Being the season, the candy cane coral, Caulastrea furcata, was chosen for this species spotlight. The candy cane coral goes by many names, including- trumpet, candy and bulls eye. It is part of the LPS group, and grows hard stalks with a soft tissue polyp at the end of each stalk.
Many candy cane corals are commonly collected in Fiji. Most will have the colors teal, pink, green and brown. Unlike many lps corals, the candy cane, has very short sweeper tentacles, and is not as aggressive as many. Feedings at night, or after lights out, are very beneficial to the growth of this coral. They don't need very high lighting, but can be acclimated to it. They seem to do best in moderate lighting conditions. The polyps of the candy cane coral are very fragile. Heavy or direct flow can wipe out a colony very quick. They need low and indirect flow to survive.
So- lets here what everyone has to say about the candy cane coral, and lets see some pics of everyone's different color varieties!
Very seasonally appropriate! Anyone know why they're called candy canes? They're not red and white striped nor cane shaped... Anyway, here are the two color varieties I have.