Tentacle Plate Coral
Commonly mistaken in the coral world as an anemone, Tentacle Plate Coral consists of rounded flat skeletal disk with long tentacles extending from the top. These tentacles are often brown or green in color, sometimes with brightly colored tips. Tentacle Plate Coral is a Large Polyp Stony (LPS) coral, and is often referred to as Heliofungia Plate, Mushroom, or Disk Coral.
Tentacle Plate Coral Feeding
Tentacle Plate Coral is completely photosynthetic and requires no direct feeding in the captive environment. However, aquarists have found that Plate Coral do react to the occasional feeding of shrimp or other meaty bits about twice per month for optimum health. The plate coral mouth can open wide to allow it to consume surprisingly large prey organisms if they are present in the water.
Tentacle Plate Coral Characteristics
Tentacle Plate Coral polyps are solitary, free-living (except for juveniles) and flat with a central mouth. Septa have large lobed teeth, and their polyps are amongst the largest of all corals. Tentacles are generally extended day and night and are often long, similar to those of anemones. Color of Tentacle Plate Coral is often pale or dark blue-green or gray tentacles with white or pink tips.
Tentacle Plate Coral Care
Tentacle Plate Coral is considered to be fairly delicate, and care must be taken when aquarists attempt to successfully keep it in a captive reef. Care has to be exercised when removing the coral from the water, to keep from tearing the delicate tissues on the sharp sepia. Tentacle plate coral prefer low to moderate water flow, with optimum being enough to lightly wave its tentacles.
Tentacle Plate Coral Aggressiveness
Tentacle Plate coral is actually categorized as a highly aggressive type of coral. This type of coral packs quite a powerful sting similar to an anemone, and this is aggravated by the fact that it has a habit of moving itself around the aquarium. The best way to force the plate coral to stay in one place is to use small rocks to prevent its wandering, as it can and will sting other creatures within the tank.
Tentacle Plate Coral Tank Placement
Tentacle plate coral should be place at the bottom of the tank in the sandy substrate. Penning with rocks is a good idea to prevent it from inflating its tissues and moving freely about the tank and stinging its fellow reef mates. Maintaining the correct calcium levels in the marine tank is very important for skeletal development.
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