Staghorn coral

Widely distributed across the subtropical and tropical areas of the Indo-Pacific. Its colony grows long thin branches with tree-like thickets. Often seen in lagoons and reef ponds with calm waters. The colonies are brown or blue with pale tips of the branches. This coral is one of the quickest growing corals. Its growth has been recorded even within aquarium tanks at nearly 20cm a year. This particular coral is less common in Okinawa since the coral bleaching in 1998.