Duncanopsammia

Duncanopsammia, universally known as Duncan corals, are an Australian icon — originally described from specimens collected in the waters around Australia and now one of the most popular beginner LPS corals worldwide. They grow as branching colonies with large, round polyps on individual stalks, creating an attractive tree-like structure. Place them in the mid-section of your tank under moderate PAR (75–150 PAR) with moderate flow that makes the polyps gently sway.

Maintain stable reef parameters: alkalinity 7.5–9.0 dKH, calcium 400–450 ppm, magnesium 1300–1400 ppm, and temperature 25–26 °C. Duncans are enthusiastic feeders and grow noticeably faster with regular target feeding — offer mysis, brine shrimp, or reef roids two to three times weekly. Each polyp feeds independently, and watching a large colony during feeding time is genuinely entertaining. Growth is fast for an LPS coral, and a small frag can develop into an impressive colony within a year or two.

Duncans are peaceful corals that won’t sting neighbours, making them ideal for mixed reef tanks. Fragging is simple — snap or cut individual branches from the colony, and the frag will quickly recover and begin growing new heads. As an Australian native coral, locally sourced Duncans are extremely well-suited to domestic tanks and readily available from most coral retailers around the country.