Rainbow Trachyphyllia Care Guide
Rainbow Trachyphyllia (Trachyphyllia geoffroyi var. 'Rainbow') is a LPS coral. Care covers 50-150 PAR, low flow, reef parameters and feeding; intermediate level.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Rainbow Trachyphyllia (Trachyphyllia geoffroyi var. 'Rainbow') is a LPS coral in the family Merulinidae. Show-grade Trachy with red, green, blue, and gold concentric rings. Highly photogenic centerpiece coral.
Taxonomy
- Family: Merulinidae
- Genus: Trachyphyllia
- Scientific name: Trachyphyllia geoffroyi var. 'Rainbow'
- Common synonyms: Rainbow Master Trachy, Master Trachy
Habitat
In the wild, Trachyphyllia geoffroyi var. 'Rainbow' is reported from Australia, where it occupies mid to lower reef slopes and lagoons (typically 5-30 m). The species adopts a massive 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: 6 months
Placement and lighting
- PAR (placement zone): 50-150 PAR
- Water flow: low
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
Trachyphyllia geoffroyi var. 'Rainbow' 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, amino-acids. 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: intermediate. Reported skeletal growth in well-tuned reef tanks is approximately 0.1-0.3 cm/month. Propagation by fragmentation is straightforward for massive 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.
Rainbow Trachyphyllia (Trachyphyllia geoffroyi) Propagation Guide
Overview
The rainbow Trachyphyllia is a high-color form of Trachyphyllia geoffroyi, a large-polyped stony coral in the family Merulinidae prized for concentric rings of red, green, blue, and gold. Like all open brains it is a free-living coral that sits unattached on the sandbed, inflating a very fleshy mantle by day. The color morph does not change its biology: it is the same solitary, flabello-meandroid polyp.
Reproductive Mode
The rainbow Trachyphyllia is essentially a single free-living polyp and is not suited to conventional fragging. Reef Builders places single-polyp LPS such as scolys, meat corals, and fungias outside conventional fragging techniques, and the open brain falls into the same group, so it is not routinely fragmented to multiply the rainbow color.
Fragging / Asexual Propagation
- Branch-separation fragging does not apply, since there are no heads on branches to divide.
- Asexual increase is mainly through slow natural budding of the polyp, not deliberate cutting.
- Cutting through the single polyp to multiply the rainbow morph is uncommon, risky, and considered advanced.
- In practice, the rainbow color is propagated by buying additional wild or aquacultured specimens rather than by fragging.
Because the prized rainbow pattern lives on one continuous polyp, dividing it would require cutting through the colored tissue, which can be fatal and is therefore avoided by most keepers.
Conditions for Propagation
Keep temperature near 24-26 degrees Celsius and pH 8.1-8.4 with stable alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium. The coral rests on the sandbed in low flow and medium light; stable conditions and spot feeding preserve color and support recovery if a polyp is ever divided.
Sexual Reproduction
On the reef, Trachyphyllia geoffroyi reproduces sexually. The species is heavily collected for the trade and is listed by the IUCN as Near Threatened, which means most rainbow specimens originate from wild collection rather than from in-tank propagation.
Common Challenges
The fleshy mantle is easily torn by sharp rock or strong flow, and damage can spread as infection. Because the coral is not readily fraggable, attempting to divide a colored polyp risks losing the whole specimen, so propagation of the rainbow morph is not recommended in normal aquarium care.