RTG Space Invader Pectinia

Care

• Difficulty: Moderate. Water is easy. Placement is the hard part.
• Light: Low to moderate, about 50–150 PAR. Too much light and it stays tight, pale, or both. It usually looks better lower than you think.
• Flow: Moderate, turbulent, not a straight jet. Valleys need to stay clean. Low flow lets detritus rot in the folds. High flow keeps it closed.
• Placement: Lower to mid, with a clear gap around it. Several inches from zoas, duncan, candy cane, hammers, and other LPS. Mount it so the ruffles can plate outward, not stuffed in a hole.
• Feeding: Mostly light. It will take coral food, mysis, or small meaty foods if you target the valleys when it is expanded. Feeding is optional. Space and stable water matter more.
• Temperament: Aggressive. Long reach for its size. Do not experiment with "maybe they can touch." They can't.
• Water: Steady alk about 8–11 dKH. Salinity 1.025. Temp 75–78°F. It is not an acro. You do not need ultra-low nutrients. Swinging alk still shows up as receding edges.
• Acclimate: Float, drip 20–30 minutes, place in a low-light open spot. Expect it to stay closed the first day or two.
• Dip: Dip before the display. 1 cup tank water with CoralRx 1/4 cap, iodine 1–2 drops, or potassium chloride 1/4 tsp.
• Watch for: Receding or white edges where it touched a neighbor. Tight polyps from too much light or too much flow. Don't "cure" that with more light.