Tiger Striped Trachy Care: Light, Flow and Placement

Coral care · Detailed tutorial · About 10 minutes · Beginner friendly

The key habit: Place your Tiger Striped Trachy on soft sand in a low-traffic area of your reef, keep light stable and moderate, and give it gentle water movement—then leave it alone to settle and thrive.

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In this guide

1. What is Trachyphyllia and how it grows
2. Light and PAR
3. Water flow
4. Placement on sand
5. Feeding
6. Water parameters
7. Acclimation

1. What is Trachyphyllia and how it grows

Trachyphyllia corals, often called "open brain corals," are known for their large, fleshy polyps and vibrant coloration that can become a focal point in a reef aquarium. These are fleshy LPS (large polyp stony) corals known for their dramatic inflation, vivid coloration, and preference for sand bed placement over traditional rockwork mounting.

Trachyphyllia are secondary free living corals that don't normally colonize; they exist as a single or multi-mouthed, large, fleshy polyp growing from one coralite. Being single, large polyp stony, and slow growing corals, they are not commonly cut and fragged, and are only available as colonies. This means your Tiger Striped Trachy is a complete specimen that should be enjoyed as a long-term centerpiece rather than a coral to propagate.

2. Light and PAR

Trachyphyllia corals thrive under low to moderate lighting in the 50-150 PAR range, with many specimens performing best toward the lower end around 50-100 PAR. Your Tiger Striped Trachy's vibrant coloring will stay rich and deep when kept in this range rather than blasted with bright light.

Excessive lighting causes Trachyphyllia corals to bleach and expel zooxanthellae, leading to tissue recession and potential death if not corrected promptly. If your coral's color appears washed out or pale, it's likely receiving too much light and should be moved to a shadier spot.

New Trachyphyllia specimens should be acclimated in lower light areas and gradually adjusted over 2-3 weeks if higher intensity is desired. Start in a low-light zone and only increase light if the coral's color dulls.

3. Water flow

Low to moderate, indirect flow is ideal; flow should gently move water across the coral without direct force, and strong flow can damage fleshy tissue and prevent full expansion. Think of gentle, circling movement rather than a powerhead pointed directly at your coral.

Low, gentle flow is the key; you want enough water movement to prevent detritus from settling, but not so much that the coral's tissue is constantly moving, as too much flow can cause the tissue to peel back from the skeleton. If you notice the coral's tissue retracting or the mouth shrinking, reduce flow in its area.

4. Placement on sand

Many open brains including Trachyphyllia are naturally occurring on the substrate and should be placed on the bottom assuming there are no aggressively sand sifting tank mates that are likely to bury them. Sand bed placement is critical—avoid sharp rocks that can tear the delicate tissue when the coral inflates and deflates.

Always place Trachyphyllia on soft sand. Space it away from your powerheads and aggressive neighbors. Be sure to provide a little space for your Trachyphyllia corals to grow and thrive. Give it 6-8 inches of clearance from other corals so it can expand without touching them.

5. Feeding

These colonies are fantastic eaters; you should feed your trachy a couple times a week with a mixture of meaty foods like mysis and brine shrimp. They will turn themselves almost inside out to eat with long sticky feeder tentacles, always a fun process to quite literally watch unfold!

Target feed by turning off strong pumps and dropping small pieces of thawed mysis shrimp or other quality coral food directly onto the mouth area. Wait for the coral to slowly fold inward and capture the food. If pieces fall away, they are too large.

6. Water parameters

Trachy do best in systems with the following parameters: 78 degrees, 1.026 specific gravity, Alkalinity (9 dKH), Calcium (450 ppm), Magnesium (1300 ppm), lower Nitrates, Nitrites, and Phosphates.

The best way to ensure their long term success and survival is to strive for stable tank parameters; stable, essential nutrients are the key to keeping healthy corals; do frequent, small water changes to replace nutrients in your aquarium, avoiding large water changes that can swing parameters suddenly, shocking your trachy and other corals.

7. Acclimation and dipping

Gather before you start

• Separate quarantine or acclimation container
• Airline tubing for slow drip acclimation
• Flashlight to inspect for pests and damage
• Coral dip (optional but recommended)

1. Inspect the coral Carefully examine your Tiger Striped Trachy for pests, missing tissue, or loose pieces. Trachyphyllia can have pests, so it's important to carefully inspect your new coral upon arrival; while uncommon, they can have flatworms, which are not always easy to spot.

2. Dip if desired A brief dip in a coral-safe dip solution can reduce pest introduction risk. Follow the dip manufacturer's instructions closely and never exceed the recommended time.

3. Begin acclimation Place your coral in a small container alongside your tank. Use airline tubing to drip your aquarium water into the acclimation container at a rate of one drip every 2 seconds. Over 1–2 hours, the container's water gradually becomes your tank water.

4. Transfer to low light Once acclimated, place the coral on sand in the lowest-light area of your tank. New specimens should be acclimated in lower light areas and gradually adjusted over 2-3 weeks if higher intensity is desired.

5. Observe before moving Leave your coral undisturbed for at least a week before adjusting its position. It needs time to settle and attach to the sand.

What you notice and what to check

Your care log

Placed on: ______ Light (PAR): ______

Flow position in tank: ______

First feeding date: ______

Water parameters checked: ______

Notes on expansion: ______

Sources

Checked October 8, 2026. Reference addresses are plain text below.

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