TankBud

Hedgehog coral

Echinopora lamellosa

Also known as Hedgehog Plate Coral, Lamellosa Coral, Echinopora, Tiered Plate Coral

SaltwaterCoral

Hedgehog coral (Echinopora lamellosa)
NPS - Larry Basch · Public domain

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–81°F
24–27°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
11.8 in
30 cm
Minimum tank
26 gal
100 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Solitary
Swim level
Bottom
Diet
Photosynthetic
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
Hard
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Merulinidae
Origin
Grows on sheltered reef slopes and lagoon floors throughout the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to the central Pacific.

Overview

The hedgehog coral is a plate-forming stony coral for a reef tank. It is hardy enough for intermediate keepers.

Did you know

As the hedgehog coral matures, its flat plates often curl upward at the margins and layer over one another. They build into whorls and tiers like a rosette, and a single frag can slowly become a stack of shelves.

Caring for the hedgehog coral

Give the hedgehog coral moderate to bright light and moderate flow to keep detritus off its plates. It needs a reef of at least 26 gal (100 L).

Keep the water at 75 to 81°F (24 to 27°C) and a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Hold the other standard reef parameters too, with alkalinity at 8 to 11 dKH and salinity near 1.025. It gets most of its food from light, though it also takes fine plankton.

It is mostly peaceful, but give the plates room to expand, since they can overgrow neighbors. It may also put out short sweeper tentacles at the edges.

Good to know

Echinopora lamellosa is a stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It is one of the more plate-forming members of a genus that also includes encrusting and branching species. It often encrusts first, before it starts to shelf outward into thin, overlapping plates. Evenly spaced raised corallites give its surface a bumpy, spiny look under the lights. Common colors are green, brown and purple, often with a contrasting rim.

In the wild

The hedgehog coral grows on sheltered reef slopes and lagoon floors throughout the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to the central Pacific. It often lives in murky lagoons, where its raised corallites and thin laminar skeleton help it shed sediment. Large wild colonies can build broad plating terraces across the reef floor.

Common questions

What size tank does a hedgehog coral need?

A hedgehog coral needs at least 26 gal (100 L).

What temperature and pH does a hedgehog coral need?

A hedgehog coral is comfortable at 75–81°F (24–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does a hedgehog coral eat?

A hedgehog coral gets most of its food from light. It also takes fine plankton.

How big does a hedgehog coral get?

An adult hedgehog coral reaches about 11.8 in (30 cm).

Related species