Alveopora Coral

Care at a glance

Overview

Moderate light around 50–100 PAR suits it well, and it tolerates more current than Goniopora, doing best in medium to fairly brisk flow that keeps its short tentacles swaying. Place it low to mid in the tank, out of any direct jet. It is generally considered hardier and more forgiving than Goniopora, though it still benefits from occasional feedings of powdered plankton or small mysis and brine shrimp a few times a week rather than needing daily target feeding. It has no sweeper tentacles and will not sting or bother its neighbors.

In the wild

Alveopora grows on protected reef flats and lagoon slopes through the Indo-Pacific, often nestled among rubble where gentle to moderate current keeps it clean. Each polyp carries a ring of thick, short tentacles that stay extended most of the day, giving a colony the same fuzzy, flower-like look as its close look-alike Goniopora. In the aquarium it does best low to mid, on the sandbed or lower rockwork, where it can react to passing current without being battered.

Good to know

Despite the strong resemblance to Goniopora, Alveopora was moved out of the family Poritidae and into Acroporidae once molecular studies showed it is genetically closer to Acropora and Montipora than to its old flowerpot neighbor. The easiest way to tell the two apart by eye is tentacle count: Alveopora carries 12 short, blunt tentacles per polyp, while Goniopora carries 24 longer, wispier ones. It hosts zooxanthellae for the bulk of its energy but also captures fine food particles from the water column.

Did you know

Alveopora and Goniopora look close enough to fool most reefers at a glance, but genetically they are not even in the same coral family, with Alveopora's closest relatives turning out to be the SPS staples Acropora and Montipora.

Related species

• 

  Montipora Digitata (Finger Coral)

  Montipora digitata

  7.9 in (20 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Montipora Plating (Cap Coral)

  Montipora capricornis

  7.9 in (20 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Smooth Skin Acropora

  Acropora tenuis

  9.8 in (25 cm)40 gal (150 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)
• Encrusting Montipora

  Montipora confusa

  11.8 in (30 cm)26 gal (100 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Staghorn Acropora

  Acropora

  9.8 in (25 cm)40 gal (150 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Table Acropora

  Acropora hyacinthus

  17.7 in (45 cm)53 gal (200 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)