Trumpet/Candy Cane Coral

Scientific name: caulastra curvata, cited also as caulastra echinulata, caulastra sp., and caulastra furcata.
Phylum: cnidaria
Class: anthozoa
Subclass: zoantharia, hexacorallia
Order: scleractinia
Family: faviidae
Genus: Caulastra
Common names: trumpet, candy cane coral.
General:The faviidae family contains the brain corals, honeycomb, and star coral. Trumpets tolerate varying water flow and lighting, but are best suited for lower flow, and medium to strong light. Like many marine invertebrates and corals with a mouth, the trumpet's does double duty both eating and excreting wastes. The mouth is large, as evidenced by the skeleton. It empties into a cavernous cavity where digestion takes place. The trumpet lives in colonies where floating food for one often is food for others; although each polyp is individual. It is a photosynthetic coral containing in its tissue single celled symbiots called zooxanthellae. Through photosysnthesis these cells utilize light to produce food, and carbon dioxide, which is turned into oxygen. Trumpets will also readily accept meaty food when feeder tentacles are present, usually at night. Their tentacles sting live prey, paralyzing them and enabling the coral to swallow and digest. Brine shrimp are a favorite food of this coral in the wild.
Color: Beige, brown, blue, greenish, purplish, yellowish.
Origin: Indo Pacific, Fiji, Bali, Jakarta.
Appearance: Named for the similarity in appearance to the bell of the musical instrument, the trumpet is striking in appearance. The coral exhibits diverse variations both in color and pattern. Some are of single color, while others appear painted with stripes almost like a barber pole. They have long, translucent, fragile looking feeder tentacles which emerge in darkness. .
Temperament: The trumpet is non-aggressive, having no means to hunt or actively seek prey, but as cnidarians, their feeder tentacles do sting. Their stalks provide hiding places for smaller animals like fish fry and copepods.
Water quality: require typical reef-quality water, parameters outlined as follows.
Reef parameters and recommended/desired levels:
Salinity/specific gravity-1.025ppm or 35ppt
temp.-78-82
PH-8.1-8.3
Ammonia/NH3-0
Nitrite/NO2-0
Nitrate/NO3-0
Phosphate/PO4-0
Magnesium/Mg-1400-1500ppm
Alk/dKH/KH-7-14.
Calcium/Ca-380-500ppm
Hardiness:Very hardy. Surprisingly an excellent beginner coral being an LPS; but providing sufficient light and water movement is a must.
Current/flow: Trumpets like low to moderate flow.
Foods/feeding: Mysis, minced table shrimp, brine in the wild--most any meaty marine food.
Lighting requirements: Many sources state trumpets prefer low to moderate light; yet as a large polyped stony coral (LPS), strong light makes sense too.
Fragging difficulty: Easily propagated by breaking or cutting stalk well below fleshy tissue and gluing to a plug or disk.
Personal observations: Target feeding is best accomplished during the lights-out period when the tentacles readily accept small meaty foods. They are not fast growing corals, but will reward you with splitting when conditions are favorable. Keeping this coral out of high flow is best, as the flesh is very thin and delicate. Although I have personally read more sources claim the trumpet favors low light, a few folks that I've spoken to say they like strong light, too. What's your experience?

 

Mine do best at the top of my tank under my MH lights. I actually bought a Xenia on a coral skeleton and all of a sudden a candy cane started to grow out of it, not just one head but five. I kept them in my 34Gal under PC lighting and they did fine but when I put them under MH lighting in my 110 they took off like a rocket. They are now huge and definitely one of my favorite coral. I feed them mysis and brine shrimp.

 

Very nice article. I love my neon greens

 

great article reef sparky

thank you

Steve