From ReefPedia

[edit] Heliofungia Difficulty: Hard, see comments Light: Medium-High Aggression: Somewhat Hardiness: Delicate Growth Rate: Slow Availability: Somewhat common

Heliofungia close-up

Introduction

Heliofungia is a quite beautiful coral, with its long, sweeping and colorful tentacles making quite the display in a healthy specimen. Many color morphs can be found.

The coral has a flat, round, plate-like skeleton with large, flesy polyps extending from the perimeter and a noticeable mouth in the center.

This coral is often available in local fish stores. However, the record of Heliofungia in captivity is quite poor. The main issue is the coral's seeming inablity to recover from tears in its flesh that quite often occur during collection and shipping. All too often, a seemingly healthy coral will soon wither and succumb to infection due to a tear in the flesh suffered during handling by human hands.

If a healthy specimen can be found and survives the first few months in captivity, the chances for the coral will be much better.

Common Names

Long-tentacled plate coral

Scientific Names

Heliofungia Spp.

Hardiness

Difficult- If a wound is incurred, it means probable death for the coral. Heliofungia's propensity to move around the tank, and its sharp skeleton hiding underneath the flesh, compounds this issue.

Flow

Medium

Lighting

Medium-High. Since this coral should be kept on the substrate, strong fluorescents or metal halide lighting is recommended.

Placement

This coral should only be placed on the substrate. It can "walk" by extending its flesh and slowly move locations, putting it at risk of falling against a rock or being stung by other corals, all of which can mean death for this coral.

Feeding

Heliofungia will benefit from meaty foods given at night. If a specimen does become ill or wounded, regular feedings are highly recommended to help give the coral a better chance at healing.

Propagation

While forced propagation is not recommended, oftentimes what is considered a "dead" skeleton will actually contain many tiny Heliofungia left by the mother colony in an attempt to reproduce before dying off.

If you happen to lose a Heliofungia, by all means, do not remove the skeleton! In a couple to several months, you may be pleasantly surprised to see many tiny Heliofungia colonies growing on what you thought was a deal skeleton!

Predators

Any known natural predators of this coral to look out for?

FAQ

Commonly-asked questions regarding the coral.