LPS Corals in Practice: A Family-by-Family Guide

LPS Corals in Practice: A Family-by-Family Guide

LPS is not a biological group but a hobbyist shorthand that lumps together large-polyp stony corals from several different families. What they share are fleshy polyps on a hard calcium-carbonate skeleton — but their care differs by family more than most people assume. The same light-and-flow recipe that keeps a hammer coral happy can kill a sand-dwelling plate coral or starve a non-photosynthetic sun coral.

This article is a practical tool: for each group it covers where to place it and why, how to set light, flow and feeding, what a healthy specimen looks like in the shop, and where the group typically goes wrong. If you first want an overview of coral groups or a comparison between them, start with the basics.

More on this: Coral groups: basics · LPS, SPS and soft corals in practice

Taxonomy note: shop labels don’t always match current classification. Most “acans” are now Micromussa rather than Acanthastrea, and the familiar “brain corals” Favia, Favites and Platygyra belong to the family Merulinidae, not the old Faviidae. Care doesn’t change with the name, though — species in the same family generally need the same light, flow and feeding.

Families and species — practical cards

Light is given as a PAR value (µmol/m²/s). The figures are starting points from which the coral is acclimated gradually to your tank — a single reading never replaces watching the coral’s body language.

Euphylliidae — hammer, frogspawn, torch

Corals of the genera Euphyllia and Fimbriaphyllia are the cornerstone of many an LPS tank: long, constantly swaying tentacles bring a movement few other corals can offer. Hammer (Fimbriaphyllia ancora), frogspawn (Fimbriaphyllia divisa) and torch (Euphyllia glabrescens) are the most common.

• Placement: middle or lower part of the tank, on rock. Branching forms are hardier than wall forms.
• Light: moderate, 50–120 PAR. Too much light burns the tissue and closes the tentacles.
• Flow: gentle to moderate, varying. The tentacles should sway softly, not whip — constant strong flow is stressful.
• Feeding: takes small meaty pieces (mysis, minced food) and zooplankton once or twice a week, but lives largely on photosynthesis.
• Practical tip: torch is clearly more aggressive than hammer and frogspawn and should not be placed next to them. Specimens of different origin (Indonesia vs. Australia) may fight each other even when the species is the same.

Deeper on this: The genus Euphyllia: deep dive

Lobophylliidae — acans, scoly, meat coral, lobophyllia, blastomussa

This family contains the most coveted colour corals in the hobby. What they share is fleshy, often vividly coloured tissue and a strong response to feeding.

• Acans (Micromussa lordhowensis, M. amakusensis, Acanthastrea echinata): tight dome-shaped colonies, dramatic colour morphs.
• Scoly (Homophyllia australis, Scolymia): a single disc-shaped polyp resting on sand or low rock — a collector favourite for its colours.
• Meat coral (Acanthophyllia deshayesiana): one large, strongly water-inflating polyp that swells up during the day. Lives on sand.
• Lobophyllia and blastomussa (Blastomussa wellsi, B. merleti): blastomussa’s soft, button-like polyps thrive in low light and flow.

Care for the whole family:

• Placement: on sand or in the lower part of the tank, in a sheltered spot. Scoly and meat coral always on sand — not on rock, where the tissue can abrade.
• Light: low to moderate, 30–120 PAR. Intense colour morphs (rainbow, warpaint) burn easily — keep them in lower light.
• Flow: low, no direct flow. In nature these live in sheltered lagoon and back-reef areas.
• Feeding: about 70 % of energy comes from photosynthesis, the rest from carnivorous feeding. Acans, scolies and meat corals respond exceptionally well to feeding — a small meaty piece or pellet placed directly on the polyp once or twice a week speeds up growth and colouring.
• Practical tip: start with single-colour or two-tone morphs. Wild rainbow specimens are the most sensitive to swings in light, nutrients and salinity. Acanthastrea echinata grows sweeper tentacles and is more aggressive than Micromussa species.

Merulinidae — brain, maze and candy cane

This family covers the familiar Favia, Favites, Goniastrea and Platygyra corals (“brain” and “maze”) as well as the candy cane coral (Caulastrea furcata).

• Placement: lower or middle part of the tank, on rock. Candy cane’s grape-cluster polyps also grow well at the sand line.
• Light: moderate, 75–150 PAR.
• Flow: low to moderate.
• Feeding: takes meaty pieces, usually in the evening when the feeding tentacles extend. Candy cane is an eager eater and grows quickly with feeding.
• Practical tip: many brain and maze species have long sweeper tentacles that emerge at night and burn neighbours. Leave at least 8–10 cm of clearance. Candy cane is one of the easiest beginner LPS corals.

Fungiidae — plate corals

Plate corals (Fungia, Cycloseris, Heliofungia) are mostly solitary, free-living corals that rest on sand and do not attach to rock. Very hardy — a good choice for the beginning LPS keeper.

• Placement: always on sand, on a level surface. Plate corals can slowly “walk” across the bottom, so leave space around them and not right next to rocks they can abrade against.
• Light: moderate, 100–200 PAR; they tolerate a wide range.
• Flow: low to medium.
• Feeding: takes meaty pieces readily, placed in the centre on the mouth.
• Practical tip: Heliofungia (long tentacle plate) resembles an anemone and is clearly more demanding — it needs a fine sand bed and does not tolerate tissue abrasion. Avoid specimens whose skeleton shows through the tissue.

Flowerpot — Goniopora and Alveopora

Flowerpot corals (Goniopora, Alveopora) do not biologically belong to the same family as the above (they are relatives within Poritidae), but hobbyists classify them as LPS because of their long, flower-like polyps. They deserve their own warning: Goniopora has traditionally been one of the hardest corals to keep alive long-term.

• Placement: on sand or low rock, where the polyps have room to extend.
• Light: moderate, 50–120 PAR.
• Flow: low to moderate, no direct flow.
• Feeding: benefits from fine food (phyto- and zooplankton, powdered coral foods). Unlike many LPS, flowerpot does best in a tank where nutrients are not bottomed out — an ULNS tank is a poor environment for it.
• Practical tip: choose an aquacultured specimen over a wild one — cultured pieces adapt to the tank considerably better. Alveopora (12 tentacles per polyp) is often a little easier than Goniopora (24 tentacles). A good sign is full, daily polyp extension; gradually decreasing extension is an early warning.

Trachyphyllia — open brain

Trachyphyllia geoffroyi (open brain) is a solitary, strongly water-inflating coral that in nature lives loose on a soft bottom, away from rock.

• Placement: always on sand, not on rock. Not in a spot where it can press against sharp rocks when it inflates.
• Light: low, 30–80 PAR.
• Flow: gentle — too much flow keeps the polyp from inflating fully.
• Feeding: takes meaty pieces eagerly in the evening.
• Practical tip: avoid specimens whose skeleton shows through the tissue or whose tissue is detached at the skeleton edges — that is often a sign of transport damage.

Caryophylliidae and Dendrophylliidae — bubble, elegance, turbinaria, duncan, sun coral

The remaining popular LPS corals. Classification is in flux, so established names are used below:

• Bubble coral (Plerogyra sinuosa): bladder-like vesicles inflate during the day, and long sweeper tentacles emerge at night. Low light (50–100 PAR), gentle flow, plenty of room for neighbours. Don’t touch the vesicles — they tear easily.
• Elegance coral (Catalaphyllia jardinei): on sand, low to moderate light, gentle flow, regular feeding. Notoriously disease-prone, so choose only a fully healthy, well-extended specimen.
• Turbinaria (scroll/cup coral): hardy, moderate light and flow, photosynthesises and feeds. A good intermediate choice.
• Duncan (Duncanopsammia axifuga): one of the easiest LPS corals — fast-growing, eats eagerly, moderate light and flow. An excellent starter coral.
• Sun coral (Tubastraea) and Balanophyllia: non-photosynthetic — they have no zooxanthellae, so light is irrelevant. They must be hand-fed almost daily with meaty food on every polyp, often in a separate feeding chamber. A beautiful but labour-intensive coral that suits you only once your feeding and nutrient routine is under control.

Shared water chemistry

Although light and flow vary by family, the water-chemistry base is the same for all LPS corals. Alkalinity, calcium and magnesium are the building blocks of the skeleton, and their stability matters more than the last decimal of the target value.

Practical rules:

• Measurable nutrients are good. LPS tolerates nitrate and phosphate better than SPS, and they feed the polyps and support colour. Avoid zero nutrients — flowerpot and acans in particular suffer in a nutrient-poor tank.
• Slow down alkalinity changes. Keep the daily change under 0.5 dKH. A rapid swing is the single most common source of stress for LPS corals.
• Measure before you correct. Adjust only one thing at a time and let it settle before making the next change.

More on this: The principle of stability · Temperature

Choosing a healthy coral

Most LPS problems are avoided at the shop. Go through the specimen before buying:

• Tissue covers the skeleton. If the skeleton shows through or the tissue has receded at the edges, skip the specimen — it’s often a sign of bleaching or transport damage.
• Polyps extend. A healthy coral opens up in moving water. Permanently closed polyps are a warning sign (though a coral just placed in the shop tank may still be closed).
• No slime or brown jelly. Heavy slime production or a jelly-like mass on the tissue is a reason to leave the whole batch alone.
• Colour authenticity. Unnaturally glowing colours can be an illusion created by heavy actinic lighting. Ask to see the coral under more neutral light.
• Origin. An aquacultured or maricultured specimen almost always adapts to the tank better than a fresh wild one — ask the seller.

Don’t buy a coral on the same trip where you take it straight into the display tank without dipping and acclimation. Plan the introduction in advance.

Introducing a coral to the tank

A new coral is always stressed after collection, transport and the shop tank. Introduction is done in three stages.

1. Acclimation. First equalise the temperature by floating the sealed bag in the tank for 15–20 minutes. Then adjust the coral to your own tank’s water gradually (drip, or add tank water to the bag in small amounts over a couple of hours), especially if salinity or pH differ from the source. Don’t let transport water into the tank.

2. Light acclimation. This is the most underrated stage for LPS corals. Shops often keep corals in dim light, so your own tank can feel harsh to them — the result is bleaching or tissue retraction right after introduction. Place the new coral first in the shaded lower part of the tank and raise it to its final spot gradually over a couple of weeks, or dim the lights for the acclimation period.

3. Dipping and quarantine. Every new coral is dipped against pests and disease before going into the display tank. One LPS quirk is worth remembering: Euphylliidae corals pull their tentacles in when stressed and shield the flatworms inside as they do, so an ordinary dip doesn’t work. Move the coral into the dip container, wait up to 30 minutes for it to open fully, and only then add the dip solution slowly. A potassium-based dip (e.g. Reef Primer) is gentle but effective.

More on this: Coral dipping and quarantine protocol

Placement and managing aggression

LPS corals are not passive — they compete for space both physically (sweeper tentacles, mesenterial filaments) and chemically through the water. For placement:

• Allow room to grow. Place specimens at the size they will become, not at their current frag size. Acans and brain corals spread; Euphyllia tentacles reach 15–20 cm.
• Separate the aggressive ones. Torch, Acanthastrea echinata and many brain corals grow sweeper tentacles at night. Observe the tank after lights-out to see the true reach.
• Sand species on sand. Scoly, meat coral, plate, elegance and trachyphyllia belong on the bottom. They are not placed on rock, where the tissue abrades.
• Control chemical warfare. If the tank is densely stocked, activated carbon and regular water changes keep the chemical compounds circulating in the water in check.

More on this: Allelopathy in practice

Feeding in practice

Most LPS corals photosynthesise, but almost all benefit from targeted feeding — especially acans, scolies, meat corals, trachyphyllia and flowerpot. Working principles:

• Time it for a calm moment. Switch off or slow the circulation pumps for feeding so the food doesn’t blow past. Many LPS species extend their feeding tentacles only in the evening.
• Match the piece size to the coral. Large-polyp corals (trachyphyllia, meat coral, lobophyllia) take a generous meaty piece; small-polyp corals (acans, flowerpot, goniopora) need fine food. Too large a piece makes the polyp close and spit the food out.
• Use a targeting tool. A syringe or feeding tube delivers the food straight to the polyp, so fish don’t steal it and the nutrient load stays in check.
• Restraint. Excess food decomposes and raises nutrients. One or two targeted feedings a week is enough for most — sun corals are the exception, needing food almost daily.

When something goes wrong

Most LPS problems can be spotted in the coral’s body language before the situation escalates. Learn to recognise:

• Polyps don’t extend / tissue retracts. The most common cause is a swing in parameters (alkalinity, temperature), wrong flow or a burn from a neighbouring coral. Check parameters and placement first.
• Paling / bleaching. The coral pales and eventually turns translucent as it loses its zooxanthellae — usually too high a temperature or too strong a light (often the result of inadequate light acclimation). Lower the temperature, reduce the light and keep parameters steady; feeding supports recovery.

Three more serious and fast-progressing LPS diseases — brown jelly disease plus RTN (Rapid Tissue Necrosis) and STN (Slow Tissue Necrosis) — require their own, deeper treatment, because the right response depends on identifying the cause. A quick general guide: isolate the affected coral, cut the healthy tissue away above the boundary line, dip it and fix the water quality — removing the symptom alone without correcting the root cause leads to the disease returning.

More on this: Brown jelly disease: recognition and treatment · RTN and STN: recognising and treating tissue loss

References

Peer-reviewed studies

• Arrigoni, R., et al. (2016). A new family-level classification of the order Scleractinia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa). Zootaxa, 4060(1), 1–88.
• Sweet, M., Craggs, J., Robson, J., & Bythell, J. (2013). Assessment of the microbial communities associated with white syndrome and brown jelly syndrome in aquarium corals. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research, 1(2), 67–74.

Reviews and overviews

• Aslett, C. G. (2024). Coral Taxonomy, Part I: An Introduction & Part II: Early Disentanglements. Reef Ranch Publishing. https://www.reefranch.co.uk/
• Aslett, C. G. (2024). Chapter 8: Coral Compatibility. The Complete Reef Aquarist — A Conservation Manual. Reef Ranch Publishing, pp. 402–407.

Hobbyist literature and sources

• Marshall, T. (Manta Systems). Acanthastrea / Micromussa (Acans) — Complete LPS Care Guide. https://www.mantasystems.net/
• Manta Systems. LPS Corals Guide: Identification, Care & Reef Tips. https://www.mantasystems.net/a/blog/post/Intro-LPS-Corals
• Tidal Gardens. Euphyllia & Fimbryphyllia Troubleshooting Guide. Video transcript, 2024. https://tidalgardens.com/
• Reef Chasers. Coral Care Guides: Lobophyllia, Fungia Plates, Sun Corals. https://reefchasers.com/

Books

• Borneman, E. H. (2001). Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History. T.F.H. Publications.
• Delbeek, J. C., & Sprung, J. (2005). The Reef Aquarium: Science, Art, and Technology, Vol. 3. Ricordea Publishing.

Websites

• Extreme Corals. Duncan Coral Care Guide & Elegance Coral Care Guide. https://www.extremecorals.com/
• LiveAquaria. LPS Hard Corals. https://www.liveaquaria.com/category/321/