Anemone Coral

About

Anemone Coral (Goniopora stokesi) is one of the more unusual members of the Goniopora genus, distinguished by a lifestyle that sets it apart from most reef-building corals. Rather than anchoring firmly to rockwork, this species is typically found resting unattached on sandy or muddy soft substrates in the wild, and it can slowly shift position over time. Colonies are generally hemispherical, occasionally developing short, thick columns, with calice walls that have a distinctly ragged, irregular look. One of its stranger quirks is that small satellite colonies can develop embedded directly within the living tissue of a parent colony. The polyps themselves come in mixed sizes, with the larger ones being noticeably elongate, and the whole colony tends to carry a pale brown or green coloration with green-tipped tentacles. In the aquarium, this means you should give it a sandy bottom area where it can sit naturally rather than forcing it onto rock. Like most Goniopora, it falls into intermediate territory care-wise, requiring good lighting and moderate water movement. Goniopora as a group have a mixed reputation for long-term survival in captivity, so this one is better suited to a keeper who already has some reef experience under their belt.