How much light and flow does Toadstool leather coral need?

Soft coral, medium light at roughly 100–160 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ PAR, with medium flow. Light and flow must match: high light with weak flow burns tips, strong flow with weak light thins the tissue.

Will Toadstool leather coral attack neighbouring corals?

It releases chemicals that suppress its neighbours, worst in a small tank with weak flow and stale carbon. Increase flow, change carbon often, and place it downstream.

Does Toadstool leather coral need feeding?

No. It gets its energy from its symbiotic algae, and extra food only raises nutrients.

What water parameters does Toadstool leather coral need?

24–26 °C, specific gravity 1.023–1.026, 7–9 dKH, 400–450 mg/L calcium, 1250–1350 mg/L magnesium. That is only 2 dKH wide, so stability matters more than hitting a particular number.

Is Toadstool leather coral a good beginner coral?

Difficulty: beginner. Growth: fast. Place it in the background / specimen. Spacing: 15 cm or more, especially from stony corals — it releases terpenoid toxins into the water and its cap spreads out to block light.

G-03 / 14Marine

Toadstool leather coral皮革珊瑚

Sarcophyton glaucum · Alcyoniidae

Toadstool leather: hardy, cheap and fast growing, and the standard example of chemical warfare — it releases toxins that suppress its neighbours.

Illustration to come

G-03 / 14 · Toadstool leather coral Sarcophyton glaucum

SpecificationsCoral atlas

Name: 皮革珊瑚
Scientific name: Sarcophyton glaucum
Family: Alcyoniidae
Origin: Reefs of the Indo-Pacific, including the Red Sea, Indonesia and the Great Barrier Reef
Type: Soft coral
Light: Medium light
PAR: 100–160
Flow: Medium flow
Aggression: Chemical toxins
Feeding: No feeding needed
Alkalinity: 7–9 dKH
Calcium: 400–450 mg/L
Magnesium: 1250–1350 mg/L
Salinity: 1.023–1.026 SG
Growth: Fast
Placement: Background / Specimen
Level: Beginner

Water requirementsMarine

Temp.24–26 °C

pH8.1–8.4

Salinity1.023–1.026 SG

Alkalinity7–9 dKH

Units: temperature in °C, hardness in German degrees (dGH / dKH), marine salinity as specific gravity at 25 °C, volume in litres. These are the values recorded for the species and do not follow the site unit switcher.

Keeping notes

1Spacing: 15 cm or more, especially from stony corals — it releases terpenoid toxins into the water and its cap spreads out to block light.
2Flow: medium to moderately strong, which helps it shed its periodic slough and carry the mucus away.
3Feeding: none needed; photosynthesis and suspended organics cover it.
4Water tolerance: among the toughest — it lives through high nutrients and mild salinity drift, but stalls if alkalinity stays too low.
5Growth form: the cap opens with the current; after an injury it retracts for a few days and then sloughs and recovers — normal, not disease.

Frequently asked questions

How much light and flow does Toadstool leather coral need?: Soft coral, medium light at roughly 100–160 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ PAR, with medium flow. Light and flow must match: high light with weak flow burns tips, strong flow with weak light thins the tissue.
Will Toadstool leather coral attack neighbouring corals?: It releases chemicals that suppress its neighbours, worst in a small tank with weak flow and stale carbon. Increase flow, change carbon often, and place it downstream.
Does Toadstool leather coral need feeding?: No. It gets its energy from its symbiotic algae, and extra food only raises nutrients.
What water parameters does Toadstool leather coral need?: 24–26 °C, specific gravity 1.023–1.026, 7–9 dKH, 400–450 mg/L calcium, 1250–1350 mg/L magnesium. That is only 2 dKH wide, so stability matters more than hitting a particular number.
Is Toadstool leather coral a good beginner coral?: Difficulty: beginner. Growth: fast. Place it in the background / specimen. Spacing: 15 cm or more, especially from stony corals — it releases terpenoid toxins into the water and its cap spreads out to block light.