Cabbage 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 Cabbage Leather Coral, they are predominatly colored cream to brown. This are the water parameters for cultivating Cabbage 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

Cabbage 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 Cabbage 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.

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

In the wild, Cabbage 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.

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

Cabbage 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.