Merulina Coral
(Merulina ampliata)
Placement: Middle to Top
Light: High
Flow: Medium
Care Level: Difficult
Type: LPS
Compatibility: Aggressive
Growth Rate: Moderately Fast
Photosynthetic: Yes
Special Care:

A popular and easily recognizable LPS coral, the Merulina Coral is also known as the Lettuce, Cabbage or Ruffled Coral. This coral is unique in that it begins as an encrusting coral but with the right tank conditions will, over time, begin to form the fan like plates that give it its unique, cabbage like, appearance. It is this growth form that hobbyists are generally most familiar with. It can be found in combinations of green, tan, purple, red and blue with the ridges generally being a contrasting colour. Its polyps generally remain hidden, but can sometimes be seen at night.

It is found in the Indo-Pacific region in a wide variety of reef habitats, especially lagoons. They are found as deep as 40 meters but are often present in much shallower waters. Due to its increasing popularity and ease of propagation, aquacultured specimens are often available as well. Due to their preference for higher levels of light than many other LPS corals they are generally placed on the rockwork in the upper third of the tank. Since they do have sweeper tentacles, it is advisable to ensure that they have plenty of space.

Merulina do best in higher levels of light, which makes them somewhat unique among LPS corals. A coral’s colour is a good guide as to whether or not it is receiving the right amount of light. If the coral is turning brown it may be receiving too little light, and a coral that is bleaching may be receiving too much light. Because of its growth pattern, it is important to ensure that the level of flow is sufficient to prevent detritus from building up on the coral.

While Merulina are photosynthetic, they can be spot fed if desired. A zooplankton solution designed for filter feeders makes a good choice for spot feeding. They can also be fed brine shrimp. Remember to turn the flow off while feeding.

Once the coral has begun to branch it is fairly straightforward to frag. Simply cut a minimum of 2” branch and glue it to a frag plug.