Leather Corals

What are leather corals?

Leather corals are soft corals in the family Alcyoniidae, named for the tough, leathery tissue that supports their polyps instead of a hard calcium skeleton. Each polyp carries eight feathery tentacles, and the colony can retract them completely, so a leather that looks smooth and closed one day may be fully open the next. They are photosynthetic, grow quickly once settled, and are some of the most dependable soft corals available for a mixed reef.

Types of leather coral

Several genera are sold under the leather coral name, and each one grows into a different shape:

• Sarcophyton — toadstool and mushroom leather corals, with a wide polyp-covered cap on a central stalk. The most recognizable leather in the hobby.
• Sinularia — finger and cabbage leathers, growing as branching digits or thick ruffled lobes. Polydactyla and the hairy Solomon leathers belong here.
• Lobophytum — devil’s hand corals, forming flattened, finger-like ridges off a low encrusting base.
• Cladiella and Klyxum — colt and blushing corals, soft and bushy with long, wispy polyps.
• Capnella — Kenya tree coral. Not a true Alcyoniidae leather, but kept alongside them for its similar care and fast, tree-like branching growth.

Leather coral care: light, flow, and placement

Most leathers settle in under moderate light and moderate, variable flow, roughly 100 to 200 PAR for a toadstool. Acclimate new frags low on the rockwork and raise them over several weeks instead of placing them under full intensity on day one. Compare your reef lighting and confirm salinity, alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium with reliable water testing equipment, since stability matters far more to a leather coral than any single target number. Keep flow strong enough to clear detritus off the cap but gentle enough that the coral is not permanently folded over.

Shedding is normal leather coral behavior

Leather corals periodically shed a waxy tunic from their surface to shake off algae and detritus. Polyps stay closed, the coral looks dull, and a film sloughs away over a few days. This is routine maintenance, not decline. Boost flow, run fresh carbon, and leave the coral alone until it reopens. Persistent closure, tissue peeling away from the stalk, or collapse following a parameter swing is a different problem and points to water quality, pests, or placement.

Keeping leathers in a mixed reef

Leathers do not sting with sweeper tentacles, but they do wage chemical warfare, releasing terpenoids that can stunt nearby stony corals. Give each colony six to eight inches of clearance, run activated carbon continuously, and stay consistent with water changes. A mature toadstool can shade a surprising amount of rock, so plan for the adult footprint rather than the frag. Pair them with other forgiving species from our beginner corals selection, browse the full range of live corals for sale, or build a coordinated mix with a soft coral pack. New to coral types? Start with our beginner’s guide to soft, LPS, and SPS corals.