Trocheliophorum Toadstool Care Guide
Sarcophyton trocheliophorum is a hardy toadstool leather coral with ruffled cap edges, photosynthetic and beginner-friendly.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Sarcophyton trocheliophorum is a toadstool leather coral with a frilly, ruffled cap edge, often deep brown or green. Like other Sarcophyton it forms a stalked, mushroom-shaped colony with a broad capitulum bearing short polyps and is a hardy, beginner-friendly soft coral.
Taxonomy
- Family: Alcyoniidae
- Genus: Sarcophyton (Lesson, 1834)
- Scientific name: Sarcophyton trocheliophorum
- Authority: von Marenzeller, 1886
Habitat
The genus is native to the Indo-Pacific. These corals are photosynthetic, drawing most of their energy from symbiotic zooxanthellae, and are commonly kept in reef aquaria.
Tank requirements
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- Salinity: 1.024-1.026 SG
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- dKH (alkalinity): 8-11
- Calcium: 380-450 ppm
- Magnesium: 1280-1350 ppm
- Lighting: medium to high, around 75-200 PAR
- Flow: medium to high, ideally strong and randomized
Diet
Leather corals are photosynthetic and meet most energy needs via their zooxanthellae. Direct feeding is generally unnecessary and may foul the tissue and cause secondary infection.
Chemical defense and shedding
Sarcophyton produces the toxic terpene sarcophytoxide that deters predators and provides an allelopathic advantage over neighboring corals. The coral periodically retracts its polyps and forms a waxy mucus coat that it later sheds; remove any shed material to keep water clean.
Compatibility
It is reef-safe and compatible with reef fish and shrimp, but because of its chemical output it should be given space away from other corals it could irritate.
Sarcophyton trocheliophorum: Fragging and Propagation
Overview
Sarcophyton trocheliophorum is a toadstool leather coral of the family Alcyoniidae whose capitulum often develops frilly, ruffled edges. Like all Sarcophyton it is an octocoral with eight-tentacled, dimorphic polyps - prominent autozooids on the cap and tiny embedded polyps - and relies on symbiotic zooxanthellae for most of its energy through photosynthesis.
Reproductive Mode
Home increase is asexual. The fleshy tissue regenerates strongly, so cuttings of the cap heal into new colonies while the parent regrows its margin. Broadcast spawning happens in the wild, but propagators rely on fragging rather than larvae.
Fragging / Asexual Propagation
Trim a section from the ruffled margin of the capitulum with a sterile, sharp blade and divide it into manageable pieces. Each frag is banded, set in mesh, or rested on rubble in gentle flow until tissue grips the surface, since the slick body does not bond reliably with glue alone. A short iodine dip and a seawater rinse after cutting help clean the wound and clear slime.
Conditions for Propagation
- Lighting: 75-200 PAR (medium)
- Flow: moderate, raised after attachment
- Temperature: 24-26 C
- Mature tank: at least about 3 months old
- Remove shed mucus that can irritate neighbours
Sexual Reproduction
Wild colonies of these gonochoric octocorals broadcast eggs or sperm into the water column; fertilised eggs become planula larvae that swim, settle on hard substrate and bud into colonies. The sexual route is reported in nature but is impractical at home.
Common Challenges
Both parent and frags may close and form a shiny waxy cuticle for a few days before sloughing it and reopening their polyps. Sarcophyton defends itself with terpene compounds (for example sarcophytoxide) that deter predators and can suppress neighbouring corals, so the slime expelled during cutting should be siphoned out.