Pore Coral

About

Pore coral (Montipora caliculata) is a widespread Indo-Pacific and Eastern Central Atlantic species found across most reef environments, from the shallows right down to around 58 meters. Its growth form tends toward massive or encrusting plates, and the real visual interest lies in the fine surface detail: the corallites are a mix of sunken and funnel-shaped cups, many with wavy, irregular rims. Where the walls between adjacent corallites are partially or fully absent, short winding valleys form across the colony surface, giving it a subtly textured, almost topographic appearance. Coloration in the wild runs to brown or blue, neither of which sounds exciting on paper, but under intense reef lighting the blue morphs in particular can develop a rich, almost iridescent quality. In the aquarium this is not a beginner's coral. Montipora as a genus can be sensitive to changes in water quality, and this species specifically demands consistently intense lighting and vigorous, turbulent flow to stay healthy. It is reef safe and will not bother its neighbors, but it does need space to spread and will slowly overgrow anything it contacts. Keepers who already have experience maintaining demanding small-polyp stony corals will be best positioned to keep it thriving long-term.