Hammer, Torch & Frogspawn Coral

Euphyllia are among the most rewarding LPS corals to keep, but their care requirements deserve respect. Provide moderate PAR lighting (75–150 PAR) and medium, alternating flow — enough to make the tentacles sway gently without battering them. Placement in the mid-section of the tank works well. Keep water parameters stable: salinity 1.025, temperature 25–26 °C (watch those Australian summer heatwaves — a chiller or fan setup is essential if your fish room gets above 28 °C), alkalinity 7.5–9.0 dKH, calcium 400–450 ppm, and magnesium 1300–1400 ppm. Euphyllia are photosynthetic but benefit greatly from weekly target feeding with meaty foods like mysis, brine shrimp, or reef roids.

Sweeper tentacles are the main consideration when placing Euphyllia — they can extend stingers 15 cm or more at night, so leave generous space between them and other genera. They generally coexist well with other Euphyllia species, and many reefers create impressive Euphyllia gardens by grouping torches, hammers, and frogspawn together. Australian aquacultured specimens are widely available from local coral farms and tend to be hardier than wild-caught imports.

Fragging is straightforward for branching varieties — use a clean bone cutter to separate individual heads at the branch point, dip in iodine-based coral dip, and mount on a plug. Wall-type Euphyllia are more challenging to frag but can be carefully split with a diamond band saw. Allow frags several weeks to recover before resuming feeding.