Coral care sheets

[Marine Life Uk]

Acropora

Common names: staghorn coral, table coral, branching or plating Acropora Natural origin: Indo-Pacific, Caribbean
Sensitivity (Level 3 to 4): Acropora species are relatively intolerant of unstable and less than ideal conditions.
Sensitivity varies widely depending on the particular species and whether wild or aquacultured. To increase chances of success, do not attempt to keepAcropora sp. in tanks that are less than a year old. Significant fluctuations in temperature and/or water quality can be deadly.
Feeding: These corals have small polyps and poor prey capture ability. They consume foods of very small particle size. For example, oyster eggs, with a particle size of about 50µ, are a good food for these corals. In a well fed tank with a variety of food, additional feeding might not be necessary.
Lighting (Level 7 to 10): Though adaptable, Acropora spp. tend to grow faster and fair better under more intense lighting. The ideal lighting for any particular coral will depend on the species and/or the depth and clarity of the water where it was collected or cultured. As with any zooxanthellate coral, coloration can change in response to changing lighting conditions. And as always, sudden changes in lighting conditions can result in bleaching. Be sure to acclimate properly.
Water flow: Acropora spp. need strong, turbulent water for effective feeding, good health and to prevent sediment damage. Place these corals in the highest area of water flow in the tank.
Placement: Place safely away from aggressive corals and be careful of fast-growing encrusting corals that will compete for space.
General: Acropora spp. are often vulnerable to disease and predation by certain species of coral-eating flatworms, nudibranches, and tiny crustaceans called "red bugs." To prevent an infestation, carefully inspect and quarantine all new corals for 2 to 3 weeks before allowing them into the main tanks. Steady, healthy calcium (400 to 450 ppm) and alkalinity (3.0 to 4.5 meq/L) levels are important for coral health and growth.


Acanthastrea

Common names: moon coral, acan
Natural origin: Indo-Pacific
Sensitivity (Level 2): Care difficulty for these corals depends on species, but most are generally tolerant and forgiving when healthy.
Feeding: These corals have strong prey capture ability. In addition to feeding tentacles, these corals are also known to extend their stomachs, mesenterial filament bundles which dissolve and digest their neighbors. They should be fed at night since this is when they usually extend their feeder tentacles and/or mesenterial filaments. If after several weeks your coral is still not extending feeder tentacles, you can try to encourage a feeding response with night-time target feeding. When doing this, wait one hour after lights go off before feeding. Turn water flow off so that the food can fall and rest onto the coral. Give the coral an hour or two to "grab hold" of the food, then turn water flow back on. Do this regularly until feeder tentacles extend regularly in anticipation of feeding. Once your coral is readily extending feeding tentacles, it will be able to catch food from the current without any assistance.
Lighting (Level 3 to 6): These corals can adapt to a wide range of light intensities. Start by placing the coral lower down in the tank and move up if necessary. As with any coral, bleaching can occur if not properly acclimated to a sudden change in lighting.
Waterflow: Moderate water flow is recommended.
Placement: These are very aggressive corals. Their mesenterial filaments can and will dissolve the tissues of other corals within reach, so please give them plenty of space to avoid contact with other corals.
General: Like many corals, they can take some time to "settle in" to a new home. Wait a few weeks to see normal feeding behavior before worrying.
These corals are often confused for corals of the Faviidae family or for their Blastomussa and Micromussa cousins. Acanthastrea have exceptionally large, pointy septa (skeletal "teeth") that help distinguish them from other corals. However, you may never know exactly which kind coral you have without close examination of the coral skeleton.

Blastomussa and Micromussa

Common names: pineapple coral
Natural origin: Indo-Pacific
Sensitivity (Level 2): Care difficulty for these corals depends on species, but most are tolerant and forgiving when healthy.
Feeding: These corals have good prey capture ability and can feed on a variety of meaty aquarium foods. Smaller chunked meaty foods are preferred. These colonies can sometimes look like colonial anemones when their feeding tentacles are fully expanded.
Lighting (Level 3 to 6): Though they can adapt to a wide range of light intensities, these corals come from deeper waters and do best in less light, or indirect light. If they must be placed under intense lighting, they should be acclimated to this light as slowly as possible.
Water flow: Moderate water flow is recommended.
Placement: These are peaceful corals. Place safely away from aggressive tank mates. Most are not great competitors for space and will lose battles for space with more aggressive or faster growing corals.
General: There are only two species of Blastomussa, B. merleti and B. wellsi, which are easily distinguished from each other by the size of their polyps. The polyps of B. wellsi are much larger (~1-3") than those of B. merleti (<1"). Some species (such as Blastomussa merleti) have long, pipe-like polyp skeletons (corallites) that connect at the base of the colony. These types of skeletal structures allow for easy breaking off of single polyps or small polyp clusters. This makes fragmentation and propagation easy.

[Marine Life Uk]

Caulastrea

Common Names: candy cane coral, candy coral, trumpet coral, bullseye coral, cat's eye coral
Natural Origin: Indo-Pacific
Sensitivity (Level 1 to 2): Though sensitivity will depend somewhat on the individual coral, most are quite tolerant and forgiving.
Feeding: These corals have impressive prey capture ability. They should be fed a variety of meaty sea foods (chopped fish, squid, krill, brine shrimp, etc.) If the coral seems reluctant to fully display feeding tentacles, a few weeks of careful target feeding may help. While target feeding, turn off circulation so that the food can fall onto the coral. Give the coral an hour or two to "grab hold" of the food, then turn water flow back on. Doing this for a few days should result in the he coral regularly extending its feeding tentacles in anticipation of feeding.
Lighting (Level 5 to 7): Appropriate lighting depends on the species, but most prefer moderate lighting. Animals from deeper water may suffer under really intense light. If your coral begins to bleach, try moving it to a less intensely lit area of the tank.
Water flow: Moderate water flow is preferred.
Placement: Caulastrea are very aggressive corals. They can extend stinging sweeper tentacles up to several inches long. Please place with care.
General: When healthy and well fed, these corals can grow quite quickly. Colonies of several polyps are especially easy to fragment and propagate.
Slow tissue recession could be a sign of starvation. Regular target feeding might help if this is the case.

Clove Coral

Common names: clove polyp coral, clove coral, eight tentacle polyps
Natural origin: Indo-Pacific
Sensitivity (Level 1): These are usually very tolerant and forgiving corals.
Feeding: The coral's feathery polyp tentacles help it catch food suspended in water. They feed on foods of smaller particle size.
Lighting (Level 4 to 7): Lighting needs will depend on the depth and clarity of the water where the coral was collected (or aquacultured). However, most prefer moderate lighting.
Water flow: Moderate waterflow is important for good health.
Placement: These corals can be slightly aggressive, but the stinging power of their polyps is minimal. When healthy, they can grow quite quickly and should be provided space to grow and fully extend their polyps. An encrusting coral with tubular shaped polyps, clove corals can grow quite fast and compete with other corals for space (like xenia and star polyps they can become a "weed coral"). Polyps usually range in height from 1/2 to 2 inches when closed, and 1 to 4 inches when fully extended.
General: These are great beginner corals and very easy to fragment and propagate. However, there are some less aesthetically pleasing species which can grow quite rapidly and quickly become a nuisance.

[Marine Life Uk]

Corallimorphia (Ricordia and mushrooms)

Common names: Ricordia, mushrooms, button polyps, hairy mushrooms
Natural origin: Indo-Pacific, Caribbean
Sensitivity (Level 1 to 2): Sensitivity varies some from species to species, but usually tolerant and quite forgiving. When healthy, these corals can rapidly recover from damage and stress.
Feeding: Prey capture ability depends on species and size of the coral polyp mouth. If the tank is regularly fed a healthy variety of food, these corals should have no problem getting what they need.
Lighting (Level 2 to 8): Most can adapt to a wide range of light intensities but sudden changes in lighting can cause bleaching.
Water flow: These corals can thrive in lower flow areas of the tank.
Placement: Though they're not generally aggressive, they can be quite unyielding. A few species can grow quite large (reaching over a foot in diameter) while some species stay relatively small (less than 2 inches across). The larger species include many of the corals commonly referred to as "hairy mushrooms." All species divide as a method of asexual reproduction.
General: Note that these corals will sometimes detach from their rocks and float away. This could be a sign that they are unhealthy or over crowded. However, it could also mean that they are not happy with where they are in the tank and are simply trying to find a more favorable spot. You can try to glue the coral down, but this can be quite difficult if there are grains of sand attached to the foot. It's usually wiser or kinder to just let the coral find the spot it wants. Just make sure that as it ventures around it doesn't get stuck in an obviously bad place (such as in the grate of an overflow or powerhead, or at the base of an incompatible coral). These corals can be fragmented by cutting into sections.

Duncan Coral

Common names: duncans, whisker coral, daisy coral
Natural origin: Australia, Indo-Pacific
Sensitivity (Level 2 to 3): Duncans are similar to other large polyped stony corals in terms of tolerance and sensitivity to slightly less than ideal water conditions. However, aquarists report them to have more demanding feeding requirements than most other LPS.
Feeding: These corals do well with frequent target feeding. Smaller mysis shrimp, Cyclopeeze (micro crustaceans) and baby brine shrimp are some good food choices (also any meaty food similarly sized, or chopped to the appropriate size). Variety in foods given is also helpful.
Lighting (Level 3 to 5): These corals can adapt to a wide range of lighting. They don't need intense lighting. However, aquarists frequently report higher growth rates under more intense lighting.
Waterflow: Moderate to strong water flow is important.
Placement: Prefered placement is on rock, but placement on sand might be ok (so long as it can be placed such that the polyps can fully expand, uninhibited).
General: Success with Duncans seems to depend mostly on proper and frequent/adequate feeding. With good care, they can grow quite fast and are relatively easy to propogate.

[Marine Life Uk]

Euphyllia (Hammer, Torch, Frogspawn and Fox Corals)

Common names: hammer coral, branched hammer coral, torch coral, pom-pom coral, whisper coral, fox coral
Natural origin: Indo-Pacific
Sensitivity (Level 2): Though generally tolerant, they need to be fed and placed properly (see below).
Feeding: These corals have good prey capture ability and can feed on mysis shrimp, chopped krill, and other meaty marine foods.
Lighting (Level 5 to 7): Preferred lighting depends on species, but most prefer moderate (or intense but indirect) lighting.
Water flow: Place in an area of moderate water flow.
Placement: These corals can be quite aggressive, displaying long, powerful stinging sweeper tentacles. Please place them safety away from other corals. Do not keep with leather corals that may be toxic to larger polyped stony corals. Also avoid housing with hermit crabs.
General: If not otherwise explained, slow tissue recession may be a sign of starvation. Target feeding may help this situation. These corals seem to be more susceptible to brown jelly disease than most other corals. To help prevent disease, be careful not to damage the coral while handling and avoid housing with hermit crabs that can irritate the coral's soft tissue.

Though not frequent or terribly common, larger colonies of these corals have been known to spawn in aquariums. Sometimes spawning events can cause major changes in aquarium pH and/or otherwise threaten water quality.

Favia and Favites (and other moon corals)

Common names: moon coral, brain coral
Natural origin: Indo-Pacific
Sensitivity (Level 1 to 2): Sensitivity depends a bit on the species, but most are quite tolerant, forgiving and easy to care for.
Feeding: Most species have considerable prey capture ability. All have feeder tentacles. However, like many corals, they can take some time to "settle in" to a new home. They should be fed at night since this is when they will usually extend their feeder tentacles. If after several weeks your coral is still not extending feeder tentacles, you can try to encourage a feeding response with night-time target feeding. When doing this, wait one hour after lights go off before feeding. Turn water flow off so that the food can fall and rest onto the coral. Give the coral an hour or two to "grab hold" of the food, then turn water flow back on. Do this regularly until feeder tentacles extend regularly in anticipation of feeding. Once your coral is readily extending feeding tentacles, it will be able to catch food from the current without any assistance.
Lighting (Level 4 to 7): These corals can adapt to a range of light intensities. Like any coral, they can bleach if not properly acclimated to a sudden change in lighting.
Water flow: Moderate to strong water flow is best. Stronger water flow may help encourage feeding tentacle extension.
Placement: These corals seem to do best when placed on a hard surface or up on rocks (sand can cause irritation). Aggression varies considerably between species. Some have sweeper tentacles (stinging tentacles that can extend several inches), but some don't. Don't assume that your coral does not have sweeper tentacles just because you haven't seen them. They may only extend them at night or when you haven't been watching.
General: This is a huge group of corals including the Favid and Favites genera. They are often confused with Blastomussa, Micromussa, Acanthastrea and other similar appearing corals. If not otherwise explained, slow tissue recession may be a sign of starvation. Careful target feeding as described previously may help this situation.

[Marine Life Uk]

Fungiidae

Common names: disc coral, plate coral, tongue coral, fungia, mushroom coral
Natural origin: Indo-Pacific
Sensitivity (Level 1 to 3): Sensitivity depends on genus and species. Species from the genus Fungia are generally tolerant and tend to have excellent success rates among aquarists. Heliofungia species (often distinguished by their long tentacles) have a reputation for being much harder to care for and experience relatively poor success rates in aquaria.
Feeding: These corals have strong prey capture ability and can feed on meaty marine foods. The size of the food should easy fit the size of the coral's polyp mouth or mouths. When in doubt, feed smaller chunks. Slipper corals, Lithophyllon sp. and Polyphyllia sp. often appreciate chopped krill.
Lighting (Level 5 to 8): These corals can adapt to a range of lighting conditions, but most need at least moderate lighting for good health and growth. As always, proper acclimation to new lighting conditions is important.
Water flow: They do well in areas of moderate water flow.
Placement: These corals should be placed on a flat surface (sand beds are usually best, but gravel and bare bottoms will do). They can be a bit aggressive, so please give a little room.
General: These corals can be quite dynamic. They can move independently across flat surfaces (even up to several inches overnight) and can sometimes even flip themselves over after falling upside down. Tentacles usually come out at night, but in captivity they can come out during the day too (or instead). In healthy tanks, they can show remarkable recovery from injury or disease. They're also known for occasionally producing babies called "anthocauli" upon their death.

Galaxea

Common names: galaxea, star burst
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.

[Johnboyminster]

Sticky without a doubt...

[Marine Life Uk]

Goniopora and Alveopora

Common names: flowerpot coral, daisy coral, ball coral
Natural origin: Indo-Pacific
Sensitivity (Level 4): Until very recently, it was thought that Goniopora were impossible to keep alive in captivity. Thanks to recent research, new food products, and valiant efforts by some aquarists, these corals can now be kept in home aquariums with diligent and committed care. If you choose one of these corals, please be prepared to meet their demanding needs. Alveopora species tend to be slightly easier to care for.
Feeding: These corals have very specific and extremely demanding feeding requirements. I suggest you start hatching brine shrimp asap. Fresh, live, baby brine is a great food for them. Frozen baby brine shrimp also work well. Rotifers, oyster eggs, and other small, meaty foods are all good. But putting these in the tank is usually not enough. It is best to feed the corals under a "dome" of some sort or another (creature keepers work well). Having a DSB and/or refugium and feeding DT's phytoplankton is another good idea. This will increase invert populations. These critters, in term, produce larvae and such that can also feed the corals.
Lighting (Level 3 to 6): Lighting requirements are moderate. Careful acclimation to any new conditions is especially important for these unforgiving corals.
Water flow: Moderate to strong water flow is preferred.
Placement: These corals have long sweeping polyps that should be allowed to freely extend without hitting rocks or other corals that might damage them.
General: As stated, these corals are exceptionally demanding. It is highly recommended that any aquarist considering one do extensive research and reading on their care. If in doubt about having the time, patience and resources required to meet this corals needs, please choose a different coral. Be cautious of dyed corals. If the colony looks bright yellow or pink, it might be dyed.

Gorgonians

Common names: sea fans, sea rods
Natural origin: Indo-Pacific
Sensitivity (Level 3 to 5): Adaptability depends greatly on genera and species. Some (mostly the zooxanthellate species) can adapt to captive life with diligent, experienced care. Others (such the azooxanthellate species) will not survive even under the care of the most experienced aquarists.
Feeding: Azooxanthellate sea fans can be very difficult to feed. They need large amounts of small particle food. That said, success is thought possible when keeping them in healthy, exceptionally well fed tanks. The zooxanthellate species are easier to feed but still need variety of small particle food.
Lighting (Level 0, 3, or 7): Little or no light is needed for the azooxanthellate species. Dim lighting is needed for Subergorgia spp., Diodogorgia nudulifera, Swiftia exserta and Leptogorgia miniate from the Caribbean. More intense lighting is needed for zooxanthellate corals, Erythropodium spp. (encrusting gorgonians), Eunicea spp., Muricea spp., Pseudotergorgia spp., and Plexaura flexuosa.
Water flow: Strong water flow is needed for feeding and to keep the coral free of algal growth. Ideally, the flow should be perpendicular to the plane of the coral, reversing (alternating) and laminar (as opposed to turbulant, swirling flow).
Placement: Place these corals a safe distance from aggressive corals and fast growing soft corals that might overgrow them. Note that some gorgonians can grow quite large (up to a meter in height).
General: The azooxanthellate members of these corals are difficult to keep and certainly not recommended for beginners. Typically, the red or orange, and many yellow colored gorgonians (with white or clear polyps) are azooxanthellate and should be avoided. Some species (the zooxanthellate species) are not quite as difficult to keep. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to identify a species, much less know if that species is one that might do well in an aquarium or not.

[Marine Life Uk]

Heliopora

Common names: Blue Coral, Blue-Ridge Coral
Natural origin: Indo-Pacific
Sensitivity (Level 2): Usually a fairly tolerant, easy to care for species when fed properly.
Feeding: These corals have very small polyps and need to be fed fine particulate foods. Baby brine shrimp, oyster eggs, and other small particle foods are good. A heavily populated sand bed can also provide some good food for these corals.
Lighting (Level 6 to 10): Heliopora can adapt to a range of light intensities. Ideal lighting will depend on the depth and clarity of the water where the coral was initially collected (or cultured). Usually, more intense lighting is preferred.
Water flow: They will benefit from moderate to strong water flow.
Placement: They are peaceful corals and should be placed away from more aggressive tank mates.
General: Blue ridge corals are quite unique with their blue, hollow skeletons. Though not a particularly fast growing coral, higher calcium levels (at least 420 ppm) are important.

Leather Corals

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.

[Marine Life Uk]

Sticky without a doubt...

Its basic info but covers most corals as a good basic overview

[Marine Life Uk]

Lobophyllia/ 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 much larger polyp mouths and can take larger food than can the Blastomussa/Micromussa/Acanthastrea species of the same family. They appreciate mysid shrimp and similar sized meaty sea foods. 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.

Montipora

Common names: velvet coral, monti
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.