Orange Cup Coral

About

The branching octopus coral (Tubastraea grandidentata) is one of the more unusual corals you can keep, and that starts with its origins. This species is endemic to the Brazilian coast of the South Atlantic, giving it a geographic story quite different from most of the Indo-Pacific corals that dominate the hobby. Like its close relative the orange cup coral, it belongs to a group of azooxanthellate corals, meaning it carries no symbiotic algae and gets zero benefit from intense lighting. In fact, bright light will do it no favors at all. What this coral runs on entirely is food, which is the central challenge of keeping it. Without a consistent feeding regimen, meaty foods, target-fed directly to the polyps, it will slowly decline regardless of how good your water quality is. Get that part right, though, and you're rewarded with a coral that opens dramatic, large-tentacled polyps and forms branching colonies with real architectural presence. It suits shaded spots in the aquarium, under overhangs or in the lower rockwork where flow remains steady but light doesn't reach. Not the easiest coral for a newcomer, but for a keeper ready to commit to regular feeding, it's genuinely rewarding.