Devil's Hand Leather Coral

Devil's hand leather coral is the trade name given to the forms of the genus Lobophytum seen most often in aquariums. The colony consists of a thick base firmly attached to the rock and lobes shaped like fingers, ridges or the palm of a hand rising upward from it. With the polyps open, the surface of the lobes looks covered in small hairs; when they close, a smooth, firm leathery texture remains. Its color is mostly cream, beige, brown or greenish.

Lobophytum species are very hard to tell apart from the outside; vendors may sell L. pauciflorum, L. crassum or unidentified species under the same name. Small colonies are also often confused with Sarcophyton. Their care is largely the same, and all of them are hardy. It is not covered by CITES.

In the Indo-Pacific it lives on shallow reef flats, in lagoons and on the upper parts of reef slopes. It usually forms wide, flat colonies on dead coral and rock in sunlit places with flow.

• Light: Moderate light (roughly 100–200 PAR) is enough; more does not noticeably speed up growth and can fade the polyp color. Start a new colony under low light and move it up slowly.
• Flow: Moderate, surging flow; it helps remove the waxy film and detritus that build up on the surface.
• Placement: A solid surface in the middle or lower-middle part of the rockwork. The base widens over time.
• Water parameters: Salinity 1.024–1.026; KH 7–11 dKH, calcium 400–450 mg/L, magnesium 1250–1350 mg/L. It is tolerant of swings in nitrate and phosphate.

It is photosynthetic; it meets most of its needs from the algae in its tissue. Its polyps take fine particles from the water, but it shows no noticeable response to target feeding. No extra feeding is needed.

Lobophytum species carry high concentrations of terpenoid compounds in their tissue and can suppress the growth of nearby stony corals by releasing them into the water. For this reason leave at least 20 cm of distance from SPS and LPS, use activated carbon and avoid keeping several large leather corals in a small aquarium. It is itself defenseless against LPS with stinging tentacles and anemones.

It is compatible with fish and the cleanup crew.

It is propagated by cutting a lobe at its base or by splitting the mother colony in two. Because its tissue is tough, a sharp scalpel is needed; the cut piece is tied to a rock with a rubber band and attaches within a few weeks. Do the cutting outside the aquarium in a separate container and wear gloves.

• Staying closed for a long time: Once a month or every two months it sheds a waxy film and stays closed during this time; this is normal.
• Film in still water: If flow is weak, a slimy layer and detritus build up on the lobes; increase the flow.
• Stings from a neighbor: Whitening, melting tissue appears where an LPS or anemone touches it; move the coral and, if necessary, cut away the damaged tissue.