CYPHASTREA-BRANCHING-910 Dragon Fruit Tree Cyphastrea 💎El Presidente Personale Collezione grade💎

Care guide - Cyphastrea corals.

Cyphastrea are a relatively new addition to modern reefkeeping. Until only a few years ago only 2-3 colours were readily available. However, because this is quite a fast growing coral they are now farmed in an increasingly larger number of colours. 

Most Cyphastrea are encrusting, but, there are some rarer branching forms, and rarest of all are the plating varieties.

Cyphastrea are one of the easiest (and fastest growing) of all the hard corals.

Cyphastrea LPS or SPS?

There is no hard and fast rule as to where the borderline is between LPS and SPS, and Cyphastrea is right on that line. Typically LPS have larger and fleshier polyps than SPS. LPS corals are more likely to be an irregular shape or growth pattern than SPS.

Also most SPS species form very large colonies/reefs, with a single species or colony often covering areas hundreds of metres or even km's across. Whereas LPS corals tend  mostly to be found in small colonies in nooks, crannies, and under other corals, (much like Mushrooms or Toadstools grow in a forest). This is also typically where Cyphastrea is found in the wild.

As Cyphastrea has far more LPS traits than SPS traits I regard Cyphastrea as LPS.

PLACEMENT

Low light levels.
Medium flow rate.

WATER QUALITY

All hard corals require reasonable water quality. Temperature and salinity should be kept as stable as possible, and low levels of nitrates and phosphates.

LIGHTING

When you receive your coral ensure you do not place it in a spot that is too brightly lit. If a coral is in a spot that is a little low on light it will generally manage ok. If the spot is too bright it can bleach the coral. If in doubt as to the right spot too little light is unlikely to do much harm, compared to too much light.

FLOW

The amount of flow a coral needs depends on the type of coral. See PLACEMENT above, or, contact us if you are unsure. Many LPS corals prefer very low flow, especially fleshy corals such as Torchs, Hammers, Anchors, and Frogspawns, all of which can easily be damaged if flow is too strong.

FEEDING

We recommend target feeding LPS corals at least once a week You may also wish to add liquid coral food too. Soft corals and SPS should be fed primarily just liquid coral food, we recommend using Salty Revolution Coral Food 99. A completely revolutionary approach to coral nutrition. This is available on our website, see Made By Salty Revolution for more details.

SIZE

All frags vary in size in appearance and so may be a different size, colour, or, shape, compared to the photo, which is shown only as a rough guide.

COMPATIBILITY

Some fish may peck at or eat LPS. Some inverts may also do so. Remove any fish or inverts that are harassing the coral.

UK DELIVERY

We deliver corals, inverts, fish, and, dry goods throughout the UK. You can buy online for UK delivery (delivery charge may apply). We deliver to all of the mainland of England, Wales and Scotland (including Highlands). We can also deliver to the Isle of Wight, but, cannot deliver to any other Islands or Northern Ireland, due to customs regulations and/or shipping costs.

See the Salty Revolution Shipping Guide for more information on our UK delivery service.