Flower Pot Coral attracts hobbyists with its beautiful colors and flowerlike appearance, but it also has a reputation for difficult keeping. Learning how to properly care for the coral is essential to prevent the coral from dying shortly after acclimation.
Incidents when Flower Pot Coral starts dying usually indicate an improper care routine. Browning coral is not as great an issue as bleaching coral, but it is essential to implement appropriate coral care and placement to prevent sudden die off.
In this article, we explore why Goniopora Coral has a reputation for being difficult and what you should do to provide proper care for the coral.
Is Goniopora Coral Hard to Keep?
There’s a good chance that you’ve heard Goniopora Flower Pot Coral is difficult to keep, but this is becoming an outdated opinion. While it was true in the past, recent understanding of the large polyp stony coral and advancements in hobby support have made it possible to keep the beautiful coral successfully.
If you look online, you’ll likely find older discussions about the ethics of importing the coral because they rarely survived.
They would sit in an aquarium and appear in top form for months, showing off intense colors while extending polyps nicely.
After the 3 to 6 month mark, the coral colony would suddenly take a turn for the worst, refusing to open overnight and leaving behind a while skeleton overnight.
Luckily, we have a better understanding of how you should take care of Flower Pot Coral now. We’ve discovered that coral sourced from Australia is much hardier than other varieties, and this is where most imported coral now comes from.
By using this information and reaching out for support, you can easily add Goniopora coral to your reef tank with little worry.
How Do You Take Care of Flower Pot Coral?
Taking care of Flower Pot Coral involves sticking within ranges and creating the perfect environments for your coral.
Keep in mind that these may be parameters, but you should aim for stability in your reef tank. Fluctuating from one end of a spectrum to the other will upset your coral and lead to an inability to thrive and even death.
| Water Hardness | 8 to 12 dkH |
| Calcium | 400 to 450 ppm |
| Temperature | 73° to 84° Fahrenheit |
| Alkalinity (pH) | 8.1 to 8.4 |
| Salinity | 35 g/L |
Other details to pay attention to include lighting, feeding schedule and food options, water flow, and compatible aquarium mates.
Lighting
Flower Pot Coral prefers moderate lighting levels, but light has quite a bit to do with the condition of the coral.
This LPS coral is photosynthetic, meaning it gathers some of its nutritional requirements from light. This happens because the Goniopora develops a symbiotic relationship with dinoflagellates called zooxanthellae. They live in the coral’s flesh, and the byproducts of their photosynthesis process provide nutrients to the coral.
The coral handles the size of the zooxanthellae population as it requires nutrients. If they are not providing enough to sustain the coral, it will let the population grow to increase the byproducts available.
This usually occurs when you aren’t providing enough light for the dinoflagellates, and you’ll notice the coral changing to brown color and losing its vibrancy.
When you’re providing too much light the coral will start to bleach.
A suitable PAR for Flower Pot Coral is 100, give or take about 20 percent, for a range of 80 to 120.
Make sure you acclimate the coral to any lighting changes slowly.
Feeding
While Goniopora Coral get some of their nutrients from light, they still need to eat. Exploring their nutrition requirements is one discovery that has increased survival rates through the years.
Now there are a variety of foods available to benefit coral, and you should feed yours often
Flower Pot Coral does well with amino acids and powdered plankton.
It’s easiest to broadcast feed the coral after you turn off your pumps. Use a turkey baster or similar tool to supply the food near the coral and give them about 20 minutes before you turn the pumps back on.
Most of what you feed your coral will be too small to attract your fish, but you can dust a second time if you notice them stealing from your coral.
Water Flow
Goniopora Flower Pot Coral may not be picky when it comes to water flow, but finding the right level will give you the best results.
Most coral does not like a direct flow. This makes it difficult for it to capture food, and with enough intensity, you can damage the polyps on the skeleton.
Flow that is too slow will not be enough to stimulate the coral, and you’ll find it difficult to keep the coral clean.
Pay attention to how the coral acts and it will tell you if you should adjust it one way or another.
Compatibility
Flower Pot Coral is not too picky about tank mates. You’ll need to spend more time making sure the other creatures won’t go after your coral.
Any known polyp eaters will be tempted by the large, fleshy polyps. These are also likely to sting anything nearby, so you should make sure the tentacles won’t reach any of their neighbors and that there is room to grow.
Besides these details, Goniopora gets along with most other corals and reef-safe fish.
Where Should I Place My Goniopora?
Finding a good place for your Goniopora relies on the care details explained above. The most suitable position is in the center of the aquarium as this guarantees moderate light intensity and water flow without being too far from either.
Using a PAR meter will help you determine light intensity with greater accuracy, and keeping coral out of direct water flow should suffice.
Keep in mind that LPS corals damage easily when they fall or are dislodged, so you should avoid placing them anywhere where they may occur.
Move the coral or the tank elements as possible to create the right living condition for your Flower Pot Coral. This ensures you get all the benefits and your coral can live a long, healthy life.
