Montipora

Care at a glance

Montipora is most people's first stony coral: it grows faster than acropora, is considerably less critical and comes in wildly different forms — flat plates, branching digits and encrusting sheets, in green, purple, red and orange.

As an SPS it wants stability above all: alkalinity, calcium and magnesium on target, little fluctuation, and plenty of light with strong, varying flow. Browning out usually means too many nutrients or too little light; bleaching white means light that is too harsh or a change made too fast. Watch for montipora-eating nudibranchs: they strip a colony from underneath without ever being seen.

Good to know

• Needs a mature, stable tank

Related species

• AcroporaAcropora sp.
• Torch coralEuphyllia glabrescens
• Frogspawn coralEuphyllia divisa
• Hammer coralEuphyllia ancora
• Candy cane coralCaulastraea furcata
• Duncan coralDuncanopsammia axifuga