Plate Coral

Care at a glance

Overview

Despite their calm look, plate corals are aggressive neighbors that release toxic slime and can sting corals nearby, so keep 3 to 4 inches of clearance and place them away from torches, chalices and Galaxea. They should sit on open sand where they will not tumble or be crowded. Feed meaty foods one to three times a week at night to boost growth and color.

In the wild

Fungia plate corals are solitary, free-living discs that rest unattached on the sandy or rubble bottom of Indo-Pacific reefs. In the aquarium they belong on the sandbed, not on rock, where their fleshy tissue and underside cannot be scraped. They do best under moderate light around 80 to 150 PAR with gentle to moderate indirect flow, since they cannot anchor and will tumble in strong current. Keep temperature 24 to 27 C and pH 8.1 to 8.4.

Good to know

Fungia is a genus of solitary large polyp stony corals in the family Fungiidae, most of which live as a single free disc rather than a colony. They are photosynthetic but feed well at night when tentacles extend. They can slowly move across the sand by inflating and shifting their tissue, and even right themselves if flipped.

Did you know

A plate coral can slowly walk across the sandbed by inflating and deflating its tissue, and if it gets flipped upside down it can right itself over a day or two.

Related species

• 

  Long-Tentacle Plate Coral

  Heliofungia actiniformis

  9.8 in (25 cm)11 gal (40 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Slipper Coral

  Polyphyllia talpina

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

• 

  Mobile Plate Coral

  Cycloseris

  3.1 in (8 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Brain Coral (Favia)

  Favia

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

• 

  Lemnalia Tree Coral

  Lemnalia

  7.9 in (20 cm)11 gal (40 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Finger Leather

  Sinularia

  9.8 in (25 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)