Hedgehog Coral

About

Hedgehog Coral (Echinopora forskaliana) is a stony coral from the shallow reefs of the Western Indian Ocean, where it grows as a rounded, massive colony rather than spreading into the flat plates you see in some related species. Get close and the skeletal detail is genuinely impressive. The corallites are tall and cone-shaped, reaching around 10mm across, and the septa that radiate outward are evenly beaded in a way that looks almost deliberate. A neat ring of paliform lobes surrounds each corallite mouth, and the central columella has a distinctly spiraled, spine-like structure. In terms of color, expect pink as the baseline, occasionally shading toward brown depending on zooxanthellae density and light conditions. In a reef tank, this coral fits best with keepers who have some experience dialing in stable water quality. Not a beginner trap, but not a species that demands expert-level precision either. Moderate light and moderate flow suit it well, and its growth form means it won't sprawl aggressively into neighbors the way a plating coral can. Give it some open space on the rockwork and it will develop into a solid, textured centerpiece over time.