Purple and Green Short Tentacle Galaxea
Galaxea Coral Care
Galaxea is an aggressive stoney coral with short tentacles tipped in white. Please see below for additional care tips for Galaxea as well as checking out our Top 5 Tips for setting up a reef.
Location
Indo-Pacific - Islands of the Indopacific including Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Islands, and the Great Barrier Reef.
Lighting
Galaxea does not require as much light as some other corals. It can be kept under normal output fluorescents without much difficulty. In our experience this coral does poorly in medium to high light reef aquariums.
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 flow is recommended.
Feeding
Galaxea relies heavily on the products of their zooxanthellae. This coral may benefit from finely ground meaty foods. The food should almost have a paste-like consistency before being administered due to the small size of the polyps.
A Word of Warning
Galaxea are notorious for long sweeper tentacles that can sting nearby corals. Give this coral plenty of space to minimize aggression.
Propagation
In terms of propagation, this genus has been successfully fragmented.
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.