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Description
🧊 Cyphastrea Coral – Description & Care Guide
🪸 Description
Cyphastrea is a small polyp stony coral known for its encrusting growth and bright, often fluorescent colors. It forms a flat to irregular crust over rockwork or frag plugs and is loved for its textured, star-like polyps that pop against contrasting backgrounds.
Common Names: Meteor Shower Coral, War and Peace, Supernova, Tyree Cyphastrea
Key Features:
- Growth Form: Encrusting or plating (slow and low-growing)
- Polyp Shape: Tiny star-like polyps with high contrast to base color
- Colors: Orange, red, green, blue, pink, purple — often with glowing neon eyes
- Texture: Bumpy or dimpled surface with visible polyps
🧪 Tank Requirements
| Parameter | Ideal Range |
| Lighting | Low to moderate (PAR 50–150) |
| Flow | Moderate, indirect |
| Temperature | 75–80°F (24–27°C) |
| Salinity | 1.025–1.026 SG |
| Alkalinity | 8–10 dKH |
| Calcium | 420–450 ppm |
| Magnesium | 1250–1350 ppm |
| Nutrients | Nitrate: 2–15 ppm; Phosphate: 0.03–0.1 ppm |
💡 Lighting Tips
- Prefers lower light compared to other LPS corals.
- High light can cause bleaching or polyp retraction.
- Ideal for shaded areas or lower portions of rockwork.
🌊 Flow Requirements
- Moderate, indirect flow is best.
- Avoid strong, direct currents — it may cause polyp recession.
- Gentle flow keeps debris off the coral surface.
🍽️ Feeding
- Primarily photosynthetic, but can benefit from occasional feeding:
- Target foods: Reef-Roids, Coral Dust, powdered plankton
- Feeding Frequency: 1–2 times a week (optional)
- Feeding Time: Evening, when polyps may extend more
🧼 Care & Placement
- Aggression: Low — peaceful, doesn’t sting or release sweepers
- Placement: Ideal for low light areas, shaded spots, or vertical walls
- Fragging: Very easy — breaks or cuts cleanly with a bone cutter or tile saw
⚠️ Common Issues
| Problem | Cause | Solution |
| Fading color | Too much light or low nutrients | Move to lower light; feed lightly |
| Tissue loss/recession | Poor water quality | Stabilize parameters |
| No growth | Unstable tank or low nutrients | Improve stability, increase nutrients |
✅ Quick Summary
| Trait | Cyphastrea Coral |
| Care Level | Easy |
| Aggression | Peaceful |
| Lighting | Low to Moderate |
| Flow | Moderate |
| Feeding | Optional but beneficial |
| Fragging | Very easy |
| Growth Form | Encrusting |
| Best Placement | Shaded rocks, frag racks, walls |
🌈 Popular Cyphastrea Morphs
| Name | Colors |
| Meteor Shower | Bright orange polyps, blue base |
| War and Peace | Red polyps, green base |
| Tyree Pink | Pink polyps, green base |
| Supernova | Neon polyps with mixed base |
🌿 Tips for Success
- Great coral for low light tanks or filling shaded zones.
- Grows slowly but steadily once established.
- Very forgiving — perfect for beginners or nano reefs.
- Combine with other peaceful encrusters like Leptoseris or Montipora for colorful layering.
Additional information
| Size | Large, Medium, Small |
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