Charged Lithium war coral

Charged Lithium war coral is an LPS morph listed as Acanthastrea sp. and kept under the war coral name. The colony grows as a thick, fleshy crust of angular corallites packed edge to edge, each polyp sharing walls with its neighbors in a honeycomb pattern. Settled tissue puffs up over the skeleton during the day and shows a textured, almost geometric surface. The charged lithium name follows the bright, electric color carried across the polyps, a vivid tone that stands out sharply at the bottom of the tank under blue-leaning light.

The entry lists intermediate care, medium light, medium flow, bottom placement, moderate aggression, and moderate growth. Intermediate reflects a coral that settles well in a stable tank and reacts to swings in alkalinity and nutrients. Place the frag low on flat rock or a stable base, with the surface facing up. Medium light at a bottom placement holds the bright color and keeps tissue full. Strong light pushed too fast can pale the polyps and draw tissue tight to the skeleton, while deep shade dulls the color and slows the edge.

Medium flow should move across the surface in a broad, changing pattern. The current needs to lift waste out of the corallite valleys, where detritus settles and irritates the flesh. A direct jet can press one side flat and keep that edge retracted. Indirect flow that reaches the whole colony, with a brief pause if food is offered, is the pattern to aim for.

Feeding supports color and growth in this coral. Mouths sit at the center of each polyp and open when food reaches the water, often more visibly after lights dim. Small meaty offerings, finely chopped seafood, or LPS pellets placed near the mouths once or twice a week are taken well. Light supplies part of the energy, and regular feeding thickens tissue and speeds the margin. Clear away food the colony leaves, because leftovers rest directly on the flesh.

Aggression is listed as moderate. War corals extend sweeper tentacles at night that reach beyond the daytime footprint and can sting a neighbor in the dark. Leave a clear ring of space on all sides, judged by nighttime reach, and keep other LPS outside that ring. Give the colony protection in return, because tissue that loses a contact fight heals slowly and recession can start at the injured edge.

Growth is listed as moderate. The margin advances over rock, new polyps form along the edge, and the crust thickens with time in a settled spot. Stable alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium carry the skeleton under the flesh. Tissue pulling back at one edge, color fading across the colony, or polyps staying small and tight usually point first to light level, then to an overnight sting or a recent chemistry swing.

Common pitfalls include placing the frag under bright light in pursuit of stronger color, letting detritus collect in the corallite valleys, and trusting daytime spacing at night. Start low at medium light, keep indirect flow moving over the surface, and space for the sweepers.

Field notes — what keepers report

- Color reports split by light level. Keepers at medium light describe the bright tone held across full, puffy tissue, while keepers who placed a piece higher describe paler polyps that colored again slowly after a move down. Both sides describe patience, because war coral color answers a change over weeks.

- Feeding reports lean positive. Keepers who target-feed describe thicker tissue and a steadier advancing edge, while keepers who rely on broadcast feeding alone describe healthy colonies growing more slowly. Both sides agree on small offerings, because food left sitting on the surface causes harm.

- Sweeper reports carry the main spacing warning. Keepers describe neighbors damaged overnight at distances that looked safe by day, and other keepers report no trouble at all once a generous clear ring was left. Spacing for the nighttime reach is the shared practice across both kinds of report.