Coral Spotlight | Cyphastrea

[mikejrice]

Common names: Cyphastrea

Difficulty Level: Cyphastrea is one of the least light demanding LPS coral and is also very tolerant of most chemical conditions.

Feeding: Cyphastrea will readily accept most meat based foods that it can grab with its tentacles.

Lighting: Low light would be overstating the dim conditions cyphastrea is capable of thriving in. Some specimens may even be seen growing on the underside of rocks as they creep up toward the light. Great coral for that shady spot near the bottom of your rocks or even for the back wall of the aquarium.

Waterflow: Cyphastrea may be grown under a wide range of flow conditions as long as there is enough to keep its flesh free of detritus and other debris.

Placement: Lower light areas near the bottom of rockwork is usually most suitable although they will readily adapt to more light and higher placement is desired.

General: Cyphastrea is one of the best starter LPS corals due to its easy to care for nature, bright color patterns and variety of strains

Cyphastrea Coral: Infusing Your Reef Aquarium With Beauty

Discover the mesmerizing allure of Elegant Cyphastrea Coral. Transform your reef aquarium into a captivating oasis with its stunning beauty.

reefaquariumfish.com

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

You forgot to mention how fast it grows and that it will literally run over and cover things like zoas haha

Good write-up though, thanks for sharing

 

[Scrubber_steve]

Which reefs do they inhabit ?

 

[mikejrice]

Which reefs do they inhabit ?

Depending on species, they can be found all over the pacific including Hawaii, Japan, Australia, and the indo region. They can also be found off of western Australia and in the Red Sea. They're a low light coral, so typically are found encrusting on deeper water reefs or even in caves.

 

[andrewkw]

Do you have any information on scrolling cyphastrea? I've seen one vendor sell it on R2R but never seen it in real life. I have a few different cyphastreas in my reef including a branching but hope to eventually get my hands on the scrolling. In my experience they don't really grow that fast (in a soft coral dominated reef).

 

[mikejrice]

Do you have any information on scrolling cyphastrea? I've seen one vendor sell it on R2R but never seen it in real life. I have a few different cyphastreas in my reef including a branching but hope to eventually get my hands on the scrolling. In my experience they don't really grow that fast (in a soft coral dominated reef).

I haven't seen those in person yet either, but would definitely like to. They're a fun one to collect. Took me quite awhile to come across a branching one as well, and then I nearly killed it! How does your branch grow? Seems pretty slow from what I've seen so far.

 

[andrewkw]

I haven't seen those in person yet either, but would definitely like to. They're a fun one to collect. Took me quite awhile to come across a branching one as well, and then I nearly killed it! How does your branch grow? Seems pretty slow from what I've seen so far.

I got a very small fresh cut branching frag in April. It hasn't really grown up much at all but it has encrusted the plug and the surrounding rock work. While it has been slow this is somewhat similar to some acros that will take a while to get a good base going. I'm hoping once it spreads out a little further it will shoot up some. I feed my tank heavily once a week a mix of reef roids, coral frenzy, lrs, ect. plus the fish everyday.

 

[Nburg's Reef]

Id love some of the branching variety. Where'd you get it?

 

[mikejrice]

Id love some of the branching variety. Where'd you get it?

A friend of mine found a piece at a local show which seems like the most common place to find it in person. I've also seen it on a few websites if you don't mind ordering online.

 

[lauderdalestunner]

I’ve seen a large cyphastrea colony’s sprout a spike but never anything of any real size. For my tank I found a piece of live rock/old coral and used that as a base.

 

[Waynerock]

Love the colors

 

[mikejrice]

It’s always a pleasure photographing the endless patterns of cyphastrea polyps. This one is a classic “meteor shower” cyphastrea, but still an amazing looking coral.

 

[jp_75]

Is Cyphastrea really aggressive?

 

[mikejrice]

Is Cyphastrea really aggressive?

Not that I’ve ever seen. Doesn’t have any reach to speak of either.

 

[mikejrice]

WWC Hi-C cyphastrea

 

[mikejrice]

This is a really odd colored cyphastrea, but I love the polyp detail.

 

[andrewkw]

I got a very small fresh cut branching frag in April. It hasn't really grown up much at all but it has encrusted the plug and the surrounding rock work. While it has been slow this is somewhat similar to some acros that will take a while to get a good base going. I'm hoping once it spreads out a little further it will shoot up some. I feed my tank heavily once a week a mix of reef roids, coral frenzy, lrs, ect. plus the fish everyday.

I'll take a new picture soon but it's barely branched at all since this was taken. It's base has grown but given the current rate it will be 3-4 years before this is a decent sized colony...

 

[mikejrice]

I'll take a new picture soon but it's barely branched at all since this was taken. It's base has grown but given the current rate it will be 3-4 years before this is a decent sized colony...

Sounds like exactly what I've experienced watching one grow for the last couple of years. Slow at the tips.

 

[mikejrice]