Coral of the Week - the Toadstool Leather

Toadstool Leather - Sarcophyton sp.



If there is one coral my tank is famous for, it would be the Toadstool Leather. I've been keeping this particular corals since 2003 when I brought it home as a mere frag from the Coral Propagation Workshop at MACNA in Pittsburgh, PA. From that little snippet of meaty tissue, a highly cherished showpiece grew.

Origin: Fiji, Indo-Pacific, Maldives
Size: a single frag can become huge
Depth: Varies by species - 2m or 5m
Diet: Filter feeder of planktonic foods and fish waste
Coloration: Tan with bright white polyps, pinkish with bright green polyps
Difficulty: Easy for most addicts
Temperament: Peaceful
Salinity: 1.023 - 1.026sg
Temperature range: 74° to 81° F
Other parameters: 8-12 dKH; 375-450ppm Ca, 1350ppm Mg, < 20ppm NO3, .03ppm PO4, various elements
Flow & Placement: Moderate flow; middle to upper section
Lighting: All stronger lighting - VHO, T5, MH, possibly LEDs

Commonly found in reef flats and in lagoons, Toadstool leather corals in general are an easy coral to keep. They come in only a few colors. Mine is a golden-honey tone with white polyps that move in the flow. They are known to shed, which in a tank may be something to think about. That free-floating tissue may land on sensitive corals, causing issues. In general, most people prefer to have a "softy" tank or a SPS-dominated system, but I prefer a mixed reef. Granted, that isn't natural whatsoever, but it makes me happy none-the-less. In nature, corals of a certain type tend to dominate an area, and large areas or voids occur between them and any other living corals. The vastness of the ocean allows these neighbors to tolerate one another and stay healthy.



In a reef tank, which is a closed eco-system, the corals grow in mass and with it does the level of toxicity that they all have to deal with. When my leather coral was a tiny piece, the SPS in my tank grew more quickly. Years later, even with excellent water conditions and improved lighting, SPS grow at a slower rate and I'm positive it is because of the enormous footprint of the Toadstool. It is easily 24" in diameter presently, and thus I run two to three cups of carbon in a TLF Phosban reactor on a weekly basis to pull out organics and toxins produced by the corals fighting one another invisibly.



With a new frag, it is easy to place it in the tank. Simply wedge it into a crevice and wait a few days for it to take hold. If it shrivels down to blow to a new area, put it back in that chosen spot. Perhaps add a small rock to keep it there or use a rubberband to hold it temporarily. Don't bother trying to glue it or to use two-part putty because this coral is too slimy for that to work. Within a week, it should be holding on its own. As the coral grows in over time, it may be necessary to support it with more rockwork.

A Toadstool leather may lean over if it isn't well, or if the flow is too great. I think medium flow is ideal, and the occasional blast with a turkey baster or powerhead to the top section is a good way to keep any detritus from accumulating. If it seems to be melting in your tank, you may have to cut away dying tissue in hopes of salvaging some of the healthier section.



Some fish may not be ideal for this coral. I had a strange experience with a Powder Blue Tang named Nibbles. He loved to nibble on the glass, thus the name. However, he also would nip at the polyps that emerged from the Toadstool, leaving the coral smooth at all times. It quietly grew, and if I recall correctly, the polyps only came out at night when the fish were asleep. In 2005, that fish died and I was very sad about it. However, in retrospect, that loss was huge boon for the leather, which would extend its beautiful polyps all day long, swaying back and forth like a field of wheat. It is remarkably soothing to watch this coral for a duration, especially compared to the static SPS colonies that seem to grow like stoic essentially-motionless stalagmites. From time to time as I gaze at this huge coral, the Purple tang makes me smile as it suddenly emerges from the center of the colony where it was completely hidden from view. It was probably looking for something to snack on that might have been trapped in the concave area.



From Eric Borneman's book "Corals" (2001) regarding feeding, it states in part:
I've never tried to feed this octocoral and wouldn't consider it necessary to offer phytoplankton or other liquid foods. Lighting this coral is key, as it does very well with the symbiotic zooxanthellae system of photosynthesis that converts sugars into energy for growth. The specimen in my tank is receiving over 400 PAR under a 250w 10,000K metal halide bulb in a Lumenbright fixture for six hours daily. Lighting plus the nightly feeding of the fish has obviously worked well.

Corals that come into direct contact with the Toadstool leather may survive, depending on the type. I had a small colony of Colt coral that used to rub against the Toadstool's trunk daily. They lived like this for several years. Mine also rubs against Pocillopora, button polyps, and a bubble tip anemone. The Pocillopora has held its own, although the leading edge where direct contact occurs is basically dead - a protective barrier for the rest of the stony colony. The anemone has a stronger sting, leaving that area of the Toadstool bald-looking.



The capitulum or flattened section that resembles a mushroom may retract all of its polyps at any time. I've seen it occur mostly at night, but also when something changes the water quality for a duration. Handling the coral or brushing the polyps with my fingertips doesn't always shut the coral down. Sometimes it seems to be indifferent to the contact, while other times it may morph quickly. Clearly it has a mind of its own.

I've been asked some questions over the years: "How much does that coral weigh?" "Will you get a bigger tank soon?" and "Why don't you frag that coral?!" The answers are: #1) I don't know and really don't care to find out, #2) Probably not, and #3) Because it is happy to be left alone. One thing I've considered doing is siphoning out the sand underneath the coral to allow the entire rockwork structure below to drop down a few inches to the glass, creating a little more vertical space above the colony.



Could it be fragged? Absolutely. That's where this coral came from in the first place. What was demonstrated to us at MACNA was to take the coral out of the tank, place it on a work surface and using a scalpel or razor blade, carefully cut a ring (or donut) of the Toadstool's crown and set it aside. The main colony goes back in the tank or perhaps a quarantine tank where it has a few days to heal up. The donut is then cut into a bunch of 1" to 1.5" chunks. Depending on the size of the ring of tissue, 20 to 30 frags are distinctly possible. Each frag can be held to a disk or frag plug with a rubberband and placed in a grow-out system. With a coral the size of mine, there is no way it would be removed from the tank first. It would be easier to simply trim off a 1" section from an area, and that tissue could be then be cut up into smaller pieces away from the tank. The coral would definitely exude chemicals into the water, so be ready to filter it out, siphon it out, run that skimmer extra wet, and use carbon actively for the next few days. Or leave it alone and enjoy it like I do.