Blue Ridge Coral

 Blue Ridge Coral Care

Blue Ridge Corals of the Genus Heliopora are a somewhat uncommon odd-ball coral. They have hints of blue or purple on their body with brown polyps that extend when provided sting flow. Despite being lumped together with soft corals, their body is tough like cured leather. Blue Ridge Corals grow quickly and make a wonderful addition to a variety of mixed reef systems. Please see below for additional care tips for blue ridge corals as well as checking out our Top 5 Tips for setting up a reef.

 Location

Indo-Pacific - Islands of the Indo-Pacific including Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Islands, and the Great Barrier Reef.

 Lighting

Blue Ridge Corals are not very sensitive to the intensity of lighting provided. We have kept them under the entire range of lighting from old, dim, fluorescent bulbs to metal halide and LED. Right now the majority of them are kept under strong lighting at the greenhouse.

Low Light

Low light translates to about 30-50 PAR

Medium Light

Medium Light is between 50-150 PAR

High Light

High Light is anything over 150 PAR

Lighting is a loaded topic, so for a more in-depth discussion of lighting, please see our Deep Dive article.

 Water Flow

Moderate to high water movement is recommended. These polyps require enough water flow to keep detritus from settling on them. Blue Ridge Corals also periodically develop a waxy film as a method of cleaning themselves and strong water flow aids in removing it.

 Feeding

Heliopora relies heavily on the products of their zooxanthellae but also may feed on phytoplankton and similarly sized microfauna in the water column.

 Propagation

This genus for the most part has been propagated extensively in captivity and is an excellent candidate for aquaculture. It is reasonable to believe that a sustainable harvest can be achieved in time.

 Acclimation

Proper acclimation is extremely important considering the stress imposed on the animals by the shipping process. Please take a moment to review our Acclimation Guide.

 Photography

The images were taken with a Canon 5D mk II and 100mm macro lens under T5 Fluorescent lighting. Quite a lot goes into how we go about shooting the corals and anemones you see on Tidal Gardens. For an in-depth look at our methods, check out our comprehensive Reef Aquarium Photography FAQ.