Bubblegum Coral

About

The rounded bubblegum coral (Plerogyra simplex) is one of those species that looks completely different depending on what time you check on it. During the day, it inflates translucent, grape-like vesicles that swell outward from each branch tip, giving the colony a soft, almost cartoonish appearance. Come nightfall, those vesicles retract and long feeding tentacles emerge from the base of each one, sweeping the water column for passing prey. The colony grows in a phaceloid, or branching candlestick, form where each branch is monocentric and roughly uniform in length and spacing. Coloration tends to be understated, cream, pale grey, or a muted tan, so its appeal comes entirely from its unusual form rather than any flashy pigmentation. In the wild it occupies shallow, sheltered reef zones throughout the Indo-Pacific, from the Philippines across to Samoa, and it clearly has a preference for turbid, low-energy environments rather than the surge-swept outer reef. That preference translates well to the aquarium: it does best under moderate lighting and genuinely low flow, since strong currents can damage the delicate vesicles. It falls into intermediate care territory, mainly because it does need targeted feeding and some attention to flow management, but it is a rewarding choice for a keeper ready to move past the basics.