Anemone Coral

About

Anemone Coral (Goniopora albiconus) is one of the more distinctive members of a genus already known for its long, flowing polyp displays. Though this species takes a different approach. Rather than producing the tall, waving columns typical of many Goniopora, G. albiconus grows as a thin, irregular encrusting sheet with shallow corallites that vary noticeably in size across the same colony. The polyps themselves are short and evenly distributed, but what really draws the eye are the oral cones. Unusually large and bright white against the colony, making them conspicuous even from a distance. The tentacles surrounding those cones are comparatively short and slender. One behavior worth knowing before you place this coral: it retracts quickly when disturbed, so it does best somewhere it won't be constantly bumped by flow, livestock, or your own hands during tank maintenance. In the wild it occupies shallow reef zones across a range stretching from Oman through Indonesia, including documented populations along the northern Sulawesi coast. In the aquarium it needs solid light and moderate water movement to thrive. Goniopora as a genus has a mixed reputation for long-term survival in captivity, and this species is best suited to keepers who already have some reef experience under their belt.