Thick Finger Leather Coral

General information

In general, leather corals from the family Alcyoniidae are flat with a lobe shape. Their name is derived from the texture of their skin which is leather-like. They usually grow fast taking an encrusting form and easy to maintain which makes them ideal for newbie aquarist.

For the Thick Finger Leather Coral, they are predominatly colored creamy brown. This are the water parameters for cultivating Thick Finger Leather Coral:

• Calcium: 380 – 430 ppm
• Alkalinity: 2.5 – 3.00 MEQ/L
• Phosphates: > 0.05 mg/L
• Magnesium: 1200 – 1350
• Strontium: 8 -10 mg/L
• Temperature: 68° – 83° F (20° – 28° C)
• Salinity / Specific Gravity: 1.023 – 1.025
• pH: 8.0 – 8.4

Thick Finger Leather Coral are both photsynthetic and chemosynthetic. This mean that they get their nutrition from light (photosynthesis) and from the absorption of nutrients present in the water (chemosynthesis).

A mature tank is highly recommended in propagating Thick Finger Leather Coral. While they can survive a wide range of environmental parameters, you need to provide them with ample space from other corals since they are known to grow fast. They also have a symbiotic relationship with an algae called zooxanthellae that lives within their tissues.

Thick Finger Leather Coral, as well as other species of soft corals, requires moderate to intense lighting and strong water flow.

In the wild, Thick Finger Leather Coral are usually found near the shore amongst coral rubble and in sandy areas of the reef. Their population is thriving within the Western Pacific Ocean particularly in New Caledonia, Palau and Hong Kong.

Thick Finger Leather Coral are semi-aggressive and toxic to most species of stony corals.

Thick Finger Leather Coral are marine species, therefore salinity must be entirely maintained at 1.023 to 1.025 specific gravity. You need to acclimatize them in their new environment for at least 30 minutes before setting them in their final position in the tank.