Scientific Name:
Montipora capricornis
Classification: SPS
Common Names: Orange Cap
Description:
The coral grows in outwards facing whorls or plates. Surface of the coral
is bumpy with inconspicuous polyps. Color is a uniform orange color.
Veron: Colonies are flat plates in tiers or whorls, sometimes with columns,
sometimes encrusting or forming irregularly contorted laminae. Corallites
are immersed. There are no tuberculae or papillae. The
coenosteum is coarse. Color is uniform purple, blue or brown.
Natural Environment:
Veron: Mostly lagoons
Care:
Lighting: Seems to do well under moderate to strong
lighting. Strong lighting tends to give it a lighter coloration.
Recommend Metal halide or VHO/PC lighting.
Water Current: As with most SPS corals, requires fairly strong water
currents.
Temperature: Does well within a range of at least 75º to 84º
F
Aggressiveness: Low. All corals can sting adjacent corals,
but it does not have elongated stinging tentacles, so they can live in
fairly close proximity to other non-aggressive corals.
Feeding: Photosynthetic and requires no direct
feeding. That is why it is important to provide the proper lighting.
It will presumably take small zooplankton type foods if provided.
Supplements: Correct Calcium (400 – 500) and Alkalinity
(3.2 – 4.5ml/eq.) levels are important for health and growth. Low
alkalinity levels can cause loss of blue color as can insufficient
lighting.
Tank Positioning: Best if kept in the middle to upper portion
of the tank where it can get maximum light and moderate to high water
flow. This coral should be positioned to allow for its spreading
growth pattern that can overshadow its neighbors. If your tank has very
high intensity lighting, it is best to place any new coral on the bottom
of the tank for a week or two to acclimatize it to your tank lighting
conditions before moving it to it’s final location.
Growth Info:
Go
to Growth Sheet
