Care
Long Tentacled Plate Coralsare solitary animals known from reef slopes and on flats between lagoons and reefs.They are most commonly associated with rubbly substrates and are found in areasprotected from strong wave motions. Despite sharing numerous similarities with theFungia Plate Corals (such asskeleton, shape, and habitat), Heliofungiapossess distinctive, long, knobbly-tipped tentacles. When these tentacles arefully expanded, these corals could easily be mistaken for an anemone, as theskeleton is completely obscured. They are always round or oval in shape, with radialstripes extending out from the large central mouth. Apart from when they arejuveniles, and in contrast to other corals which form colonies, this species is free-living. Long Tentacled Plate Corals are single-polyped and occurin a range of colours, from olive, brown, green, and dark purple, usually with bright,contrasting tentacle tips. Although this is the sole representative of thegenus Heliofungia, there are many,many regional variations in colour and tentacle diameter. The aquarium must bespacious and mature, with excellent water quality. The substrate should consistof coral gravel, sand, or rubble on top of which the coral can be placed, and thereshould be no other corals, soft or hard, that the Heliofungia could come into contact with as it moves around on the substrate(the exception being other Heliofungia).Bright lighting best serves these corals, and current should be of low to medium flow "enough to keep any algae from settling on the coral, but not enough to blast it out of position on the substrate. Also, if the conditions are too vigorous, complete polyp expansion will not take place. These corals can move about, but they are not quite as mobile " or as aggressive - as the closely related Fungia species. Place them well out of reach of any stinging corals, particularly those with potent sweeper tentacles, as they tend not to recover well from being attacked. Having said this, the long, flexible tentacles of this species are still reasonably potent and the substrate should be kept clear of sessile invertebrates. Small commensal shrimps may often come in on these corals, and are quite harmless; Periclimenes kororensis is the most regularly associated shrimp,but P. holthuisi, P. tenuipes, Metapontonia fungiacola, and Hamopontoniacorallicola may also be seen. For long term wellbeing, it is very important that these corals are fed regularly (see below). Unfortunately, Long TentacledPlate Corals can be a little prone to "brown jelly" infections (an attack on injured flesh by various micro-organisms), possibly as a result of hermit crab slumbering over them in their ongoing search for food items. For this reason, we do not recommend that hermit crabs are housed in the same aquarium. Although clownfish do not associate with Heliofungiain the wild, in the home aquarium they may try to take up residence in one if a host anemone is absent. Unfortunately, this may disturb or harm the coral if they are particularly large, active specimens, so caution is advised.
Feeding
This species is zooxanthellate,but it is a voracious feeder that will benefit from feeding with meaty food items such as chopped lancefish, krill, prawns, Mysis shrimp, chopped clam etc. several times per week. Simply defrost a small chunk of food and gently place top of the tentacles with a pair of tongs, and the tentacles will work together to move the food into the mouth. When supplementing its diet with these meaty items, do keep a close eye on water quality.
Propagation
This species is capable of reproducing sexually and asexually. During sexual reproduction, gametes are released into the water, and the fertilized egg then develops into larvae, which typically settle onto the substrate within 2 weeks. Much more common is asexual reproduction by budding, where the coral forms polyp buds on the underside of the skeleton. Asexually reproduced young Heliofungia polyps grow into flattened discs that are attached to the substrate via a stalk. This stalk eventually dissolves, rendering the carefully mobile. Another asexual means of reproduction " fragmentation - does occur, but not with any regularity. It is possible to clone this species by severing pieces from the main coral, but the survival rate is low compared to that of Fungia species.
