple monster
3)red dragon
4)pink lemonaid
5)blue tort..oregon,cali, myagi, bennetts..all good
6)upscales microclados
7)shades of fall nasuta
8)garf purple bonsai
9)red robin stag
10)30k lokani
11)setosa
12)pearlberry
13)german blue polyp
14)red planet
15)ora bellina
16)lime in the sky stag
17)tyree over the rainbow milli
18)palmers blue milli
19)yellow tenius
20)hawkins blue echinata
21)Efflo--$500 or ATL
22)pink jade
23)raspberry limeaid nasuta
24)pink prostrata/milli
25)karl's kandleight

you need more than 25..Plenty more and I didn't even get into the monti's except sotosa. There are also some very common one's that have great colors like green slimer, chips, etc. let's keep the list going!

How is this list even legitimate without "space invader pectinia"?

[TheReefKeeper]

How is this list even legitimate without "space invader pectinia"?


Because that's not an SPS

[donkeys4hire]

I just like it oh well.

[dvanacker]

Amazing to see how well these names have stuck around.

Space invaders is awesome but yeah not an sps

[trueblackpercula]

Have list:
$500 Efflo
Purple Monster
Pink Lemonade
ATL Raspberry Lemonade
ORA German Blue Polyp
Pearlberry
Red Planet
Sunset Mille
Tyree Soli
Rommels Rainbow
Setosa
Tyree Sky Blue Mille
Garf Bonsai
Cali Tort
Sunset Monti
Hawkins

Want list:
Strawberry shortcake
Icefire
Oregon Tort

I have all three of your want list and I will say that are all amazing to own. Good luck when you get them as I love all three the same.

[Poletti1230]

red dragon for sure!

[Six2seven]

My two favorite are the mrs. Pacman and orange passion.