Description
Indophyllia coral, often called Button Coral, Meat Coral, or Indophyllia Button Coral, is a colorful large polyp stony coral known for its inflated fleshy tissue, rounded single-polyp appearance, and bright reef tank colors. Red, green, orange, pink, brown, and translucent varieties can make Indophyllia a striking sandbed showpiece in the right aquarium.
Indophyllia is often compared to Cynarina coral because both have large fleshy tissue and a similar inflated look. Like Cynarina, Indophyllia rewards gentle handling, lower light, low to moderate indirect flow, and stable water chemistry. Its tissue can expand beyond the skeleton, so it should be protected from sharp rock, sand abrasion, strong flow, and aggressive neighbors.
Indophyllia is a solitary large polyp stony coral with a hard skeleton and a large fleshy polyp. It is often sold as Button Coral or Meat Coral because of its rounded, inflated appearance. When healthy, the tissue can look thick, glossy, and expanded, giving the coral a bold presence on the sandbed.
Indophyllia corals are found in Indo-Pacific reef environments, including Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and reef areas around the Great Barrier Reef. They are often associated with sandy or muddy lagoon floors, soft substrates, and deeper reef slopes with gentle water movement.
In reef aquariums, this natural background points toward sandbed placement, low to moderate light, and low to moderate indirect flow. A healthy Indophyllia should inflate regularly, hold stable color, and show no exposed skeleton, tissue tearing, spreading recession, or brown jelly.
