Rapunzel coscinaraea
Coscinaraea sp.
Also known as Coscinaraea
SaltwaterCoral
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
- 20 gal
- 75 L
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Social behavior
- Solitary
- Swim level
- Bottom
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Breeding
- Medium
- Rarity
- Very rare
- Reef safe
- Reef safe
- Family
- Coscinaraeidae
- Origin
- Western Pacific reefs, aquacultured in Palau
Overview
The Rapunzel coscinaraea is a peaceful, encrusting stony coral for a reef tank. Its care sits at the comfortable middle of large polyp stony keeping.
Did you know
The Rapunzel coscinaraea trails its tentacles in open daylight, while most stony corals wait for darkness to feed. That habit is what the Rapunzel name points to.
Caring for the Rapunzel coscinaraea
Keep the Rapunzel coscinaraea under moderate to high light, in moderate, indirect flow. Place it on low to mid rockwork with open space around it, since its long tentacles reach further than the encrusted base suggests.
Hold the water at 75 to 81°F (24 to 27°C) with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. A tank of at least 20 gal (75 L) suits it.
It is a hardy, willing feeder. Offer fine plankton foods while its tentacles are out during the day, which supports steady growth. It is peaceful and reef safe.
Good to know
The genus Coscinaraea is accepted in its own small family, Coscinaraeidae. Molecular work has scattered several of its best-known former species into Psammocora and Cycloseris. Trade colonies are therefore honestly labeled only as Coscinaraea sp. Its corallites sit in a maze-like arrangement, with ridged, granular septa that give the surface its texture. The Rapunzel line is an aquacultured Biota Palau release with unusually long, flowing tentacles, blue green under actinic-heavy light. Supply is currently limited to occasional releases.
In the wild
Wild Coscinaraea encrusts reef rock across the Indo-Pacific. Its colonies have a distinctive ridged, gently meandering surface, bumpy and nodular in the shallows and more plating in deeper water. It handles bright, turbid inshore conditions that many stony corals avoid.
Common questions
What size tank does a Rapunzel coscinaraea need?
A Rapunzel coscinaraea needs at least 20 gal (75 L).
What temperature and pH does a Rapunzel coscinaraea need?
A Rapunzel coscinaraea is comfortable at 75–81°F (24–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.
What does a Rapunzel coscinaraea eat?
A Rapunzel coscinaraea is a willing feeder that takes fine plankton foods. Offer them while its tentacles are out during the day.
How big does a Rapunzel coscinaraea get?
An adult Rapunzel coscinaraea reaches about 11.8 in (30 cm).
Related species
11.8 in (30 cm)26 gal (100 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)Briar coral
Anacropora sp.
11.8 in (30 cm) · 26 gal (100 L)
11.8 in (30 cm)11 gal (40 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)Broccoli tree coral
Litophyton
11.8 in (30 cm) · 11 gal (40 L)
11.8 in (30 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)Colt coral
Cladiella
11.8 in (30 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)
11.8 in (30 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)Elegance coral
Catalaphyllia jardinei
11.8 in (30 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)
11.8 in (30 cm)26 gal (100 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)Encrusting montipora
Montipora confusa
11.8 in (30 cm) · 26 gal (100 L)
11.8 in (30 cm)40 gal (150 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)Pagoda cup coral
Turbinaria peltata
11.8 in (30 cm) · 40 gal (150 L)