Maze Coral

About

Found on reef habitats around Bonaire and St. Eustatius in the Western Central Atlantic, Meandrina jacksoni is a stony coral with a remarkably restricted natural distribution. Colonies can grow up to a meter across, forming submassive to encrusting shapes with a surface patterned by radiating or sinuous valleys. The characteristic labyrinthine texture that gives maze corals their common identity. The septa are thin, solid, and evenly spaced, with smooth edges that sit flush rather than protruding noticeably above the coral surface, and there is no ambulacral groove running along the valley floors. Coloration is understated, running from pale cream to soft yellow. In the aquarium this coral suits intermediate keepers comfortable with reading and responding to coral health cues. It asks for moderate lighting and moderate flow, which places it within reach of a well-established reef system without requiring the specialized high-energy conditions that some large-polyp stony corals demand. Given how geographically confined its wild populations are, any specimens in the hobby deserve attentive husbandry. It is reef safe and poses no particular threat to tankmates, making it a straightforward addition to a mixed reef as long as basic water quality and stable parameters are maintained consistently.