Pectinia Corals

What are Pectinia corals?

Pectinia is a genus of large polyp stony corals known as spiny cup or lettuce corals, built from thin, blade-like fronds that rise from a common base into irregular ridges and spires. Unlike the fleshy, rounded profile of most collector LPS, a Pectinia reads as sharp and architectural, and it holds color in deep greens, purples, and teals that stand out under blue-heavy lighting. They are among the more striking LPS corals for a mid-level shelf.

Named Pectinia morphs

Pectinia are traded by named color lineage much like chalices:

• Space Invader — the best known Pectinia morph, with bright green blades against a contrasting dark body. The usual entry point into the genus.
• Rainbow and multicolor morphs — lineages carrying three or more colors across the fronds, priced on how cleanly the colors separate.
• Blueberry, Frozone, and cool-toned morphs — selected for blue and teal saturation, which shows strongest under actinic-heavy lighting.
• Emerald and single-tone morphs — deep, uniform greens that grow quickly and offer strong value for filling a shelf.

Pectinia coral care: light, flow, and stability

Low to moderate light and gentle, turbulent flow suit Pectinia best. High intensity light bleaches the thin tissue quickly, and a direct current stream will snap fronds and start recession along the exposed edges. Review your reef lighting coverage before placing a frag high in the tank, and hold alkalinity and calcium steady with dependable water testing equipment, since the coral is continuously building new skeleton along every growing edge.

Handling fragile fronds

Pectinia blades are genuinely thin and break under pressure that other LPS shrug off. Always lift a frag by the plug or the base rather than the frond, avoid letting the coral touch rock or glass while you position it, and secure the plug firmly so the colony cannot topple as it grows top-heavy. A cleanly broken frond will usually heal and continue growing, but a crushed or torn edge often recedes, so careful handling matters more here than with fleshier corals.

Placing Pectinia in a collector reef

Pectinia earn their space through silhouette as much as color, so give them an open shelf where the spires can be seen from the side rather than burying them in a dense aquascape. Leave four to six inches of clearance for the nighttime sweepers. Compare other named-morph collector LPS in chalice corals and acan corals, or browse the full range of live corals for sale.