Description
Name: Trachyphyllia
Temperature: 24-26C
Flow: low-mid
PAR: 50-150
Water parameters: Nitrate 5-10 mg/l, Phosphate 0,05-0,08 mg/l
Feeding: They are adept feeders that can grab and consume a wide variety of foods ranging from coral-formulated sinking pellets to frozen food such as brine shrimp, mysis, and krill.
Care level: Easy
Lighting
Open Brains are photosynthetic corals, meaning they get nutrients from the products of photosynthesis carried out by symbiotic dinoflagellates called zooxanthellae living in their flesh. Zooxanthellae utilize chlorophyll to absorb light and produce simple sugars that the coral can consume for energy.
While some corals are more light loving than others, Trachyphyllia tend to be less demanding. In fact, they probably fare better in less intense lighting conditions. We primarily keep Trachyphyllia in low to medium light intensity here at Tidal Gardens which is around 50 to 100 PAR. If your tank is higher in light, it will take some time for this coral to adjust to its new surroundings. When in doubt, try lower lighting intensities until it is clear that the coral is stable before ramping it up.
Water Flow
Trachyphyllia appreciate low to medium flow. There are two things that I am looking to accomplish with flow for this coral. The first is to give it enough flow to keep it clean. Detritus build-up can cause the coral to die back where it collects. Providing elevated flow around the coral can prevent this accumulation. Even moderate flow can serve to keep the coral clean as the coral does a good job of slugging off debris that settle on it.
You will know if you are overdoing it if the flow is slamming one side of the coral and it is drawn tight to the skeleton all the time. If this sort of flow isn’t adjusted it can cause the coral to die as the tissue will rub against the skeleton causing damage.
Providing periodic low flow or even zero flow is beneficial for this coral for the purposes of feeding.
Feeding
In addition to photosynthesis, these corals are adept feeders that can grab and consume a wide variety of foods ranging from coral-formulated sinking pellets to frozen food such as brine shrimp, mysis, and krill.
Trachyphyllia are up there with Scolymia for putting on dramatic feeding displays. By day they are a fluffy pillow of smooth multicolored tissue. But as soon as they detect the faintest hint of food in the water their feeding response is activated turning them into an explosion of hungry tentacles. I have noticed that the more regularly the Trachy is fed, the easier it is to feed it in the future. A well-fed Trachy’s tentacles are out more and the coral as a whole is more responsive to food in the water.
It is tempting to dump lots of food on them but it is possible to overfeed. Most of the nutrition Trachyphyllia needs will come from the lighting and they will be absorbing other nutrients from the water. The risk of overfeeding is that it can pollute the water that can be hard to remedy. Aim to feed multiple times a week to allow the coral to expel the waste produced.
Target feeding LPS can always be tricky with an aquarium full of hungry fish as they will often steal it directly from the coral once you have fed it. The bigger concern with feeding is that certain fish and inverts such as shrimps and crabs can cause major damage to a coral when they go after the food. I’ve literally lost entire heads of corals the day after a big feeding and it is pretty clear one of my cleanup crew tore the polyp apart. Fish stealing food out of the coral’s grasp is one thing but if you have tank mates that rip a coral apart to get at the food, something more drastic has to be done.
There are a few different ways to try and combat this. Firstly – distraction! When it is time to feed your corals try adding a fresh strip of Nori to the other end of the tank. If you keep the fish occupied the coral should have time to digest its meal. If that isn’t successful another option is to create a DIY feeding barrier. A good way to do this is to save an old candy or pretzel container and use it to go over the top of the coral at feeding time (don’t forget to weigh it down though!). You could even go as far as drilling a hole in the top and installing a feeding tube that you can squirt the food directly into. There are a few options and plenty of DIY ideas online to solve this problem. If you want to get even fancier I am sure there are plans on the internet for 3D printed coral cages that would allow for feeding corals.
