The Alveopora coral is also known as the Daisy or Flower pot coral and one look makes it easy to see why. With its long stalks and 12 tentacled polyps this coral looks very much like a daisy. It is most commonly available in green but other colours, such as purple, are also sometimes available. It’s tentacles may also be white, which gives a beautiful contrast. They are related to Gonipora but are considered by some to be easier to keep. They grow by slowly expanding their stony skeleton followed by new tentacles.
Alvepora are found throughout Indonesia and Australia and are also aquacultured. In the wild, they are found on exposed reef slopes at depths of up to 30 meters. They prefer water with gentle but consistent flow that can keep the coral free of detritus and bring food. In a home tank, Alvepora are generally placed in the bottom third on the rockwork. While they shouldn’t be placed directly on the substrate, some hobbyists will attach them to a frag disc and place the disc on the sandbed.
Alveopora do best in areas of moderate lighting and low to moderate levels of flow. Generally if the light is too intense the polyps will remain retracted and a coral that appears to be “reaching” towards the light may not be receiving enough light. Flow should be sufficient to ensure that the coral is kept clean, but not so intense that the polyps are damaged. The polyps should appear to wave in the flow, if they are being blown around then the flow level is too high.
Alveopora are photosynthetic and are able to meet their energy needs by utilizing the aquarium lighting. Whether they need to be spot fed is a matter of some debate, while some hobbyists claim that supplemental feeding is required, others report excellent growth and long term survival without additional feeding. If supplemental feeding is desired, Reef Roids make a good choice.
