Class Anthozoa, Order Scleractinia, Family Oculinidae, Genus Galaxea
Common names: galaxea Natural origin: Indo-Pacific Sensitivity (Level 2 to 3): Though not beginner corals, they're generally tolerant in healthy, established aquariums. Feeding: These corals should be fed a variety of smaller particle food. Lighting (Level 3 to 5): They can adapt to a range of lighting conditions and seem to do well under less intense light. As always, care should be taken to acclimate the coral to any change in lighting conditions. Water flow: They do best with surging water flow. If surging flow is not available, place in an area of the tank with stronger, more turbulent flow. Placement: These corals can get quite aggressive with their exceptionally long stinging sweeper tentacles. Even small colonies need a lot of room. General: Galaxea have thin, fragile polyp skeletons (corallites). Please handle with care. If not being kept in a tank with strong, surging water flow, be sure to keep clear of sediment with daily "blasting" with a turkey baster or power head. When healthy and kept well, these corals can grow quite fast and are easy to fragment and propagate. photo by Mike LaPorte
for information on general coral husbandry, sources and references, please see
www.A S I R A.org
Galaxea
Class Anthozoa, Order Scleractinia, Family Oculinidae, Genus Galaxea
Leather Corals
Class Anthozoa, Order Alcyonacea, Family Alcyoniidae, Genera Sinularia, Sacrophyton, Lobophytum, Alcyonium, Cladiella, etc.
Common names: leather coral, colt coral, toadstool/mushroom coral, tree coral, etc. Natural origin: Indo-Pacific Sensitivity (Level 1): These corals are usually exceptionally tolerant and forgiving. They're also easy to fragment and propagate. Beware of dyed corals (pink leather corals have almost certainly been dyed). Feeding: These corals have extensive feeder tentacles. They feed on very small particle food. Some are pickier eaters than others, so variety is helpful. Lighting (Level 3 to 8): Though adaptable, most prefer more intense lighting conditions. If kept under less light, be sure to feed well. Water flow: To avoid sediment damage, moderate to strong water flow is preferred. Placement: It's important to note that some species are highly toxic to stony corals (especially larger polyp stony corals in the genera Lobophyllia, Symphyllia and Trachyphyllia). Since specific species identification of leather corals can be quite difficult (sometimes even to identify a genus), these corals should be added with reservation to any tank with stony corals. Also consider that many leather corals are relatively fast growing and can get quite large. However, this isn't usually so much of a concern since they can be literally cut down when they get too big. General: Leathers are great corals for beginner aquarists or anyone looking to keep more low maintenance corals. Note that when stressed or introduced into a new tank, they may close up and not open up again for several days or even weeks. This might also happen right before the coral sheds. Stronger water flow will decrease the "shut down" time before shedding. This periodic shedding of the outer layer of cells is a normal occurrence and is thought to help keep algae and/or other corals from growing over them. It's important to keep the toxicity issue in mind. Someone hoping to keep larger polyped stony corals at a later time should think carefully about adding leathers to their tanks, especially those in the genus Sacrophyton which are known to be particularly toxic. photo by Jennifer Mendonca
Class Anthozoa, Order Alcyonacea, Family Alcyoniidae, Genera Sinularia, Sacrophyton, Lobophytum, Alcyonium, Cladiella, etc.
Lobophyllia/Symphyllia
Class Anthozoa, Order Scleractinia, Family Mussidea, Genera Lobophyllia and Symphyllia
Common names: open brain coral, lobed brain coral Natural origin: Indo-Pacific Sensitivity (Level 1 to 2): Sensitivity depends somewhat on species, but most are quite tolerant and forgiving when healthy and well fed. Feeding: These corals have strong prey capture ability. They typically have considerably larger polyp mouths and can take larger food than can the Blastomussa/Micromussa/Acanthastrea species of the same family. They should be fed at night since this is often the only time they will extend their feeder tentacles. Lighting (Level 5 to 8): They can adapt to a range of lighting conditions but tend to prefer more intense light. As always, to prevent bleaching, be careful to properly acclimate the coral to new lighting conditions. Water flow: Moderate water flow is preferred. Placement: These corals are not aggressive. Even so, they can expand quite a bit and so need plenty of room. Please place them safely away from aggressive corals. General: Feeding tentacles are usually relatively small and only come out at night. Care should be taken to make sure the coral gets enough food. Slow tissue recession could be a sign of starvation. Regular night-time target feeding can help.
middle photo by Robert Pacheco bottom photo by Leonard Ho
Class Anthozoa, Order Scleractinia, Family Mussidea, Genera Lobophyllia and Symphyllia
Montipora
Class Anthozoa, Subclass Hexacorallia, Order Scleractinia, Family Acroporidae, Genus Montipora
Common names: velvet coral Natural origin: Indo-Pacific Sensitivity (Level 2): Though not exactly beginner corals, they're usually considerably more tolerant than their Acropora cousins. Feeding: These corals have nearly invisible polyps and rather poor prey capture ability. They fed on food of very small particle size. In a well fed tank with a variety of food, additional feeding is usually not necessary. Lighting (Level 6 to 10): Most Montipora species can adapt to a considerably wide range of light intensities but tend to prefer and grow faster under stronger lighting. Like all photosynthetic corals, changing lighting conditions can sometimes result in color changes in the coral. Note that when one of these corals changes color, that doesn't necessarily mean the coral is unhealthy. The coral may simply be adapting to your lighting conditions. This is true even of aesthetically unfavorable color changes. As always, failure to acclimate to new lighting can cause bleaching. Water flow: Plating species can be especially susceptible to sediment damage. Both branching and plating types need strong water flow. Placement: These are very peaceful corals. Keep safely away from aggressive corals and be careful of fast-growing encrusting corals that will compete for space. General: Different Montipora species can be encrusting, plating or branching. All three growth forms can grow very fast when kept well. Steady calcium levels of approximately 420 ppm are best for coral health and growth. top two photos by Mike LaPorte bottom photo by Gene Schwartz
for information on general coral husbandry, sources and references, please see
www.A S I R A.org
Montipora
Class Anthozoa, Subclass Hexacorallia, Order Scleractinia, Family Acroporidae, Genus Montipora
Pavona (Cactus Coral)
Class Anthozoa, Subclass Hexacorallia, Order Scleractinia, Family Agariciidae
Common names: cactus coral, lettuce coral, potato chip coral Natural Origin: Indo-Pacific Sensitivity (Level 2): Though scarce in the aquarium trade, these corals can be relatively forgiving and tolerant in healthy aquariums. Feeding: These are very small polyped corals. They feed on very fine particle foods (no need for targeted feeding). Lighting (Level 6 to 10): These corals can adapt to a range of lighting intensities over time but generally prefer more intense lighting. As for all corals, changing lighting conditions can sometimes result in color changes in the coral. Note that when one of these corals changes color, that doesn't necessarily mean the coral is unhealthy. The coral may simply be adapting to your lighting conditions. This is true even of aesthetically unfavorable color changes. As always, take care to acclimate to new lighting conditions. Water flow: Moderate to strong water flow is important for feeding and to prevent sediment damage. Placement: These are peaceful corals. Place safely away from aggressive corals. Be mindful of fast growing encrusting corals that will compete for space. General: These corals have thin, fragile skeletons and interesting growth patterns that often look like clusters of petals. Contrary to normal wild behavior, in captivity, many species extend their polyps during the day. Though not especially fast growing, their resistance to disease upon breaking makes them good corals for captive propagation by fragmentation. photo by Mike LaPorte
