From ReefPedia

[edit] Echinophyllia Difficulty: Easy-Medium Light: Medium Aggression: Can produce sweeper tentacles in some cases and is capable of a significant degree of chemical aggression towards nearby corals. Hardiness: Medium Growth Rate: Slow Availability: Somewhat common

Echinophyllia macro

Introduction

Echinophyllia is a newly discovered genus in the reef aquarium hobby. In the reef trade, Echinophyllia aspera is by far the most common member of the genus. Most species of Echinophyllia create convoluted plates and have bright colors such as red, pink and green.

Common Names

Echinophyllia shares the common name “Chalice” coral with Oxypora.

Scientific Names

• Echinophyllia
• Echinophyllia aspera

Hardiness

Easy to Medium

Flow

Medium Flow

Lighting

Medium to High Light. Echinophyllia should be okay with 5 watts per gallon of fluorescence or in a tank lit by Metal Halides. A word of caution: Echinophyllias lay down a relatively dense skeleton which makes them particularly vulnerable to high levels of Infra Red light, which some Metal Halide reflector combinations produce. Do not put Echinophyllia near the top of heavily illuminated aquariums.

Placement

Although it is not crucial, Echinophyllia should be placed so that the plates are horizontal. Depending on the intensity of the light they may need to be placed low in the aquarium, or placed so that they get indirect Metal Halide light.

Feeding

Feeding is not necessary but it does make the Echinophyllia more robust. This coral feeds mostly at night so offer food when the lights are off. Cyclops is a good choice.

Propagation

Because Echinophyllia has such a dense skeleton, using a Dremel with a high rpm and a diamond blade is the ideal method to frag this coral.

Availability

Echinophyllia has only been widely available for a short time. While beautiful large colonies can be found on the market, many people are selling 1 to 3 inch frags of Echinophyllia.

Other Issues

I have seen crabs, about the size of a pinhead, that occasionally come in on Echinophyllia and are thought to be a coralivore. These crabs will reportedly burrow into the tissue and eat the coral from the inside out. The verdict is still out, but any damaged Echinophyllia should be thoroughly inspected.

   Article originally contributed by Barry Katz of Kahuna Corals

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