What is Acanthophyllia?
Acanthophyllia deshayesiana, known in the hobby as the meat coral or modern meat coral, is a large polyp stony coral consisting of one single enormous polyp. Unlike colonial corals it does not branch, encrust, or bud: it simply grows larger, inflating into a domed cushion of pleated tissue that can exceed six inches across. The pleats radiate from a central mouth, and in the most valuable specimens they carry bands of contrasting color that read as a rainbow from above.
Why every Acanthophyllia is unique
Because Acanthophyllia cannot be fragged, there is no such thing as a propagated lineage in the way there is for chalices or acans. Every specimen is an individual wild-collected animal with a color pattern that exists nowhere else, and it is sold as a specific piece rather than as a named morph. That is why they are traded photograph by photograph, and why the market grades them on the number of distinct colors, the sharpness of the boundaries between them, and the evenness of the radial pattern.
Acanthophyllia care: light, flow, and feeding
Low light and gentle flow, resting flat on the sand bed. Acanthophyllia are free-living corals that sit on soft substrate in the wild, so they should never be mounted or wedged into rock. Strong light bleaches the tissue and strong current abrades it, and both problems announce themselves as recession at the skeletal edge. Review your reef lighting before placing one, and keep salinity, alkalinity, and temperature steady with dependable water testing equipment. Feed small meaty foods once or twice a week in the evening.
Protecting a high-value specimen
The practical risks to an Acanthophyllia are physical rather than chemical. Make sure the specimen rests level and cannot roll or tip, keep it clear of powerhead outflow, and site it where no coral above can drop debris or extend sweepers onto the tissue. Discourage large snails and hermit crabs from crossing the polyp, since repeated disturbance keeps it deflated and eventually damages the flesh. Given a calm, protected spot and regular feeding, these are long-lived corals that simply keep getting larger.
Where Acanthophyllia fits in a reef
Acanthophyllia is a sand bed centerpiece, and it pairs naturally with the other free-living and low-light LPS that share that zone. Compare scoly corals for a similar single-polyp specimen, look at acan corals and chalice corals for the shaded lower rockwork, or browse one-off pieces in WYSIWYG corals.
