Concinna Plate Care Guide
Concinna Plate (Fungia concinna) is a LPS coral. Care covers 75-175 PAR, low flow, reef parameters and feeding; intermediate level.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Concinna Plate (Fungia concinna) is a LPS coral in the family Fungiidae. Plate coral with elongated oval profile and pronounced central mouth. Vibrant green common.
Taxonomy
- Family: Fungiidae
- Genus: Fungia
- Scientific name: Fungia concinna
- Common synonyms: Concinna Mushroom Plate
Habitat
In the wild, Fungia concinna is reported from Indo-Pacific, where it occupies mid to lower reef slopes and lagoons (typically 5-30 m). The species adopts a plating growth form on hard substrate within zooxanthellate reef communities.
Tank requirements
- Salinity (specific gravity): 1.024-1.026
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- Carbonate hardness (dKH): 8-11
- Calcium: 400-450 ppm
- Magnesium: 1280-1350 ppm
- Phosphate (max): 0.03 ppm
- Nitrate (max): 5 ppm
- Minimum system age: 3 months
Placement and lighting
- PAR (placement zone): 75-175 PAR
- Water flow: low
As a free-living plate coral, place this specimen directly on the sand bed rather than on rock; it can inflate, shift position, and right itself if toppled. Keep flow gentle and indirect — strong jets tear the expanded tissue — and avoid letting it slide against rock or other corals, where abrasion invites infection.
Feeding
Fungia concinna hosts symbiotic zooxanthellae and derives most of its energy through photosynthesis. Supplemental target feeding accelerates growth and supports colouration; commonly accepted items include mysis, reef-roids. Feed once or twice per week after lights-out, when polyps are extended.
Compatibility
This coral is passive toward neighbours. Reef-safe with most fish and invertebrates.
Care notes
Difficulty level: intermediate. Reported skeletal growth in well-tuned reef tanks is approximately 0.1-0.3 cm/month. Propagation by fragmentation is straightforward for plating colonies — separate branches or polyps with a bone cutter, glue to plug, allow 1-2 weeks for healing. Maintain stable alkalinity (avoid swings above ±0.5 dKH per day) to preserve tissue health.
Fungia concinna (Concinna Plate) Propagation Guide
Overview
Fungia concinna is a solitary, free-living plate coral in the family Fungiidae, with an elongated oval disc and a pronounced central mouth. Like other fungiids it is a single free-living polyp on the bottom rather than a colony. It therefore is not propagated by cutting it into several heads; instead it relies on the regeneration and budding typical of mushroom plate corals.
Reproductive Mode
Fungiids start as a small attached juvenile and later detach into a free-living disc. Asexually, they produce daughter polyps (anthocauli) that bud from the skeleton and detach, and they regenerate damaged tissue. The family also reproduces sexually through gamete release and free-swimming larvae.
Fragging / Asexual Propagation
Propagation uses anthocauli regeneration rather than cutting. When the disc is stressed, damaged, or partly dying, new daughter polyps bud from the skeletal tissue and grow on the old skeleton or stalk, eventually detaching as independent plates. Leaving even a compromised skeleton in stable water gives these daughter polyps the chance to develop, which is the practical asexual route for the genus.
Conditions for Propagation
- Soft substrate so the free-living disc rests without abrading its tissue.
- Low to moderate flow suited to a bottom-dwelling plate coral.
- Stable, high-quality water so a stressed disc regenerates rather than rots.
- Time and patience, since daughter polyps emerge slowly over weeks to months.
Sexual Reproduction
Fungiids spawn by releasing gametes into the water for external fertilisation, and the resulting larvae settle and pass through the attached juvenile stage. This is not a routine method for home propagation.
Common Challenges
With only one polyp, severe damage can kill the whole coral before anthocauli appear, so deliberately wounding a healthy plate is risky. Resting on the substrate also exposes the disc to abrasion and trapped detritus that can lead to infection. Regeneration is slow and cannot be forced reliably.