Brain coral, Closed brain coral, Lesser valley coral
Family
Merulinidae
Origin
Indo-Pacific and Red Sea reefs
Water
saltwater
Temperature
22–26°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Hardness
dKH 8–12
Care level
beginner
Reef safe
yes
Lighting
Moderate
Flow
Medium
Care
Platygyra daedalea is a maze brain coral: a massive, dome-shaped stony coral covered in long winding valleys, which often fluoresce under blue light. Colours include green, brown, grey, purple and yellow, often with contrasting valleys and walls. It is relatively hardy and produces a lot of mucus. Placement: anywhere in the rockwork or on the sand bed, in moderate light and medium flow. Water: alkalinity dKH 8–12, pH 8.1–8.4, with calcium, strontium and trace elements kept up. Growth is slow. Selling: this is a CITES Appendix II coral. Frags grown in the UK can be sold freely; wild-collected or imported pieces must have been legally imported with CITES paperwork. Sources: LiveAquaria (liveaquaria.com/products/brain-worm-platygyra-coral). Checked October 2026.
Diet
Photosynthetic, but it benefits from micro-plankton or brine shrimp fed in the evening when its tentacles are out.
Breeding
Frag by cutting the skeleton into pieces with a saw, keeping living tissue on each piece, and gluing them down. It is slow growing, so frags are uncommon.
Compatibility and tank mates
Semi-aggressive: sweeper tentacles come out at night, so give it about 10 cm of space from other corals.
Last updated 8 October 2026. Community-edited care guide on Aquatic-Auctions.
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