Devil's Hand Leather Coral (Lobophytum spp.)

​Looking for a highly textured, fast-growing soft coral to fill out your aquascape? The Devil's Hand Leather Coral is a true reefing classic. It gets its name from its thick, fleshy lobes that reach upwards like fingers as the colony matures.

​When the coral is fully expanded, those "fingers" are covered in tiny, delicate polyps that give it a beautiful fuzzy appearance and sway gently in the current. Because they are so incredibly hardy and forgiving, we highly recommend the Devil's Hand as a "first coral" for beginners, while their unique shape makes them a fantastic space-filler for advanced reefers.

​Quick Care Guide:

​Care Level: Very Easy. They are incredibly resilient and will easily adapt to a variety of tank conditions.

​Temperament: Peaceful (Mostly). While they don't possess stinging tentacles, Leather Corals can release natural chemicals to defend their growing space. We always recommend running activated carbon if you are keeping them in a mixed reef with LPS or SPS corals.

​Placement: Middle to Top. Secure them to your rockwork where they have plenty of room to stretch their "fingers" upward.

​Lighting: Moderate to High. They will adapt to lower light, but stronger lighting encourages faster growth and much better polyp extension.

​Water Flow: Moderate to Strong. This is crucial! They need good, varied flow to keep detritus from settling on their flesh and to help them shed (see the pro-tip below).

​Feeding: Fully photosynthetic. No target feeding is required! They get everything they need from your reef lights and the natural nutrients in the water.

​💡 UKReef Hampshire Pro-Tip (The "Shedding" Phase): Don't panic! Every few weeks, your Devil's Hand will close its polyps, shrink down, and develop a waxy film over its skin. It is not dying! It is simply shedding a layer of mucus to clean itself. Given a few days and good water flow, the film will peel off, and it will open up bigger and brighter than before!