Montipora danae

Montipora danae is a Montipora that spreads over rock like a crust and can put out thin plates from its edges as it ages. Its surface is covered with small, round bumps; the polyps sit between these bumps, fairly widely spaced. Its best-known form in the hobby is the one sold as "Superman": bright red polyps on a deep blue-purple base.

It is not certain that every coral sold under the "Superman" label is really M. danae. Other similar-looking Montipora species (e.g. M. tuberculosa) are also sold under this name; a definitive identification requires examining the skeleton. Since their care is the same, the difference is small from the aquarist's point of view.

International trade in stony corals is subject to CITES Appendix II. Because the Superman form has been propagated in aquariums for many years, buy a frag or a farmed piece instead of a wild-collected colony.

• Superman (Superman monti): Deep blue-purple base, bright red polyps. The best-known form in the hobby; as described above, some pieces sold under this name may be other Montipora species.

It lives on shallow reef slopes of the Indo-Pacific, on well-lit rock surfaces. Its encrusting shape lets it cling tightly to the rock where wave action is strong; in more sheltered places it can put out plates from its edges.

• Light: Strong light; roughly 200–350 PAR. The blue-purple color turns brown under low light. A new frag should first be kept at around 150–200 PAR and moved up over two to three weeks; a sudden increase in light is a common cause of loss in this species.
• Flow: Moderate to strong, random flow. Detritus must not build up between the bumps.
• Placement: A flat surface in the middle-upper part of the rockwork where it can spread. Gluing it to a separate "grow-out rock" makes cutting easier later.
• Water parameters: Salinity 1.025–1.026, KH 7–9 dKH, calcium 400–450 mg/L, magnesium 1250–1400 mg/L, nitrate 2–10 mg/L, phosphate 0.02–0.08 mg/L. At high nitrate the blue base quickly turns brown.

It is photosynthetic; light and the zooxanthellae algae in its tissue are its main source of nutrition. No extra feeding is needed. Keeping nutrients very low but not at zero brings out its brightest colors.

It is a peaceful coral. Its encrusting base slowly spreads over the rock and can eventually grow over low-growing animals such as zoanthids; leave 10 cm of space. Long-tentacled LPS and corals that extend sweeper tentacles sting it.

Dwarf angelfish may pick at the polyps. On encrusting forms, the Montipora-eating nudibranch (Phestilla subodiosa) usually hides along the edges and at the line where the coral meets the rock.

Encrusting colonies are cut together with the rock beneath them using a small rock saw or chisel rather than coral cutters. An easier way is to place frag plugs so that they touch the edge of the colony and wait for the coral to spread over them; after a few weeks the plug is separated from the edge. Cut surfaces usually heal without problems.

• New frag bleaching: Usually light shock; move the coral lower and acclimate it to the light slowly.
• Browning: Light is too low or nitrate and phosphate are high.
• Tissue loss from the edges: Check for KH and temperature swings; look for nudibranchs and eggs along the edges. Put newly arrived pieces through a coral dip.