The Chalice Coral is often overlooked or mistaken for Montipora in the hobby however their popularity is growing here in the UK with more and more colour variations making their way into circulation. Let's take a quick look at the Chalice Coral, its requirements and some variations currently in store.
The Chalice Coral is the commonly used name for a group of corals which all look quite similar and have much the same care requirements. The Chalice Coral looks very similar to an encrusting Montipora, whereby as it grows it lays down a calcium skeleton which follows the contour of the rock on which it's mounted. As it establishes it can begin to grow away from the rockwork however and create a lip or cup shape, hence the name 'chalice' coral. Unlike Montipora, the Chalice Coral is an LPS not an SPS coral. The polyps on the Chalice Coral are sometimes described as 'eyes' because they can display a different colour from the rest of the coral. In the main picture you can see the polyps are displaying a pink colour whilst the main body is is a mixture of green and purple. This sometimes occurs on Montipora however the polyps are significantly smaller hence it being an SPS and the Chalice being an LPS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LPS AND SPS CHECK OUT ANOTHER RnC BLOG CLICK HERE.
Care Requirements:
In terms of care requirements the Chalice Coral is relatively easy going, being an LPS coral in generally does best in moderate flow and moderate lighting. The flow should be enough to circulate water around the coral and stop any detritus settling on it but not so much that its preventing the polyps from opening or feeding. It is an LPS coral so the polyps are a bit fleshier than other corals so won't like being battered with flow. As an LPS coral it also doesn't require a huge amount of light. If you have a mixed reef with SPS in the top of the tank you'd probably be better off placing the Chalice halfway down the rockwork. The Chalice Coral is pretty consistent with the colours it displays so there's margin for error in terms of placement for light. I will caveat that however by saying the margin for error is in terms of giving it too little light rather than too much. Too much light will upset this coral with less than desirable results whereas too little light won't affect it as negatively. The takeaway here is, air on the side of caution and give it too little light rather than too much if you're unsure where to place it.
The big thing with Chalice Corals and their care requirements is their aggression. These coral can be very aggressive to neighbouring corals that encroach into their space and whilst feeding. When feeding this coral it will often extend long sweeper tentacles which will sting nearby corals. There are mixed reports on whether or not Chalices will sting other Chalices as well which rules out just grouping them all together in one place of the tank. One way to gauge an individual Chalice's aggression level is to view the tank at night with a red torch and to note how long the sweeper tentacles are. You can then make sure those sweeper tentacles aren't able to reach other corals, however you should account for the Chalice Coral growing over time as well. With some planning and forethought the aggression can be managed and the Chalice can easily become a part of your reef tank.
The Chalice Coral is photosynthetic so will gain energy from the lighting fixture you have so directly feeding this coral isn't absolutely necessary but generally speaking I would always advise feeding corals to get the best out of them. As an LPS it will easily take some larger pieces of food up to Mysis Shrimp size. You can use particle foods such as LPS food or general coral food. The feeding response is great to watch as the feeding tentacles start to emerge to catch pieces of food.
Nutrients-wise, they should all be nice and stable at the range you're running you reef at. DkH, Calcium and Magnesium should all be stable and managed to help the coral lay down and maintain its calcium skeleton. Some reef keepers report that Chalices' don't do as well in low nutrient tanks. Nutrients in reef tanks are a tricky subject however I would say that some Nitrate and Phosphate in the system coupled with good coral feeding will give this coral the best chance for success.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PARAMETERS CHECK OUT ANOTHER RnC BLOG CLICK HERE
Colour variations:
The Chalice Coral's popularity is growing in the UK and it's easy to see why, there are some great colour morphs out there. The main picture is a Bubblegum Chalice instore, the colours are spread around a bit like a grafted Montipora. There are other Chalices where the flesh is one colour and the polyps are a contrasting colour which can look really striking. Other Chalices are one colour or have very subtle colour differences. It can be hard to see the detail on Chalice frags which is why its always worth taking the time to take a good look at them. The fluorescent colours also show more under blue LED light as opposed to T5 or Metal Halide.
Here are a few Chalices in store at the moment;
So that's the Chalice Coral. As long as you manage the aggression which is easy enough to do you can reap the benefits of this stunning coral. You could even have a few as frags and let them grow out on your rockwork or go all in and have a centrepiece colony. Pop in to the shop and have a look for yourself, there's plenty of different colour morphs to choose between with more being grown out for the future so keep popping in and keep checking the website for new additions!