Dragon Eye Chalice Coral
SPS or Small Polyp Stony corals have small polyps on a calcareous skeleton. They can be branching or plated and come in many different varieties and colours. These corals can grow like a bush, a plate, a hand, a cup or just encrust the rock. There are countless species of SPS corals and depending on your flow or lighting even the brightest marine biologists have difficulty classifying them down to the specie. They come in several major genus’s such as: Acropora, Colpophyllia, Heliopora, Hydnophora, Montipora , Pachyserius, Pavona, Pocillopora, Porites, and Stylophora. SPS hard corals can be challenging to keep. They also require the hobbyist to invest considerably more into their aquarium as they require excellent water with plenty of flow and strong Metal Halide or LED lighting. If you are starting out and do not want to make the proper investment up front please consider a softie or LPS tank. Lack of flow, skimming, calcium, lighting and knowledge will certainly doom these wonderful creatures.