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Species

Euphyllia ancora

A large-polyp stony coral whose tentacle tips end in a hammer or anchor. Forgiving of moderate flow; wants alkalinity that does not move.

Hammer coral (Euphyllia ancora)

Care basics

Medium flow and medium light. Under too much of either the tentacles stay short and the colony stops extending past its skeleton, which is the first thing you will notice and the easiest to fix.

Give it room. Euphyllia put out sweeper tentacles at night that reach far past the visible flesh — fifteen centimetres is ordinary — and whatever is inside that radius loses. A hand’s width of bare rock is not wasted space.

Scientific classification

Phylum
Cnidaria
Class
Anthozoa
Order
Scleractinia
Family
Euphylliidae
Genus
Euphyllia
Described by
Veron & Pichon, 1980

At a glance

Alkalinity
8–9 dKH
Temperature
24–26 °C
Flow
Medium