TankBud

Organ pipe coral

Tubipora musica

Also known as Pipe Organ Coral, Tubipora

SaltwaterCoral

Organ pipe coral (Tubipora musica)
Frédéric Ducarme · CC BY-SA 4.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–81°F
24–27°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
9.8 in
25 cm
Minimum tank
11 gal
40 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Solitary
Swim level
Bottom
Diet
Photosynthetic
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
Medium
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Tubiporidae
Origin
Indo-Pacific region

Overview

The organ pipe coral is a sessile, reef-building octocoral that is peaceful toward its neighbors. It is best kept by someone with a little experience.

Did you know

The organ pipe coral's bright red skeleton was prized long before the reef aquarium hobby existed. It shows up carved into old jewelry and curio pieces. Its color comes from carotenoid pigments in its food rather than from any mineral, the same trick that turns a flamingo pink.

Caring for the organ pipe coral

Give organ pipe coral moderate light, roughly 50 to 150 PAR, in a tank of at least 11 gal (40 L). It needs enough flow to reach down into the skeleton and keep detritus from settling among the tubes. Blasting the polyps directly will keep them closed, so place it where flow moves around and through the colony rather than hitting it head-on.

Keep the water at 75 to 81°F (24 to 27°C) with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Treat its calcium and alkalinity needs the way you would for a small polyp stony coral.

Organ pipe coral is photosynthetic, but it responds well to supplemental feedings of small foods. Rotifers or powdered coral food can improve its growth and polyp extension.

It grows slowly, extending its tubes upward and outward. It has no sweeper tentacles or notable chemical aggression toward neighbors, so it needs only modest spacing.

Frag it more like a stony coral, with a saw or cutters through the skeleton rather than a simple tissue cut. Cure the base securely with extra glue to keep debris and pests out of the exposed tubes.

Good to know

Tubipora musica is the main aquarium species in the family Tubiporidae. It is classified as an octocoral, alongside the soft corals, but its skeleton is more like a stony coral's. That skeleton is rigid calcium carbonate, built of parallel tubes cross-linked by horizontal plates. Its living tissue and polyps are usually gray, brown or green, a contrast to the red skeleton underneath.

In the wild

Organ pipe coral grows across shallow Indo-Pacific reef flats down to about 25 meters. There its polyps sit atop narrow red tubes.

Common questions

What size tank does an organ pipe coral need?

An organ pipe coral needs at least 11 gal (40 L).

What temperature and pH does an organ pipe coral need?

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

What does an organ pipe coral eat?

An organ pipe coral is photosynthetic, but it responds well to supplemental feedings. Small foods such as rotifers or powdered coral food can improve its growth and polyp extension.

How big does an organ pipe coral get?

An adult organ pipe coral reaches about 9.8 in (25 cm).

Related species