Pectinia paeonia is a lettuce coral: a stony coral of thin, ruffled vertical walls with sharp points, forming a cabbage-like colony. Colours are green, tan and blue, often darker towards the centre. The thin walls are fragile and the points are sharp. Naming: LiveAquaria lists Pectinia in the old family Pectiniidae; it is now placed in Merulinidae. Placement: anywhere in the tank, in moderate light and medium flow. Water: alkalinity dKH 8–12, pH 8.1–8.4, with calcium, strontium and trace elements kept up. It is moderately difficult and is not recommended for beginners. Growth is slow to moderate. 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/spiny-cup-pectinia-coral). Checked October 2026.
Diet
Photosynthetic, but it benefits from micro-plankton or other fine plankton foods, fed in the evening when its small tentacles show.
Breeding
Frag by snapping or cutting off a section of wall with bone cutters and gluing it down; the skeleton is brittle and sharp.
Compatibility and tank mates
Peaceful; it can be kept near other peaceful corals, but keep it out of reach of aggressive LPS.
Last updated 8 October 2026. Community-edited care guide on Aquatic-Auctions.
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