Give Your Mini-Reef a Bit of the Bubbly

Author: Jeff Kurtz

Mini-reef aquarists typically start out keeping an assortment of hardy soft corals, such as leather
corals, mushroom anemones, pulse corals, and zoanthid polyps. But eventually the desire to keep
the more challenging stony corals proves too powerful for most aquarists to resist. Fortunately,
there are several species of large-polyp stony (LPS) coral that are tough enough to thrive under
the novice reefkeeper’s care and so make excellent choices for that first foray into stony-coral
keeping. One of the best choices among these species is the bubble coral Plerogyra sinuosa, also
known as the bladder coral, pearl coral, or grape coral.

Bubble Corals

You may see other Plerogyra or Physogyra species also sold as “bubble corals.” However, since
their care requirements don’t depart significantly from those of P. sinuosa, you can safely assume
that most of what is discussed here applies to those species as well.

What’s so special about the bubble coral? It has many of the characteristics that reef aquarists
look for in a coral. It’s beautiful and exotic looking. It’s relatively fast-growing. It can adapt to a
fairly wide range of aquarium conditions. And it’s remarkably resilient in spite of its delicate
appearance.

Physical Characteristics

The tentacles of P. sinuosa are modified into bubble- or grape-shaped vesicles that typically
remain expanded during the day and contract at night. Depending on the specimen (and, of
course, the lighting under which they’re kept), the vesicles may be white, brown, bluish gray,
green, or fawn colored. Many are adorned with an attractive “fingerprint” pattern.

Once the lights go out and the vesicles contract (into a surprisingly compact package, I might
add), longer “sweeper” tentacles armed with stinging nematocysts emerge from the coral to
facilitate feeding and to keep neighboring coral colonies from encroaching.

The skeleton, which is almost totally obscured when the bubbles are inflated, has sharp, blade-
like septa lining the top edge. The vesicles are attached directly to these septa. Due to the bubble
coral’s irregularly shaped skeleton, it can be a bit of a challenge to find a place on the mini-reef
where the specimen can be nestled firmly.

Keep in mind that the bubble coral, which is rather top-heavy when inflated, should be placed in
an area where it won’t take a tumble, and in such a way that its vesicles don’t chafe against the
live rock. It may be necessary to rearrange your rockwork a bit in order to create the perfect
niche.
It Takes a Licking…

I can personally attest to the bubble coral’s toughness. Once, when scraping the coralline algae
from the front glass of my reef tank (arm fully submerged with a razor blade clenched firmly
between my thumb and forefinger), I unintentionally created a surge through the motion of my
arm and hand that caused my top-heavy bubble coral to tumble end over end down the face of
the rockwork and onto the substrate, where it landed upside down.

After swallowing my heart and uttering a few choice words not suitable for printing here, I
retrieved the coral by its skeleton and put it back in place, fearing it had sustained irreparable
damage. To my relief, the vesicles were completely re-expanded within a few hours, and it
looked none the worse for wear.

…But Don’t Push Your Luck!

This is not to suggest that bubble corals will always survive such abuse. If handled too roughly
during collection, transport, or introduction to the aquarium, the tissue can be lacerated on the
sharp septa, leaving the animal vulnerable to bacterial or protozoan infection. For this reason,
you should always examine a bubble coral specimen carefully for evidence of tissue damage
before purchasing it.

If you’d prefer to eliminate any possibility of your bubble coral taking a spill and damaging its
tissues, I would suggest placing it on the very bottom of the tank with its skeleton partially
buried in the substrate. However, avoid placing it in a bottom location where detritus tends to
accumulate.

If you have a sandy substrate, try to avoid placing your specimen where sand can drift onto its
tissues. If you notice that sand or other debris has settled on your specimen, you can very gently
lift the coral, handling it by its skeleton, and carefully invert it so the particles become dislodged
before putting the specimen back in its place.

Placement in the Tank

Because P. sinuosa is found in both turbid and brightly illuminated areas in nature, it can adapt to
a relatively wide range of lighting conditions in the aquarium. This means you can place it at just
about any level in the tank. I kept a specimen in a 75-gallon reef tank approximately two-thirds
of the way up the rockwork beneath power compact fluorescent lighting, and it did perfectly well
there for several years. But this coral will do just fine under other lighting schemes as well.

Just take care to avoid shocking a specimen by exposing it to too much light right off the bat,
especially if your lighting system includes metal halides. It’s a good idea to place your bubble
coral lower in the tank to begin with, and then move it upward gradually (if desired) so that it has
a chance to adjust to the specific lighting conditions in your tank.

Sweeper Tentacles
The aforementioned sweeper tentacles are an important consideration when choosing a location
in your mini-reef for a bubble coral. They may not be as long as the sweeper tentacles of, say, an
elegance coral, but they still pack a powerful wallop and will irritate or injure any invertebrate
that is placed too close. I would suggest leaving approximately 5 or 6 inches between your
bubble coral and other specimens—perhaps a bit closer on the up-current side of the bubble
coral.

If you notice a neighboring specimen that refuses to extend its polyps, or if you see tissue
damage on the side of it that’s facing the bubble coral, it may be getting stung at night and it (or
the bubble coral) should be moved to a less volatile location.

Water Movement

Bubble corals also appreciate a moderate amount of water movement. By “moderate” I mean it
should get just enough turbulent current so that its vesicles sway and jiggle gently on a
continuous basis, keeping them free of debris. Don’t blast your bubble coral directly with a
powerhead or the vesicles will deflate and refuse to open until things settle down.

Feeding

P. sinuosa is a photosynthetic coral—i.e., it gets much of the nutrients it needs for survival from
the symbiotic algae, called zooxanthellae, residing in its tissues. It’s also able to inflate or deflate
its “bubbles” in response to varying light levels. So, for example, in lower light conditions, it can
expand its vesicles in order to expose more surface area, and hence more zooxanthellae, to the
light.

However, bubble corals appreciate occasional direct feeding and will grow much more rapidly if
they don’t have to rely on light alone. In fact, I’ve found that a specimen will thrive and multiply
in size with weekly direct feedings of mysid or brine shrimp. Simply thaw out a small amount in
aquarium water and, using a turkey baster or pipette (like the ones that come with aquarium test
kits), gently squirt the shrimp directly onto the bubble coral’s vesicles. Or you can place a small
chunk of chopped seafood amidst the vesicles with your fingers.

Very slowly, almost imperceptibly, you’ll see the cluster of vesicles part down the middle,
revealing the now-open mouth (or mouths, as the case may be). The mouth will then draw in the
food item and then close just as slowly around it. It’s really an awesome sight to behold!

More Food Options

Other foods that you might want to offer your bubble coral include chopped clams or scallops,
chopped shrimp, bits of fish, or any other meaty seafood items. Just try to avoid overdoing it
when feeding. I’ve noticed that a specimen will regurgitate the whole wad of food if given too
much at one time. Whether that applies to all bubble corals or not, I can’t say, but moderation in
feeding is always recommended to maintain the excellent water quality necessary for the captive
maintenance of corals.
Danger Signs

Expanding Vesicles

A bubble coral that is unhappy with its water conditions will refuse to expand its vesicles during
daylight hours. If this should occur, test all of your water parameters to see what has gone wrong
and correct the problem promptly. Also, on a regular basis, examine your specimen to make sure
the vesicles are not detaching from the septa, which is a more drastic indicator that either your
water quality is suffering or the coral is being deprived of an element it needs for proper tissue
growth.

As with other large-polyp stony corals, the exposed skeletons of bubble corals seem to be a
magnet for algae growth. In fact, one specimen that I purchased had clumps of green filamentous
algae clinging to its skeleton but hidden by the expanded vesicles. Unfortunately, this escaped
my scrutiny at the aquarium store—probably because, in my excitement over this beautiful
specimen, I didn’t follow my own advice of very thoroughly examining a specimen before
purchasing it. Had I looked more closely when my dealer was bagging the specimen, at which
time the vesicles were fully deflated, I would have observed the algae.

Algae Overgrowth

If allowed to grow unchecked, algae can irritate the polyps and, if conditions are conducive,
eventually spread to the point that it smothers the coral. So, to prevent this, I pulled a little bit of
algae off the skeleton each night by hand after the coral contracted, taking great care to avoid
damaging its tissues in the process, and eventually I was able to eliminate all of it. Of course, it
also helped that I was keeping the dissolved nutrients in the aquarium to a minimum through
frequent water changes and the use of a good protein skimmer.

Remember the Essentials

These few danger signs aside, there aren’t many problems that will afflict a healthy bubble coral.
Just be sure to give your specimen outstanding water quality, supplemental feedings, and plenty
of room in your tank to accommodate growth. Provide these essentials, and you’ll be amazed at
how rapidly your bubble coral will expand to fill up the space.