Rainbow Acanthophyllia Propagation Guide
Propagating the rainbow colour morph of Acanthophyllia deshayesiana: a solitary single-polyp meat coral that is not routinely fragged and increases mainly through natural budding and wild spawning.
Overview
The rainbow Acanthophyllia is a colour morph of Acanthophyllia deshayesiana (Michelin, 1850), a large polyp stony coral in the family Lobophylliidae. The World Register of Marine Species treats Acanthophyllia (Wells, 1937) as a valid genus that was separated from Cynarina lacrymalis in 2016. The vivid concentric bands do not change the animal's biology: it remains a solitary, free-living coral built on a single mouth and one fleshy mantle.
Reproductive Mode
Because the rainbow morph is still a single-polyp Acanthophyllia, it cannot be multiplied by dividing a colony into many corallites. Increase under aquarium conditions depends on slow natural budding and tissue regeneration on the existing skeleton, while new individuals on the reef arise from sexual spawning rather than division.
Fragging / Asexual Propagation
Reef Builders explains that single-polyp corals such as meat corals, Scolymia and Fungia do not lend themselves to ordinary fragging, since there is no shared skeletal wall between separate polyps to follow with a saw. Sectioning a solitary rainbow specimen would cut through its one polyp and put the prized colouration at serious risk, so these animals are normally kept whole and allowed to bud naturally instead of being cut.
Conditions for Propagation
Should tissue ever be cut or divide on its own, healing is best supported by steady water chemistry and gentle conditions. Reef Builders advises basting mucus off the coral carefully and keeping flow low while tissue recovers, so the fleshy mantle is not torn. Stable, clean water and calm movement let the polyp re-cover exposed skeleton.
Sexual Reproduction
In common with related Lobophylliidae, Acanthophyllia reproduces sexually by broadcasting gametes into the water, where fertilisation yields planula larvae that drift, settle and grow into new single polyps. Colour morphs are not inherited in a predictable way through this pathway, which is the natural means of producing new corals rather than fragmentation.
Common Challenges
The heavy fleshy mantle bruises easily and, in a single-polyp coral, any wound endangers the whole specimen. The tissue inflates and deflates strongly, so handling must be gentle, and a torn or receding mantle can deteriorate fast in poor water. Keep the soft tissue clear of sharp rock and strong current, and disturb the coral as little as possible.