Lamellina Brain Care Guide
Lamellina Brain (Platygyra lamellina) is a LPS coral. Care covers 75-175 PAR, medium flow, reef parameters and feeding; beginner level.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Lamellina Brain (Platygyra lamellina) is a LPS coral in the family Merulinidae. Brain coral with lamellate corallite walls and short meandroid valleys. Very hardy reef builder.
Taxonomy
- Family: Merulinidae
- Genus: Platygyra
- Scientific name: Platygyra lamellina
- Common synonyms: Lamellina Maze Brain
Habitat
In the wild, Platygyra lamellina is reported from Indo-Pacific, where it occupies mid to lower reef slopes and lagoons (typically 5-30 m). The species adopts a encrusting 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: medium
Mount this LPS coral on the lower or mid rockwork or on the sand bed (for free-living forms) where light is moderate. Strong direct flow can damage the fleshy tissue; aim for indirect, varied movement.
Feeding
Platygyra lamellina 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 moderately aggressive toward neighbours. It extends sweeper tentacles capable of stinging adjacent corals, so leave generous spacing (10-20 cm) between colonies. Reef-safe with most fish and invertebrates.
Care notes
Difficulty level: beginner. Reported skeletal growth in well-tuned reef tanks is approximately 0.2-0.5 cm/month. Propagation by fragmentation is straightforward for encrusting 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.
Platygyra lamellina 'Aussie Rainbow' Maze Brain: Propagation Guide
Overview
Platygyra lamellina is a massive stony coral in the family Merulinidae whose colonies usually form rounded mounds, sometimes with nodular swellings, and may also form flat plates. Its long, narrow, meandering corallites with thick walls give the maze-brain appearance, and the septa are neatly arranged, crossing the valley walls. It is distributed across the Indo-Pacific from Madagascar through Indonesia to Japan, on back reef slopes, fore reefs, and in lagoons.
Reproductive Mode
Platygyra lamellina is a simultaneous hermaphrodite that reproduces by broadcast spawning. In the Red Sea it spawns at night during summer on a date set by the moon phase, during the three- to five-day window around the new moon in July and again in August. The 'Aussie Rainbow' is a high-color Australian variety propagated in aquaria by asexual division.
Fragging / Asexual Propagation
Because the skeleton is massive and dense, fully encrusted brain corals are typically cut with a band saw for precision, then the cut pieces are glued to plugs. Each frag should carry several intact valleys with live tissue. After cutting, the exposed skeleton edges are prone to infection, so a coral dip is advisable before mounting.
Sexual Reproduction
After broadcast spawning, fertilized eggs develop into planula larvae that initially lack zooxanthellae. The larvae settle on the seabed roughly two months later and acquire their symbiotic algae at the primary polyp stage. Captive sexual propagation is rarely practiced; division remains the standard hobby method.
Common Challenges
Listed by the IUCN as Near Threatened, this is a slow grower, so fragments take time to re-cover the cut skeleton. Maze brains are sensitive to elevated nutrients, and the cut edges can recede if water quality is unstable during the healing phase.
Platygyra lamellina (Lamellina Brain) Propagation Guide
Overview
Platygyra lamellina is a brain coral of the family Merulinidae with short meandroid valleys and lamellate corallite walls. Members of this genus form massive to submassive colonies on a single connected skeleton. As with other Platygyra, propagation means dividing that one skeleton, because the polyps are not arranged as separable heads.
Reproductive Mode
Growth is driven by asexual budding of polyps along the valleys, expanding a single genotype over the skeleton. Platygyra is a hermaphroditic broadcast spawner on the reef, releasing gametes for external fertilisation. Aquarists rely on the asexual route, mechanically dividing the colony.
Fragging / Asexual Propagation
- Pick a healthy colony and mark a cut along a low valley wall.
- Use a band saw to part the skeleton so each frag keeps intact valleys.
- Rinse, then mount the cut face down on a plug or rock.
- Allow the edge to heal under gentle flow and softened light.
Conditions for Propagation
- Steady carbonate chemistry for re-calcification.
- Moderate flow that clears debris without scouring tissue.
- Lower light during the first weeks of recovery.
- Low nutrients to suppress algae on bare skeleton.
Sexual Reproduction
In the wild this genus joins synchronised spawning events, broadcasting eggs and sperm into the water for external fertilisation and free-swimming larvae. Captive sexual reproduction is rare and not a practical home-propagation route.
Common Challenges
Though hardy, freshly cut skeleton is prone to algae colonisation and slow tissue recession when conditions slip. Clean saw cuts, brief air exposure, and stable parameters give the best healing.