Caulastrea furcata: living card for candy cane coral

Caulastrea furcata (candy cane coral) makes sense as a reef keeper’s first LPS. It forgives more than many corals, but retracted tissue should never become normal.

Quick read

• Type: branching LPS coral.
• Aquarium: mature stable reef without aggressive neighbours touching it.
• Light: moderate.
• Flow: gentle to moderate, indirect.
• Indicative temperature: 24-26 C.
• Salinity: 1.024-1.026 SG.
• Alkalinity: 8-11 dKH.
• Calcium: 400-450 mg/L.
• Difficulty: low-medium; requires LPS stability.

What to check before placing it

Choose fleshy heads with no exposed white skeleton or torn tissue between polyps. Ask how long it has been stable.

Before gluing a colony, think about its future size, the direction of flow, and whether you could remove it without dismantling half the rockwork if something goes wrong.

Placement and coral reading

Place it where it can inflate without rubbing rock. Flow should bring food and remove mucus, not close every polyp.

Read the first week outside the blue-light photo. Watch extension, tissue, response to flow, and irritation signs when the aquarium is in its normal rhythm.

Working parameters

Stable alkalinity and precise salinity matter more than intense light. Night feeding can help, but excess food pollutes the system.

In a reef, stability means repetition: salinity, alkalinity, temperature, and nutrients inside a window the aquarium can sustain, not perfect numbers from one test.

Compatibility and warning

It is relatively peaceful, but needs margin. Keep Euphyllia, favias, and sweeper corals from reaching it at night.

Tissue separating from skeleton, gaping mouths, or head loss require checks on alkalinity, salinity, damage, and flow.

Reference sources

WoRMS for taxonomic reference; LiveAquaria, Tidal Gardens, and specialist reef guides for practical light, flow, and stability ranges. Values are indicative and must be adapted to the real history of the system.