Lighting
50-150 PAR is a starting range; fleshy tissue should expand without paling, stretching, or pulling against skeleton.
LPSIntermediateCare score 6/10
Merulina Coral
Merulina spp.
Merulina Coral care and ID profile for ruffled ridges, plating or encrusting growth, ridge-edge recession, and practical placement decisions for mixed reef compatibility.
Compare ruffled ridges, care range, and nearby lookalikes while checking an ID.
Snapshot
Quick Care Snapshot
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Care score
- 6/10
- Placement
- Low
- PAR range
- 50-150 PAR
- Flow
- Moderate
- Aggression
- High
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Minimum tank age
- 4 months
- Minimum tank size
- 25 gallons
Care note
This entry has low confidence or is marked for expert review. Treat the ranges as conservative starting points and compare them with your own system.
- Verify taxonomy before species-level SEO or care claims.
Images
Reference Photos
Photos are shown only when a source includes reusable license metadata. Always verify appearance against the coral in your own lighting and flow.
Primary reference: Auckland Museum Collections from Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand
Source: Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY 2.0
Photo: Jean-Paul Boerekamps
Source: Wikimedia Commons. License: CC0
Photo: Jean-Paul Boerekamps
Source: Wikimedia Commons. License: CC0
Ranges
Water Parameters
These ranges are approximate starting points from the coral database and should be adjusted to the stability and history of your system.
- Temperature
- 76-80 F / 24.4-26.7 C
- Salinity
- 1.024-1.026
- Alkalinity
- 8-9.5 dKH
- Calcium
- 400-460 ppm
- Magnesium
- 1250-1400 ppm
- Nitrate
- 2-15 ppm
- Phosphate
- 0.03-0.1 ppm
Care
Care Notes
Flow
moderate indirect flow should move tissue gently without folding it into sharp skeleton or neighbors.
Stability
For Merulina Coral, verify salinity and alkalinity trends before changing placement; repeated moves and direct corrective swings can irritate fleshy tissue.
Variability
Merulina Coral requirements vary by specimen, aquaculture history, shipping stress, and tank maturity; use these ranges as starting points, not guarantees.
Feeding
Feeding
- Benefits from feeding
- Yes
- Food types
- small meaty foods, mysis, LPS pellets
- Frequency
- weekly when feeding response is visible
ID
Identification
Key features
- ruffled ridges
- plating or encrusting growth
- aggressive sweeper potential
Common colors
- Green
- Yellow
- Brown
- Orange
Similar coral references
How to tell apart
Merulina Coral is best separated from Pectinia Coral and Chalice Coral by weighing ruffled ridges, plating or encrusting growth, and aggressive sweeper potential. Look at corallite walls, polyp shape, tissue inflation, and where recession begins; then compare that structure with where the coral expands, retracts, or shows early recession. Do not rely only on color under blue lighting. Because trade photos can exaggerate color, skeleton shape, polyp layout, and expansion pattern are stronger clues than color alone.
Placement
Compatibility
Compatibility depends on specimen size, flow, growth, aggression, and spacing. Use these references conservatively and watch for contact over time.
Usually compatible with spacing
Use caution near
Avoid close placement with
Spacing recommendation: keep about 6 inches of clearance, then adjust based on extension and neighboring coral response.
Troubleshooting
Common Problems
Use these as troubleshooting checks, not a diagnosis. Symptoms may point to more than one issue.
Merulina Coral ridge-edge recessionOpen for symptoms, likely causes to check, and practical next steps.
Symptoms that may indicate it
- pale or exposed skeleton appears along folded ridges
- Merulina Coral shows less normal extension, inflation, or feeding response than its recent baseline
- changes are localized rather than a confirmed single-cause condition
Likely causes to check
- alkalinity instability, detritus settling in folds, or nearby aggression
- recent placement, lighting, flow, or chemistry changes affecting Merulina Coral
- possible irritation from neighbors, pests, detritus, or handling depending on the coral group
Quick checks
- check Merulina Coral alkalinity trend and look for nearby stinging contact
- reduce direct flow if tissue is pressed against skeleton
- increase spacing and observe the coral under white light and after lights out
Checklist
Common Mistakes
- avoid letting detritus sit in Merulina Coral ridges
- placing Merulina Coral before confirming ruffled ridges and its spacing needs
- using Merulina Coral color or trade name alone instead of comparing it with Pectinia Coral
- changing light, flow, and chemistry together when Merulina Coral looks irritated
- ignoring fleshy tissue protection from direct flow when keeping Merulina Coral
Compare
Similar Corals
Neighbors
Compatible Corals
These corals are usually compatible with spacing, observation, and stable conditions. This is not a guarantee.
Usually compatible with spacing
Favia
Dipsastraea spp. / Favia spp.
- Category
- LPS
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Aggression
- Moderate
Usually compatible with spacing
Favites
Favites spp.
- Category
- LPS
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Aggression
- Moderate
Usually compatible with spacing
Brain Coral
Trachyphyllia spp. / Lobophyllia spp. / Platygyra spp.
- Category
- LPS
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Aggression
- Moderate
FAQs
FAQs
Is Merulina Coral beginner friendly?
Merulina Coral is better treated as intermediate because placement, flow, feeding response, or aggression can vary by specimen.
Where should Merulina Coral be placed?
Start Merulina Coral low in the tank or on the sand/low rockwork when its tissue form allows it. Use 50-150 PAR and moderate flow as a starting point, then adjust from tissue extension, color, and nearby coral response.
Should I target feed Merulina Coral?
Merulina Coral may benefit from careful target feeding with small meaty foods, mysis, and LPS pellets. Use the listed frequency as a starting point: weekly when feeding response is visible. Feed only when the coral accepts food and avoid forcing food into stressed tissue.
Can Merulina Coral touch other corals?
Give Merulina Coral about 6 inches of clearance as a starting point. Its database aggression level is High. Use caution near Acan Coral, Blastomussa, and Candy Cane Coral. Avoid close placement with Zoanthids, Mushroom Coral, and Acropora. Compatibility is not a guarantee, so check contact points as colonies expand.
What should I check if Merulina Coral looks stressed?
Use this as a troubleshooting check. For Merulina Coral, pale or exposed skeleton appears along folded ridges and Merulina Coral shows less normal extension, inflation, or feeding response than its recent baseline can indicate Merulina Coral ridge-edge recession. Likely causes to check include alkalinity instability, detritus settling in folds, or nearby aggression and recent placement, lighting, flow, or chemistry changes affecting Merulina Coral. Start with these database checks: check Merulina Coral alkalinity trend and look for nearby stinging contact and reduce direct flow if tissue is pressed against skeleton.
What stability issue matters most for Merulina Coral?
For Merulina Coral, verify salinity and alkalinity trends before changing placement; repeated moves and direct corrective swings can irritate fleshy tissue. The database lists 4 months as the minimum tank age and 25 gallons as the minimum tank size. For LPS-style care, protect fleshy tissue from repeated moves, direct flow, and abrupt chemistry corrections.
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