Orange Funghia (22)

Orange Fungia Coral Care | The Happy Reef

Orange Fungia is a brilliantly coloured plate coral, with intense orange pigmentation that can become particularly vivid under blue-spectrum reef lighting. Its flattened disc, radiating skeletal ridges and extending tentacles give it a very different appearance from most other LPS corals and make it a fantastic splash of colour on the sandbed.

Fungia-type plate corals are particularly interesting because adults are free-living rather than permanently attached to the reef. They can inflate their tissue and slowly move themselves across the substrate. They also have remarkable regenerative abilities ? even an apparently lost plate coral can sometimes produce multiple new juveniles from the remaining skeleton, creating what reef keepers often call a "Fungia farm".

Scientific Name: Fungiidae ? commonly sold as Fungia sp. Exact genus and species cannot reliably be determined from the trade name alone.

PAR: 100?250

Flow: Moderate. Varied water movement helps keep the coral clean while allowing its tentacles to extend naturally.

Placement: Sandbed

Feeding: Beneficial. Plate corals are photosynthetic but are also excellent feeders. They readily capture mysis, finely chopped seafood and suitable LPS foods, using their tentacles to move food towards the central mouth. Occasional target feeding can support strong growth and condition.

Care Notes: Fungia-type plate corals can tolerate and often thrive under considerably stronger lighting than many fleshy LPS corals when properly acclimated. Their combination of strong lighting, stable alkalinity, calcium and magnesium, and occasional feeding can produce impressive colour and surprisingly fast skeletal growth.