Pavement Echinopora (Echinopora pacificus): Propagation Guide

Propagating encrusting pavement Echinopora by cutting the crust into pieces that each carry corallites, with husbandry notes for this Merulinidae stony coral.

Overview

Echinopora is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Pavement-forming Echinopora grows as an encrusting crust over rock, spreading flat before some species lift into laminar plates, which makes it a fast-spreading, beginner-friendly chalice-style coral. As a member of Merulinidae it carries symbiotic zooxanthellae and builds a calcium-carbonate skeleton.

Reproductive Mode

Like other reef-building Merulinidae, Echinopora reproduces sexually by releasing gametes into the water, but in aquaria propagation is overwhelmingly asexual. Its encrusting habit means a colony continually extends over adjacent rock, so cut sections regenerate readily from the crust margin.

Fragging / Asexual Propagation

For an encrusting coral the cleanest method is to cut a fully crusted section with a band saw, or to break off a piece of the rock the crust has grown over, ensuring each frag carries several corallites and live tissue. Frags are dipped, glued to a plug or rubble, and placed where the crust can resume spreading onto the new substrate.

Conditions for Propagation

Healing frags do well under medium light and moderate flow that keeps detritus from settling on the crust. Stable alkalinity and calcium support the continuous skeletal deposition that drives the pavement growth form.

Common Challenges

Because it spreads aggressively, pavement Echinopora can encroach on and overgrow slower neighbors, so frags need room or a barrier of bare rock. Detritus trapped on the flat crust during healing can cause tissue recession if flow is too weak.