Lithophyllum sp.

Lithophyllum is a calcareous encrusting algae that forms heavily calcified plates or discs that encrust rocks and coral reefs. Like many encrusting algae, they play an important role in building reef structures by cementing dead coral tissue and fragments together. It features a pink colored irregular shaped disc, often with a distinctive white edge. Fragments can be placed or glued to live rock in the aquarium. This species is most often encountered on imported live rock. Like most heavily encrusting macro algae they require large amounts of calcium supplementation to grow.

Scientific Name: Lithophyllum sp. 

Common Name: Coralline Algae

Origin: Caribbean, S. Pacific

Depth Collected: 1-50 feet

Maximum Height: 8"

Growth Rate: Slow

Light: Moderate to High

Temperature: 72-82

Propagation: Sporulation

Difficulty: Moderate

Food Value: Not Palatable

Nutrient Uptake: None

Flow Rate: Moderate to High

Copyright © 2024 GCE All rights reserved. No part of this online publication may be reproduced in any form by any means without the expressed permission of the author. All images are the property of Gulf Coast Ecosystems unless otherwise noted and should not be reproduced or distributed without permission.