WYSIWYG Pipe Organ Coral (Tubipora musica)

This Pipe Organ Coral (Tubipora musica) is a full, dome-shaped colony packed edge to edge with open polyps. Each polyp is a little eight-armed star with a bright green center and cream tentacles striped in olive, and when the whole colony is out it looks like a pincushion of green stars. Underneath all that is the feature that gives the coral its name: a brick-red skeleton built from rows of fused tubes, one of the most unusual skeletons in the reef hobby. Pipe Organ is a peaceful soft coral with an intermediate care level that rewards stable water and regular feeding. Browse the rest of our live coral selection and saltwater supplies to set it up right.

Why WYSIWYG Matters on a Pipe Organ Coral

Pipe Organ colonies vary a lot from piece to piece. Polyp color runs from green to brown to cream, tentacle striping ranges from bold to barely there, and some colonies never fully cover their skeleton. A stock photo cannot tell you which one you are getting, so the photo on this page is this colony. Two honest caveats come with it. The picture was taken under blue-heavy reef lighting, which makes the tentacles read lavender and white, so under a whiter light expect more of a cream and tan look with the green centers still showing. And polyp extension changes day to day, so a freshly moved colony may sit partly closed for a few days while it settles before it looks like the photo again.

Care Guide

• Lighting: moderate to high, roughly 100 to 250 PAR. Start it lower in the tank and move it up over a couple of weeks if the polyps look stretched.
• Flow: moderate and indirect. Enough movement to keep detritus from settling between the polyps, but not a jet aimed straight at the colony.
• Placement: middle of the rockwork, on a stable base. The skeleton is brittle, so wedge it firmly rather than balancing it.
• Water parameters: 75 to 80°F, salinity 1.024 to 1.026, pH 8.1 to 8.4, alkalinity 8 to 11 dKH, calcium 400 to 450 ppm, magnesium 1250 to 1350 ppm. It builds a calcium carbonate skeleton, so keep calcium and alkalinity steady.
• Feeding: photosynthetic, but Pipe Organ also filter feeds and does noticeably better with regular small feedings. Dose phytoplankton a few times a week, or target feed fine particle foods like Reef Roids with the pumps turned down.
• Growth: slow and tidy. New tubes and platforms are added gradually, and it does not creep over neighboring rock the way green star polyps do.
• Watch for: algae on the exposed red skeleton. If polyps stay closed for long stretches, film algae can settle on the tubes, so keep nutrients in check and gently brush off any growth.

Specifications

Compatibility

Pipe Organ is one of the easiest corals to place near neighbors. It has no sweeper tentacles and only a mild sting, so it will not start fights, but it can close up and sulk if a more aggressive coral like a hammer, torch, or galaxea can reach it, so give it a few inches of space. It is safe with reef fish, cleaner shrimp, and snails. Keep an eye on angelfish and butterflyfish, which may pick at the polyps.

Recommended Foods & Supplies

• Seachem Reef Phytoplankton, an easy filter feeder food
• Bulldawg Reef Juice Elite, an eight species live phytoplankton blend
• PolypLab Reef Roids, fine particle food for target feeding
• Red Sea Reef Foundation Pro Multi Test Kit to keep calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium in range
• Brightwell Koral MD for a coral dip before it goes in your tank

FAQ

Is the photo really this coral?
Yes. This is a WYSIWYG listing, so the colony in the photo is the one you take home. Colors will look a bit different under your lights than under the blue lighting it was photographed in.

Where is the red skeleton?
Hidden under the polyps. When this colony is fully open the polyps cover almost all of it. The red tubes show when the polyps close at night or after the colony is moved.

Why are the polyps closed?
New arrivals often stay partly closed for a few days while they settle. Closing for longer usually points to flow hitting it too hard, a parameter swing, a neighbor stinging it, or a fish picking at it.

Do I need to feed it?
It gets most of its energy from light, but Pipe Organ is known to do better with regular phytoplankton or fine particle feeding, and colonies that are fed tend to stay open more.

Can I frag it?
It is possible but not easy. The skeleton is hard and brittle, so most reefers grow it out as a colony rather than cutting it.