This guide is structured for reef keepers who want the husbandry targets first, then the inventory. Use it to decide whether the coral fits your system before you buy or move it.
What this coral wants
Meat corals are confidence corals when they are given space, soft flow, and a place where the tissue can fully inflate without abrasion. They look dramatic, but their care profile is really about protecting flesh and maintaining stable LPS chemistry.
At a glance
-
Coral Type: LPS
-
Scientific Name: Homophyllia spp. / Cynarina spp. / Acanthophyllia spp.
-
Care Level: Moderate
-
Light: 50 to 110 PAR
-
Flow: Low, gentle, indirect flow
-
Placement: Sandbed or open lower rock with full inflation room
Target water chemistry
These are Lunar Tide Aquatics holding targets for stability, then cross-checked against peer-reviewed coral physiology literature on flow, calcification, feeding, and nutrient stress.
-
Temperature: 77 to 78.5 F
-
Salinity: 1.025 to 1.026 specific gravity
-
Alkalinity: 8.0 to 9.0 dKH
-
Calcium: 420 to 460 ppm
-
Magnesium: 1280 to 1380 ppm
-
Nitrate: 5 to 15 ppm
-
Phosphate: 0.03 to 0.10 ppm
Light, flow, and placement
Light: 50 to 110 PAR. Flow: Low, gentle, indirect flow. Placement: Sandbed or open lower rock with full inflation room.
Keep meat corals away from direct blast flow and sharp rock contact. A gently lit sandbed or open lower ledge is usually the right answer, especially during the first weeks after shipping or relocation.
Feed after lights down to support inflation and tissue mass, but avoid smothering the oral disc with oversized food. These corals reward consistency and patience more than aggressive placement changes.
Feeding and acclimation
Feeding: Target feed meaty foods 1 to 2 times weekly.
Acclimation: Keep these corals low and protected until they inflate consistently through the full photoperiod.
What to watch
Stability target: Stable alkalinity, salinity, and tissue-friendly flow.
Watch for: Tissue abrasion, exposed skeleton, and aggressive neighbors.
How Lunar Tide uses this guide
We use these ranges as decision support, not as random numbers to chase. Stable chemistry, predictable placement, and consistent observation usually outperform aggressive adjustments after a coral lands.
If you are ready to compare this husbandry target against what is currently available, browse the current Meat Corals. There are currently 2 pieces in that group.
Scientific references
- Jokiel PL (1978), Effects of water motion on reef corals
- Anthony KRN and Fabricius KE (2000), Shifting roles of heterotrophy and autotrophy in coral energetics under varying turbidity
- Houlbrèque F and Ferrier-Pagès C (2009), Heterotrophy in tropical scleractinian corals
- Holcomb M, Tambutté E, Allemand D and Tambutté S (2014), Light enhanced calcification in Stylophora pistillata
- Jokiel PL (2013), Coral reef calcification: carbonate, bicarbonate and proton flux under conditions of increasing ocean acidification
- Page TM, D'Angelo C, Wiedenmann J and Foster GL (2025), Changes in host gene expression patterns underpin responses of the coral Stylophora pistillata to nutrient stress
Current availability
Use this guide against live inventory
The care guidance lives here. When you're ready to compare it against the corals currently available from Lunar Tide, jump straight into the matching collection.
