Water parameters: Nitrate 5-20 mg/l, Phosphate 0,05-0,15 mg/l
Feeding: Not required
Care level: Easy/Moderated
The term Òplate coralsÓ refers to a collection of several different corals from the family Fungiidae. In the hobby the most commonly seen varieties are Fungia, Heliofungia, Diaseris, Cycloseris, and Lithophyllon. In all there are around 13 different genera that make up the family Fungiidae.
These corals are flat solitary corals. They sometimes with a single mouth while others have multiple mouths. Most of them take on a circular shape however some varieties take on more irregular shapes such as tongue corals that have an elongated form.
On this site, these corals are lumped together in a single category because they can be difficult to tell apart. In some cases, the differences between coral types are more pronounced for example, Lithophyllon for a long time was considered a chalice coral so clearly someone thought it looked different enough to be sorted into a completely separate category of LPS.
On the other hand, some genera are close in appearance and extremely challenging to differentiate. For example, I canÕt easily tell the difference between Cycloseris, Fungia, and Danafungia based on the pictures seen online. Also, tongue corals are made up of a few different genera such as Ctenactis and Herpolitha which look practically the same. Confusing the situation a little more is the fact that taxonomy is fluid and coral classification changes as new discoveries are made. Corals get bounced from category to category and it takes years for the reef aquarium industry to adopt the latest nomenclature.
Location
Plate corals are found throughout the Pacific. The ones most commonly seen in the reef aquarium hobby are sourced from Australia and Indonesia.
Lighting
When it comes to lighting plate corals are not too demanding. They do well in a wide range of intensities, even fairly low light around 50 PAR. Even in brightly illuminated aquariums, the light they would receive is muted because corals towards the bottom of the tank donÕt get as much light as the corals towards the top of the tank due to the inverse square law. As you move a coral further away from a light source, the intensity is divided by the square of the distance, so if you moving a coral twice as far away from a light source, cuts down the light to one quarter.
The light intensity a plate coral receives is further cut down by any cloudiness or opacity in the water or shadings from rock overhangs coral colonies above it.
Water Flow
As for water flow, plate corals will do fine in medium to low flow. I try to keep them out of high flow areas for two reasons. First, many varieties of plate corals are fleshy and too much flow can damage them. If you see the water flow exerting a lot of pressure on one side of a plate coral to the point where you can start to see the flesh drawn in tonight to the skeleton that is too much flow. One thing to note is the flow at the bottom of the tank where the glass meets the substrate can be an area of stronger flow as the water hits the glass and whips around to the bottom. Just be aware of that in case one of these corals creeps over to the sides of the tank.
Feeding
Plate corals are photosynthetic so they get nutrients from the products of photosynthesis carried out by symbiotic zooxanthellae living in their flesh. In addition to photosynthesis, these corals are adept feeders that can grab and consume a wide range of foods such as coral-specific sinking pellets and frozen food such as brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, and krill.
Despite their appetite there are two things to watch out for if you are looking to feed these corals. The first concern is overfeeding. I have seen some of these corals react poorly if they are fed large quantities every day. I think they need a little bit of time to expel waste from the previous day so here we do not feed them more than 3 times per week. I donÕt know if other aquarists have experienced the same sort of thing but for us we like to play it safe.
The second concern with feeding is that certain fish and inverts such as shrimps and crabs can treat these corals like vending machines when they learn they are constantly full of food. I love cleaner shrimp and peppermint shrimp for the utility they provide but as they get larger and more boisterous they can really mess with corals that are fed heavily.
In your tank, you will need to pay attention to this dynamic. I love feeding corals and I definitely think that they benefit from it, but it canÕt come at the cost of severe damage from tank-mates. Another option when it comes to feeding that may be effective without the risk of damage from tank-mates is amino acids. I am hearing more and more aquarists that make a concoction of amino acids and fine plankton powders to spot feed corals. That might be a great way to supplement the plate coralÕs nutrition with minimal risk of damage.
Name: Fungia
Temperature: 24-26C
Flow: low-mid
PAR: 50-150
Water parameters: Nitrate 5-20 mg/l, Phosphate 0,05-0,15 mg/l
Feeding: Not required
Care level: Easy/Moderated
The term Òplate coralsÓ refers to a collection of several different corals from the family Fungiidae. In the hobby the most commonly seen varieties are Fungia, Heliofungia, Diaseris, Cycloseris, and Lithophyllon. In all there are around 13 different genera that make up the family Fungiidae.
These corals are flat solitary corals. They sometimes with a single mouth while others have multiple mouths. Most of them take on a circular shape however some varieties take on more irregular shapes such as tongue corals that have an elongated form.
On this site, these corals are lumped together in a single category because they can be difficult to tell apart. In some cases, the differences between coral types are more pronounced for example, Lithophyllon for a long time was considered a chalice coral so clearly someone thought it looked different enough to be sorted into a completely separate category of LPS.
On the other hand, some genera are close in appearance and extremely challenging to differentiate. For example, I canÕt easily tell the difference between Cycloseris, Fungia, and Danafungia based on the pictures seen online. Also, tongue corals are made up of a few different genera such as Ctenactis and Herpolitha which look practically the same. Confusing the situation a little more is the fact that taxonomy is fluid and coral classification changes as new discoveries are made. Corals get bounced from category to category and it takes years for the reef aquarium industry to adopt the latest nomenclature.
Location
Plate corals are found throughout the Pacific. The ones most commonly seen in the reef aquarium hobby are sourced from Australia and Indonesia.
Lighting
When it comes to lighting plate corals are not too demanding. They do well in a wide range of intensities, even fairly low light around 50 PAR. Even in brightly illuminated aquariums, the light they would receive is muted because corals towards the bottom of the tank donÕt get as much light as the corals towards the top of the tank due to the inverse square law. As you move a coral further away from a light source, the intensity is divided by the square of the distance, so if you moving a coral twice as far away from a light source, cuts down the light to one quarter.
The light intensity a plate coral receives is further cut down by any cloudiness or opacity in the water or shadings from rock overhangs coral colonies above it.
Water Flow
As for water flow, plate corals will do fine in medium to low flow. I try to keep them out of high flow areas for two reasons. First, many varieties of plate corals are fleshy and too much flow can damage them. If you see the water flow exerting a lot of pressure on one side of a plate coral to the point where you can start to see the flesh drawn in tonight to the skeleton that is too much flow. One thing to note is the flow at the bottom of the tank where the glass meets the substrate can be an area of stronger flow as the water hits the glass and whips around to the bottom. Just be aware of that in case one of these corals creeps over to the sides of the tank.
Feeding
Plate corals are photosynthetic so they get nutrients from the products of photosynthesis carried out by symbiotic zooxanthellae living in their flesh. In addition to photosynthesis, these corals are adept feeders that can grab and consume a wide range of foods such as coral-specific sinking pellets and frozen food such as brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, and krill.
Despite their appetite there are two things to watch out for if you are looking to feed these corals. The first concern is overfeeding. I have seen some of these corals react poorly if they are fed large quantities every day. I think they need a little bit of time to expel waste from the previous day so here we do not feed them more than 3 times per week. I donÕt know if other aquarists have experienced the same sort of thing but for us we like to play it safe.
The second concern with feeding is that certain fish and inverts such as shrimps and crabs can treat these corals like vending machines when they learn they are constantly full of food. I love cleaner shrimp and peppermint shrimp for the utility they provide but as they get larger and more boisterous they can really mess with corals that are fed heavily.
In your tank, you will need to pay attention to this dynamic. I love feeding corals and I definitely think that they benefit from it, but it canÕt come at the cost of severe damage from tank-mates. Another option when it comes to feeding that may be effective without the risk of damage from tank-mates is amino acids. I am hearing more and more aquarists that make a concoction of amino acids and fine plankton powders to spot feed corals. That might be a great way to supplement the plate coralÕs nutrition with minimal risk of damage.
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