🌸💫 Cotton Candy Bloom Goniopora
Goniopora sp.
Quick Stats
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Care Level: Moderate
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Temperament: Semi-Aggressive (due to polyp overreach)
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Colour Form: Delicate Pink Polyps with Graceful Extension
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Water Conditions: 24-27°C, dKH 8-11, pH 8.0-8.4, sg 1.024-1.026
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Family: Poritidae
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Lighting: Moderate to High
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Supplements: Manganese, Iron, Trace Elements, Amino Acids
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Water Flow: Low to Moderate, Random
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Placement: Mid-Level
Overview
The Cotton Candy Bloom Goniopora is a mesmerizing swirl of pastel pink motion, with long, flower-like polyps that sway delicately with the current. Often called the "flowerpot coral," this Goniopora variant adds a dreamy, romantic aesthetic to your reef while maintaining the hypnotic movement that defines this genus.
A mini colony offers instant presence and natural fullness—perfect for display tanks looking to balance flow, texture, and softness. Under actinic or full-spectrum lighting, the pale pink tones glow with an ethereal shimmer, making it a must-have for collectors of rare pastel morphs.
Care & Feeding
While once considered difficult, modern reefers now enjoy greater success with Goniopora thanks to targeted feeding and trace supplementation. The Cotton Candy Bloom is photosynthetic, but benefits from regular target feeding with phytoplankton, broadcast coral foods, or high-quality powdered mixes like reef roids. Amino acid and trace element dosing (especially manganese and iron) supports polyp health and extension.
Stability is key—keep parameters consistent and flow gentle but random to mimic its natural habitat.
Optimal Parameters
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Alkalinity (dKH): 8-11
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Calcium (Ca): 420-460 ppm
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Magnesium (Mg): 1250-1350 ppm
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Nitrate (NO3): 2-10 ppm
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Phosphate (PO4): 0.01-0.05 ppm
Placement
Place the Cotton Candy Bloom Goniopora in a mid-level spot where it can receive moderate light and soft, indirect flow. Avoid high flow zones which may cause polyp retraction. Provide ample space around the colony, as its polyps can extend significantly and may irritate nearby corals. A stable rock shelf or gentle slope is ideal.