🪸🐚 Heteropsammia cochlea “Walking Dendro” – Walking Coral – Similar to Photo

Extraordinary Free-Living LPS Coral – Symbiotic Walking Coral – One of the Ocean's Most Fascinating Reef Invertebrates

🔹 Quick Stats

Care Level: Moderate
Temperament: Peaceful
Colour Form: A fascinating free-living coral displaying a compact, rounded to irregular skeleton with fleshy polyps and delicate tentacles. Colouration can vary between individuals, typically featuring natural beige, brown, orange or yellowish tones. Its most remarkable characteristic is not its colour, but its extraordinary ability to move across the sandy substrate through a unique symbiotic relationship with a marine worm.
Size: Individual Specimen
Origin: Indo-Pacific
Water Conditions: 24–26 °C, dKH 7.5–8.5, pH 8.0–8.4, sg 1.024–1.026
Family: Dendrophylliidae
Lighting: Low to Moderate (PAR 40–120)
Water Flow: Low to Moderate, indirect
Placement: Open Sandy Substrate
Feeding: Small Mysis, Zooplankton and Meaty Coral Foods
Type: Similar to Photo – Natural Variations Expected

🧬 Overview

The Heteropsammia cochlea, commonly known as the Walking Dendro or Walking Coral, is one of the most extraordinary and fascinating corals found in the ocean.

Unlike conventional reef-building corals that remain permanently attached to rockwork, this remarkable species lives freely on sandy substrates and possesses an almost unbelievable ability: it can move across the ocean floor!

But the secret behind this unusual behaviour is even more fascinating.

The Walking Dendro forms a remarkable symbiotic relationship with a tiny marine worm, typically a sipunculan worm, that lives inside a cavity within the coral's skeleton.

Rather than remaining fixed to the substrate, the coral is transported by its microscopic companion, which can slowly move the entire structure across the sand.

This extraordinary partnership provides several advantages.

The worm helps reposition the coral, preventing it from remaining buried in sediment or overturned, while the coral provides the worm with a protective calcareous shelter.

It is a beautiful example of mutualism in the marine environment, where two completely different organisms cooperate to survive.

Despite its common name, the Walking Dendro is a true stony coral belonging to the family Dendrophylliidae.

Its fleshy polyps extend delicate tentacles to capture suspended food particles and small planktonic organisms.

Unlike many familiar photosynthetic reef corals, Heteropsammia cochlea is generally considered non-photosynthetic, relying on captured food rather than light for its nutritional requirements.

Its unusual biology, fascinating behaviour and unique ecological adaptations make it a particularly interesting addition to specialised reef aquariums.

For reef keepers who appreciate unusual marine life, the Walking Dendro is much more than a coral — it is a living demonstration of one of nature's most remarkable partnerships.

🧾 Similar to Photo – Individual Walking Coral

You will receive one Heteropsammia cochlea specimen similar to those shown in the photographs.

Each coral is a unique living organism, and natural variations in size, skeletal shape, polyp colouration and overall appearance should be expected.

The characteristic walking behaviour depends on the presence and activity of its symbiotic worm and may not always be immediately observable.

Selected for:

• Extraordinary free-living LPS coral

• Fascinating symbiotic relationship with a marine worm

• Unique ability to move across sandy substrates

• One of the most unusual coral behaviours in nature

• Remarkable example of marine mutualism

• Beautiful fleshy polyps and feeding tentacles

• Non-photosynthetic feeding biology

• Ideal for specialised reef and NPS aquariums

• Fascinating natural behaviour to observe

• Excellent educational and collector species

• Similar to Photo – Each specimen naturally unique

🍽️ Care & Feeding

The Walking Dendro is a non-photosynthetic coral that depends on external food sources to meet its nutritional requirements.

Unlike photosynthetic LPS corals, it does not rely on symbiotic algae for energy and therefore requires regular supplemental feeding.

Offer appropriately sized meaty foods such as finely chopped mysis shrimp, small zooplankton, enriched Artemia and specialised non-photosynthetic coral preparations.

Target feeding is particularly useful, allowing food to reach the coral's extended tentacles while minimising unnecessary nutrient accumulation.

Feeding several times per week is recommended, with frequency adjusted according to polyp response, food availability and aquarium nutrient management.

In dedicated NPS systems with regular planktonic feeding, the coral may also capture suspended food particles naturally.

Provide gentle to moderate indirect water movement, sufficient to transport food towards the polyps and prevent sediment accumulation without displacing the coral.

Lighting is not a nutritional requirement, making this species suitable for shaded areas and aquariums dedicated to non-photosynthetic marine organisms.

One of the most important aspects of its care is preserving the natural relationship between the coral and its symbiotic worm.

Avoid attaching the coral to rockwork, gluing its skeleton or placing it in locations where its movement is restricted.

The worm requires access to the sandy substrate to perform its natural locomotion.

Important: The characteristic walking behaviour depends on a living symbiotic worm. Not every specimen will necessarily display movement, particularly if the worm is absent or inactive.

📈 Optimal Parameters

📍 Placement

The Heteropsammia cochlea should be placed directly on an open sandy area of the aquarium, ideally with fine to medium-grained substrate.

Unlike conventional LPS corals, this species should never be permanently attached to rockwork, as its free-living lifestyle is essential to its natural behaviour.

Allow sufficient open space around the coral so its symbiotic worm can move and reposition the skeleton.

Avoid placing it close to aggressive corals, particularly species with long sweeper tentacles.

Strong direct flow should also be avoided, as it may overturn or displace the coral.

A dedicated sandy area within a mature reef aquarium or an NPS system provides an excellent environment for observing its fascinating behaviour.

With appropriate feeding, stable water parameters and suitable substrate, the Walking Dendro offers a truly extraordinary opportunity to observe a unique biological partnership in action.

🪸🐚 Heteropsammia cochlea “Walking Dendro” – Walking Coral – Similar to Photo

A coral that can actually walk! One of the ocean's most fascinating natural partnerships, Heteropsammia cochlea lives in symbiosis with a tiny marine worm that helps transport its skeleton across the sandy seabed. This extraordinary free-living, non-photosynthetic LPS coral combines unusual biology, fascinating behaviour and remarkable natural adaptations. A truly unique addition to specialised reef and NPS aquariums.