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Goniopora is a genus of stony corals from the family Poritidae. They belong to the large-polyp stony corals, although they are actually closely related to the small-polyp stony corals. This relationship is most evident in their skeletal structure. Goniopora, however, have conspicuously long, fleshy polyps that can reach up to 10 cm in length, depending on the species. Because of their shape they are also called margarite corals or in English flowerpot corals. They can fully retract these tentacles into their skeleton when disturbed. In shape they are similar to Alveopora, the difference between Alveopora and Goniopora is that Goniopora have tentacles with 24 tips, while Alveopora have only 12 tentacle tips. Thus, the distinction between Goniopora and Alveopora can be made simply by the number of tentacles. Especially for the species with small polyps the differentiation to Porites and similar species can also be a problem. The species with the smallest polyps, Goniopora stutchburyi, which is commonly called "carpet of love", has meanwhile been classified in its own genus Bernardpora. As a special feature, Goniopora can self-reproduce via offshoots, a process known in science as "fragging," effectively asexually forming their own frags.Goniopora
Goniopora have a wide distribution range from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and into the Pacific Ocean and are distributed as far north as to Hong Kong and southern Japan. They inhabit various reef habitats, but often lagoon areas, some of which are sediment rich. They feed on light via zooxanthellae, but often ingest particulate food as well, so supplemental feeding with plankton or powdered food often promotes vitality. In general Goniopora need higher nutrient levels, otherwise they tend to suffer. As trace elements, manganese and iron are said to be important. For their well-being a varied, changing current is advantageous, but it should never be direct. Since species can originate from different habitats from turbid lagoons to reefs, light requirements can range from very weak to medium. If the Goniopora does not open up and remains closed, one should try several locations with more or less current and more or less light. Also, make sure nutrients are present in the water and try feeding with phytoplankton, oyster eggs or powdered feeds.
Most often Goniopora are green or beige in color, less common are yellow-green animals, occasionally blue-purple and very rarely red color forms. Multicolored Goniopora are especially sought after, like the Golden Inferno Goniopora, which is multicolored red-yellow. Red-blue or green-blue color forms also occur from time to time, and Bernardpora has spectacular orange-based multicolored Rainbow color forms.
