Anemone Coral

About

Anemone Coral (Goniopora djiboutiensis) is one of several Goniopora species that earn their common name honestly. When the polyps are extended, the colony looks less like a coral and more like a cluster of tiny anemones swaying in the current. Colonies grow in submassive forms or as short, thick columns, and the skeletal structure is distinctive: prominent dome-shaped columellae divided into six sections, each with a deltaic arrangement of septa. The large oral cones are hard to miss and typically appear white or blue, though they can photograph with a pinkish tone. Base coloration runs from pale to dark brown or green. In the wild across the Indo-West Pacific, this species is found from very shallow water down to around 18 meters, and it can form expansive single-species stands in turbid, low-visibility conditions. A tolerance that sets it apart from many other small-polyp stony corals. In the aquarium, Goniopora has a reputation for being finicky over the long term, and this species is best suited to keepers who already have some reef experience. It appreciates moderate flow and high lighting, and giving it room to extend its polyps fully will show it at its best.