Hispida Monti (Montipora hispida) Care Guide
Montipora hispida is an encrusting/plating Indo-Pacific SPS coral, photosynthetic and grown under medium-high light with moderate flow in reef tanks.
Overview
Montipora hispida (Dana, 1846) is a small-polyp stony (SPS) coral of the family Acroporidae with an encrusting to plating growth form. As with all Montipora it has the smallest corallites of any coral family, and the genus is the second most species-rich after Acropora.
Taxonomy
- Family: Acroporidae
- Genus: Montipora
- Scientific name: Montipora hispida
- Authority: Dana, 1846
- Synonym: Montipora punctata Bernard, 1897
- Growth form: encrusting / plating
Habitat
Montipora hispida is an Indo-Pacific species. The genus inhabits reefs and lagoons of the Red Sea, the western Indian Ocean and the southern Pacific Ocean and is entirely absent from the Atlantic.
Tank requirements
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- Specific gravity: 1.025-1.026
- Alkalinity (dKH): 7.5-9
- Calcium: 420-450 ppm
- Magnesium: 1300-1400 ppm
- Nitrate: below 10 ppm; Phosphate: below 0.05 ppm
- Lighting: ~150-250 PAR (medium-high)
- Flow: medium
- Established tank (minimum age ~3 months)
Placement & lighting
It prefers medium to high light but, like other Montipora, is bleaching-sensitive and must be acclimated to brighter lighting gradually. Encrusting forms do well in medium flow. Allow space for the colony to spread over the rock without overgrowing slower neighbours.
Feeding
Montipora hispida is photosynthetic and obtains most of its energy from symbiotic zooxanthellae, so it does not require dedicated target-feeding. Stable lighting and water chemistry are the priorities.
Compatibility
It is passive and reef-safe, with no aggressive sweeper tentacles, and is safe alongside fish and shrimp. Montipora is generally hardier and faster-growing than Acropora.