Hedgehog Coral

About

Hedgehog Coral (Echinopora hirsutissima) earns its common name honestly. Run your eyes across a colony and the densely spined, roughened surface really does call a hedgehog to mind. The skeleton is covered in thick, finely worked spinules over a coarse coenosteum, and the corallites themselves are chunky, thick-walled structures ranging from about 4 to 7 millimeters across with prominently beaded ridges. It's a visually textured coral in a way that sets it apart from smoother encrusting species. Colonies grow in either an encrusting or submassive form, spreading low and solid across the rockwork. Colors tend toward earthy tones. Mustard yellows, olive greens, and warm browns are common, though purple specimens turn up too, often with lighter-colored septo-costae that give the surface a subtle two-tone look. In the wild, this species comes from shallow reef environments across the Indo-West Pacific, found anywhere from just below the surface down to around 38 meters. In the aquarium, it is considered an intermediate-level coral. Not the most demanding SPS you could choose, but it does benefit from a keeper who understands stable reef conditions and can provide consistent moderate light and flow. A solid choice once you have a few reef tanks under your belt.