Montipora Coral Care

Take Care of Your Coral with Light

We suggest giving Montipora corals a lot of light (200 to 300 par).

FOOD

There doesn’t seem to be a special way that Montipora corals need to be fed. Like most corals, they get their food from the sea and do best when they have enough to eat. Our way is to import a lot and export a lot.

FLOW

Moderate to high flow is good for montipora corals. While their polyps aren’t too sensitive to water flow, too much flow may stop them from expanding their polyps. Acropora corals do well in places where montipora corals do well. Too much flow, especially straight flow, can hurt the coral’s tissue or make it harder for it to catch food.

DOUBLE HARD

Aquaculture makes it easy to find montipora corals, which makes them good for fans. When conditions are right, they grow quickly and are less likely to get coral diseases like STN and RNT. People think that montipora corals are the best SPS corals for beginners, so we suggest them to anyone who wants to start with SPS corals. We give them a mid-difficulty level because they need stable Alk/Ca levels and advanced lighting. Like all corals, Montipora do well in captivity when they get the right amount of food, light, flow, and filtering.

Cost

The price of Montipora corals can range from cheap to moderate, depending on the type. Hobbyists like these corals because they have bright colors, grow quickly, and are easy to take care of. It is usually cheaper to buy aquacultured fragments of common color types than it is to buy bigger wild colonies or ones with unique color patterns.

Zone of Collection: Indo-Pacific

Name of the Science

The genus Montipora is made up of scleractinian corals, which are in the class Cnidaria. With 85 species, Montipora is the second-most species-rich genus of coral, after Acropora. Montipora corals can grow in a number of different ways.

Peaceful and angry. Even though Montipora corals aren’t known to be violent, you should still give them enough room to grow and stay healthy, usually at least 1-2 inches.

TEMPERATURE IN THE NATURE

82 °F (28 °C), but most corals can adjust to temperatures as low as 77 °F (77 °C) and as high as 84 °F (84 °C). If you want to learn more about temperature and how it affects your reef tank, read our story called “Temperature and your Reef Tank.”

PH: The range that is suggested is between 8.0 and 8.4, and we usually try for a range of 8.2 to 8.3 over the course of 24 hours.

NITRATE: A level between 5 and 10 is ideal, and it’s important to keep this level steady.

For PHOSPHATE, the range that is best is between 0.05 and 0.1, and this amount should stay stable.

ALKALINITY: 8 to 9 dKh is the range that is suggested.

CALCIUM: 400 to 450 is the suggested range.

Find Out More About Montipora Corals

Montipora corals are small polyp stony (SPS) corals that are in the family Acroporidae. There are 85 species of Montipora, and their growth patterns are different. Some have submassive growth; others have laminae, foliaceous, encrusting, and branched growth. Different kinds of growth can happen in the same group. Different types of Montipora corals have different colors and textures because of the different ways they grow and have different body shapes.

Montipora corals need a lot of light, usually 250 to 500 PAR, but this depends on the species. They can slowly get used to lighting conditions that are different from what they normally like. Also, these corals like water that flows back and forth across a fairly strong flow path. It’s important to remember that Montipora corals are very sensitive to changes in the water, so any changes should be made slowly.

Many of the nutrients that Montipora corals need come from the photosynthetic algae they live with, which are called zooxanthellae. Broadcast-feeding amino acids and zooplankton may also help them. To stay healthy, you need to keep an eye on things and add calcium, strontium, and other trace elements as needed.

When you place your Montipora, keep in mind that these corals don’t attack other corals very often and don’t really have a defense. Make sure that your Montipora corals have enough room to grow and do well.