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HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR PECTINIA
PECTINIA BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Pectinia, commonly referred to as spiny cup corals, are a variety of large polyp stony corals from the family Merulinidae. Pectinia have a plate-like shape but then send up spire-like growths from that plate. It is a very interesting growth form that differentiates it aesthetically from other plating LPS.
Speaking of aesthetics, there are relatively few color morphs of Pectinia. Every now and again a new color morph pops up, but typically they are a variant of some basic strains. Here at Tidal Gardens we are constantly on the lookout for new and interesting varieties to add to the coral farm.
LIGHTING
While Pectinia is a photosynthetic coral, it isn’t a particularly light demanding coral. I recommend moderate lighting levels around 100 PAR and that will be more than sufficient for its photosynthetic needs. Most types of Pectinia are adaptable to different lighting intensities but the first priority should be to avoid overexposure. It does not take very long to do serious damage with light that is too bright, especially for a newly introduced Pectinia. Providing the coral with too little light for a week or two is no big deal at all. Too much light for a few days on the other hand is going to be a serious problem.
Also, Pectinia are pretty consistent with their coloration. There is always some degree of variability and color shift, but there is not a lot to be gained by increasing light intensity. It is not like some corals that only express peak coloration under intensely bright light. The appearance of Pectinia will depend a great deal more on the color temperature and quality of the light compared to the intensity of that light. Here is where personal preference plays a huge part.
Some aquarists may find the coral more appealing in 10,000K light while others will prefer viewing it under pure blue actinic lighting.
FEEDING
In addition to photosynthesis, Pectinia can catch and consume food for nutrition. Pectinia are surprisingly active feeders that can grab and consume a wide variety of foods ranging from coral-formulated sinking pellets to frozen food such as brine shrimp, mysis, and krill. Pectinia are much more active at night however, they are very reactive to food in the water during daylight hours and can be trained to feed at a time that is a little more convenient for the hobbyist.
What we do first is shut off the water flow. We then entice the coral with a small amount of food to elicit a feeding response. You only need to put a little bit of food around them to get a reaction. Once you start to see the tentacles extend you can put a small amount of food on the coral and give it a few minutes to consume it. After that short period of time you can turn the flow back on to blow away any excess food. We like to feed 2-3 times a week when we have time. If you have no desire to target feed, honestly the coral will probably do just fine with proper lighting from photosynthesis, but we have noticed an improvement in growth and appearance with the occasional target feeding.
WATER FLOW
Water flow is one of the most important aspects of keeping a healthy reef aquarium as it carries nutrients to and waste away from corals. Pectinia do not need very powerful flow. In fact, flow that is too strong can be a problem either by putting too much force on its flesh against its skeleton or dislodging the coral causing it to topple down from the aquascape. We look to provide just enough flow to prevent detritus settling in the valleys of the Pectinia’s body.
If you like to provide stronger flow in your tank, having pumps with variable speed control is a luxury. Variable flow helps in this regard because you can send periodic strong flow to the coral without fear of damaging the colony with too much flow from a single direction. You can also find ways to direct strong flow over the top of the aquascape so that no corals get hit directly.
Here are two videos where we discuss water flow in our systems:
Lastly, when designing my water circulation system I like to make it as easy as possible to turn the pumps off for targeted feeding. Some pumps have a handy feeding mode that kicks the pumps back on in case you forget.
PLACEMENT
As for placement in your tank, you will want to find a home for Pectinia that doesn’t get too much light or too much flow. Most people place them on the aquascape as opposed to on the bottom of the tank however I have seen them occasionally on a bare bottom tank. If you have a sandy substrate, that could bother them so I would recommend giving them a little bit of space above the substrate if you have sand in your tank.
Keep in mind that accidents can happen with either flow or a bulldozing fish or invert causing the Pectinia to topple off the aquascape. Make sure that if it does fall down, there isn’t a delicate coral underneath that it might kill.
AGGRESSION
Pectinia as a whole are not a particularly aggressive coral with one big exception. For whatever reason, the Space Invader color morph is very aggressive and it regularly sends out sweeper tentacles. As a precaution you may want to give ANY type of pectinia a little extra room because they are all capable of sending out sweepers and though most of them keep them tucked away during the day, it may be a whole lot more aggressive at night when you aren’t looking. If you see neighboring corals looking a little rough mysteriously, it may be because your Pectinia is stinging them at night.
If you would like to know more about coral aggression, you can check out our video on that topic:
CHEMISTRY
Let’s talk briefly about water chemistry. Pectinia corals are a somewhat fast growing LPS. They grow fast enough that we are able to farm them sustainably which puts their growth rate ahead of many other slower growing LPS. As a moderately fast growing LPS, Pectinia are going to need the building blocks of calcification readily available in the water column. Those building blocks being calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium.
Please check out the videos below for more information about these crucial building blocks:
Strive to keep your water chemistry close to natural sea water levels with an emphasis on consistency over specific values. It is better to keep suboptimal levels of calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium consistent rather than trying to fix low levels overnight with additives. If you are experiencing low levels, say for example, low alkalinity, you can add a supplement to boost it, but first double check your test results (and test kit) to make sure you are actually experiencing low levels, and then make the change slowly over the course of weeks until you reach a level more in line with natural sea water levels.
To maintain consistent levels, the amount of supplementation will depend a lot on the size and growth rate of the stony corals in your tank. Pectinia will contribute to that demand but there is a good chance there will be faster growing stony corals in your aquarium that will make a more significant impact on those figures.
Calcium and alkalinity aside, stony corals are sometimes more sensitive to declining water quality. In particular, pay attention to elevated nitrate levels. Low nitrate levels around 5-10ppm are actually welcome for large polyp stony corals, but around 30-40ppm of nitrate you might start running into some issues. If I see a coral suddenly start receding my mind immediately goes to possible nitrate issues. To remedy elevated nitrates I look to up nutrient removal through more aggressive protein skimming, detritus removal, and more frequent water changes. You could try to limit nutrient input by cutting back on feeding, but I tend to favor heavier feeding and dealing with the possible overages than underfeeding because on average I think that most aquariums are not getting enough food. That is just me though, so it is something you will have to experiment with in your own system.
CONCLUSION
So what type of aquarium would Pectinia fit in? Pectinia make a great addition to any mixed reef or LPS dominated aquarium looking for a plating coral with a twist. The spire-like growths really set it apart from all the other plating corals and if you look hard enough, you can find some interesting color morphs.
You can find all of our available Pectinia >> HERE <<
