Plating Montipora corals are those quintessential mixed reef residents that offer a great bridge between easy corals like softies to the far more challenging SPS. The montis are far more forgiving that most other SPS, and they come in a great variety of colors and growth forms. This makes them wildly popular among aquarium keepers, and the plating kind offer a different growth form than what is seen with most other corals. Instead of branches and branches in all direction, the plating monti pictured above has a solid body that overlaps, bends, and curves over the rock structure. This individual coral sports a green base with green polyps. It’s not rare or unusual, quite common in fact, but it still finds plenty of play in the aquariums of every reef keeper from beginner to seasoned hobbyist.
