Crust Coral

About

Crust coral (Leptastrea bottae) is a low-profile, encrusting to massive coral found across a broad sweep of the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea down to Mozambique and east all the way to Tahiti. In the wild it occupies shallow reef environments, tolerating depths from the surface down to around 40 meters, which hints at a reasonably adaptable nature. The skeleton has a distinct look: individual corallites are cylindrical and separated from one another by a narrow groove rather than fusing together, and the septa are arranged in three cycles with the longest ones visibly protruding above the corallite rim. On well-developed specimens, a textured groove-and-tubercle pattern gives the surface a pleasingly sculptural quality. Coloration is subtle rather than flashy. Typically white or cream overall with darker calices that give the colony a two-toned, almost graphic appearance. In the aquarium, Leptastrea bottae is considered an intermediate-level coral. It appreciates solid light levels and moderate flow, and because it grows as a low encrusting sheet, it works well on rockwork where other corals might not fit. It is reef safe and poses no particular threat to neighbors, though as with any encrusting coral you should give it room to spread without overgrowing more delicate species.