Porcelain Coral

About

Porcelain coral (Leptoseris yabei) is a plating coral from the Indo-Pacific that builds some of the largest sheet-like colonies you'll come across on a reef, often stretching well beyond a metre in diameter in the wild. The growth form is one of its most recognizable traits. Colonies develop in overlapping whorls or tiers, sometimes pulling into a loose vase shape, giving them a layered, almost architectural look. Up close, the corallites sit tucked into small rectangular pockets formed between radiating ridges, with the septo-costae poking out in an alternating pattern along those ridges. Coloration is on the quieter side, running from pale brown to yellowish, occasionally with white along the margins. In its natural habitat it tends to settle on flat substrates across a wide depth range, which tells you a lot about its preferences. This is a coral adapted to lower light and calmer conditions rather than the bright, turbulent zones near the surface. That same adaptability carries over into the aquarium, where it is generally considered a good fit for less experienced reef keepers. Give it a low-flow position in your tank and keep the lighting modest, and it tends to do well without a lot of fuss.