Crispy Crust Coral

About

Crispy Crust Coral (Merulina scheeri) is one of those understated reef species that rewards a closer look. In the wild it grows as broad, thick plates reaching up to about 30 centimeters across, typically angling downward to track the slope of the substrate it's growing on. Small upward growths can form along the edges, but the flattened, plate-like form is almost always dominant. The corallites themselves are mostly individual, though near the colony margins they sometimes stretch into short radiating valleys, giving those outer edges a subtly meandering texture. Walls between corallites are low and gently rounded, which lends the surface a smooth, almost compressed look compared to more heavily ridged relatives. Coloration runs from orange-tinged to greenish-brown depending on light conditions and zooxanthellae density. In the wild, this species tends to occupy shaded crevices below 10 meters, along silted slopes and in lagoonal environments. Habitats that are lower in light and higher in particulate matter than many other Merulina relatives tolerate. That background makes it reasonably adaptable to aquarium conditions with moderate lighting and flow, though it still warrants the attention of a keeper with some reef experience who understands how to keep water quality stable around a plating stony coral.