Leather coral

Care at a glance

The leather coral grows into a substantial mushroom with a thick stalk and a broad, folded cap covered in short polyps. It is one of the few corals that give a reef real volume while asking almost nothing of you: moderate light, moderate flow and otherwise being left alone.

Every few weeks it pulls its polyps in for days and develops a waxy film. That is not a disease but a normal shedding cycle; let it come loose and siphon it away. What you should know: leather corals release compounds that bother stony corals. So run a good skimmer, use activated carbon and keep enough distance to your SPS.

Related species

• Mushroom coralDiscosoma sp.
• Pulsing xeniaXenia sp.
• Pom-pom xeniaHeteroxenia fuscescens
• Blue sympodiumSympodium sp.
• Blue xenia (cespitularia)Cespitularia sp.
• Encrusting gorgonianErythropodium caribaeorum