Leather Coral

About

Found across Indian Ocean reef systems from the waters off South Africa to the Seychelles, Lobophytum patulum is a leather coral in the family Alcyoniidae. Like other lobophytums, it grows as a lobed, fleshy colony with a leathery texture and a surface covered in short polyps that extend when conditions are favorable and retract when the animal is stressed or shedding. Leather corals in this genus periodically coat themselves in a waxy film that they then slough off. A normal process that can look alarming to newer keepers but is simply the coral clearing surface debris and fouling organisms. The colony tends to stay relatively flat and spreading rather than building tall structure, which makes it a good candidate for open areas of rockwork where flow can move across the entire surface. It is reef safe and generally tolerant of the kind of minor fluctuations in water quality that challenge more demanding corals, which is part of why lobophytums are often recommended as entry points into soft coral keeping. Moderate light and moderate water movement suit it well, and it does not require supplemental feeding to the degree that some other corals do. A sensible first soft coral for a developing reef tank.