Purple Stylophora
Stylophora pistillata
Dense, cauliflower-like branching with a deep purple hue and pink polyp extension. Hardy and forgiving, great for growing out a colony.
- Lighting
- Medium
- Flow
- Medium
- Placement
- Mid tank
- Temperament
- Peaceful
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Care guide
Keeping Stylophora in a reef tank
Stylophora pistillata is the type species of the genus and among the most studied corals in marine science. In the tank it is a genuinely forgiving small-polyp stony coral with thick blunt branches, tolerant of handling and of the parameter drift that would kill an Acropora outright.
Lighting for Purple Stylophora
Pigment develops best under a blue-heavy spectrum, where this genus tends to hold pinks and purples that wash out under warmer light. It will adapt to a range of intensities, but colour is noticeably more saturated toward the upper end. This particular frag is rated for medium light — roughly 100–200 PAR, around the middle of the rockwork.
Water flow
Moderate to strong flow suits it. The tight branching structure sheds detritus reasonably well on its own, so it is less dependent on aggressive turbulence than an open-branched Acropora. Flow for this frag should be moderate and variable.
Placement and tank mates
Mid tank. Peaceful.
What to watch for
It is prone to bleaching from the base upward when shaded by faster-growing neighbours. Because it thickens rather than extends, it can be quietly overgrown — check what is encroaching on it rather than only inspecting the coral itself.
