Stylophora

Stylophora, affectionately known as Stylo or Cat's Paw coral, is a smooth-branched SPS with rounded, club-like tips that make it instantly recognisable. It sits in the moderate difficulty range for SPS, tolerating slightly less-than-perfect conditions compared to Acropora. Maintain calcium at 400–440 ppm, alkalinity at 7.5–9 dKH, and stable temperature between 25–27°C. Stylophora are somewhat forgiving of minor parameter fluctuations but will brown out under insufficient light.

Place Stylophora in the mid to upper portions of your aquarium under moderate to high lighting. Unlike many SPS, Stylophora does well with moderate rather than extreme flow — strong laminar currents can actually inhibit its growth. It grows at a steady pace, forming compact, bushy colonies with attractive pastel colours including pink, purple, green, and cream. Under optimal conditions and strong blue light, Stylophora can display vivid fluorescent colours that rival any Acropora.

Stylephora are excellent fragging candidates. The smooth branches cut cleanly with coral cutters, and frags encrust onto plugs or rock within a couple of weeks. In Australia, captive-grown Stylophora frags are widely available and tend to be hardier than wild-collected specimens. They are naturally found throughout the Indo-Pacific including the Great Barrier Reef, so they are well-suited to the warmer water temperatures typical of Australian reef tanks. Keep an eye out for montipora-eating nudibranchs, which occasionally target Stylophora as well.