Yellow Scroll Coral

Turbinaria reniformis

Also known as Yellow Scroll, Scroll Coral, Yellow Lettuce Coral, Turbinaria Scroll, Yellow Cup Coral

SaltwaterCoral

Yellow Scroll Coral (Turbinaria reniformis) — Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0

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: 40 gal (150 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Common
Reef safe: Reef safe
Origin: Found on shallow Indo-Pacific reefs and flats, from the Red Sea and Indian Ocean to the western Pacific.
Family: Dendrophylliidae

Overview

House it in a 150 liter or larger reef with bright light to hold the yellow color and moderate to strong flow to keep the plates clean. Keep temperature 24 to 27 C, pH 8.1 to 8.4, and steady calcium and alkalinity for plating growth. It feeds mostly through photosynthesis but takes fine plankton. Give the scrolls room to expand since they can overgrow lower neighbors.

In the wild

A plating stony coral that folds and curls into scroll-like sheets, often bright yellow to yellow-green with a green or brown rim. The tiny polyps sit low against the surface rather than standing out. It grows into overlapping ruffled plates that give the scroll or lettuce look. The strong yellow color comes through best in shallow, well-lit specimens.

Good to know

Turbinaria reniformis is a small polyp species in the family Dendrophylliidae. The yellow pigment is unusual among stony corals and is one of the few naturally bright yellows available to reef keepers. Like the rest of its genus it hosts zooxanthellae and grows a thin plating skeleton.