Astreopora are an interesting and unique coral that remains quite rare in the reefing hobby. They grow in a plating fashion similar to plating montipora, but with spiny protrusions containing the polyps. They are also available in a less common encrusting form. They are available in a wide variety of different colour morphs but variations of red, purple and green are the most common.
Astreopora are found in the Indo-Pacific region and the Red Sea. They are found on lower reef slopes in lower light areas than most other SPS corals. In a home aquarium, they should be placed on a piece of exposed rockwork in the lower third of the tank.
Astreopora prefer much lower levels of light than other SPS corals but still require a fairly high level of flow. This is because they are plating corals and without sufficient flow detritus will build up on them. Flow will also encourage proper polyp extension.
Astreopora are photosynthetic and are able to meet their energy needs from aquarium lighting. If desired, they can be fed an SPS specific coral food such as Vitalis SPS food. It is fairly easy to frag astreopora as a small piece can easily be cut with a pair of coral cutters and glued to a frag plug.
With their wide variety of colours Astreopora, while somewhat uncommon, make an interesting and colourful addition to any home reef tank.
