Undata Montipora

Montipora undata

Also known as Green Undata, Undata Monti

SaltwaterCoral

Undata Montipora (Montipora undata) — (c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Debra Baker · CC BY

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: Peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Common
Reef safe: Reef safe
Origin: Indo-Pacific
Family: Acroporidae

Overview

Grow it in a 100 liter or larger reef with brighter light than many Montipora want, roughly 200 to 300 PAR once acclimated, plus moderate to strong flow to keep the ridges clean. Hold calcium, alkalinity and magnesium steady in reef range with temperature 24 to 27 C. It has essentially no defenses, so mount it clear of aggressive neighbors and give the plates room to expand.

In the wild

A small polyp stony coral of upper Indo-Pacific reef slopes that encrusts over rock and throws up plates and ridges as it matures. The surface is sculpted into wavy ridges and whorls that set it apart from smoother encrusting Montipora, with fine polyps dusted across the texture. The popular aquarium form is green with pale cream growth margins.

Good to know

Montipora undata was described by Bernard in 1897 and belongs to the family Acroporidae, the same family as Acropora. The species name comes from the Latin for wavy, after the ridged surface of the skeleton. Like other Montipora it builds its skeleton with help from dense zooxanthellae and has tiny polyps compared with its large surface area.

Did you know

The green undata is one of the longest circulating named Montipora in the hobby, passed from frag to frag for decades while wild colonies stayed an uncommon sight in shops.