Branching Frogspawn Coral

Care at a glance

Overview

Provide moderate light around 100 to 150 PAR and low to moderate indirect flow, placed in the lower to middle part of the tank. It extends sweeper tentacles at night, so keep around 6 inches of open space from corals other than hammers, torches and other frogspawn. Heads frag easily where the branches divide, which is why aquacultured colonies are so widely available.

In the wild

Branching frogspawn grows on protected reef slopes and in lagoons across the western Pacific, forming clusters of heads that each sit on a separate branch. The tentacles stay extended day and night and end in rounded, split tips that look like a mass of frog eggs. Wild colonies favor calm water with moderate light rather than exposed reef crests.

Good to know

Fimbriaphyllia paradivisa is a large polyp stony coral in the family Euphylliidae, described by Veron in 1990 and formerly called Euphyllia paradivisa. It is the branching counterpart to the wall frogspawn, with each polyp on its own corallite instead of sharing a continuous skeleton. Zooxanthellae supply most of its energy, and healthy colonies can get by on light alone.

Did you know

Nearly all the frogspawn sold in the hobby is the branching species, while the wall growing Fimbriaphyllia divisa is the one hobbyists rarely see.

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Branching Hammer Coral

  Fimbriaphyllia paraancora

  Saltwater

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

• 

  Frogspawn Coral

  Fimbriaphyllia divisa

  Saltwater

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

• 

  Hammer Coral

  Fimbriaphyllia ancora

  Saltwater

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

• 

  Octospawn Coral

  Fimbriaphyllia yaeyamaensis

  Saltwater

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

• 

  Torch Coral

  Euphyllia glabrescens

  Saltwater

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

• 

  Elegance Coral

  Catalaphyllia jardinei

  Saltwater

  11.8 in (30 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)