Net Coral

About

Net Coral (Alveopora tizardi) is one of the more demanding members of the Alveopora genus, native to the shallow reefs of the Indo-West Pacific where it grows in submassive colonies across a depth range from just a couple of meters down to around 27 meters. In the wild it occupies well-lit, water-movement-rich reef zones, and recreating those conditions in captivity is exactly where many keepers run into trouble. The polyps are relatively short compared to some of its Alveopora relatives, and each tentacle tip ends in a distinctive knobby point rather than a tapered tip, which gives the extended colony a textured, almost grid-like appearance that earns the common name. Coloration ranges from pale pinkish-brown through to a brighter pink, sometimes with grey oral discs and crisp white tentacle tips that make the polyps pop when fully extended. In the aquarium, this species is firmly in the advanced category. It needs intense lighting and vigorous flow, and it tends to be less forgiving of lapses in water quality than some of the hardier LPS corals beginners typically start with. It is reef safe and poses no real threat to neighbors, but success with it really does depend on a mature, stable system run by a keeper who knows their parameters well.