Lithophyllum is a calcareous encrusting algae that forms heavily calcified plates or discs that encrust rocks and coral reefs. Like many encrusting algae, it plays an important role in building reef structures by cementing dead coral tissue and fragments together. It features overlapping pink colored irregular shaped discs, often with a distinctive white edge. Existing fragments can be broken off and glued to live rock in the aquarium. This species is most often encountered on imported live rock as it’s native to the reef and can be difficult to obtain. Like most heavily encrusting macro algae species it requires large amounts of calcium supplementation to grow.
Scientific Name: Lithophyllum sp.
Common Name: Coralline Algae
Origin: Caribbean, S. Pacific
Depth Collected: 1-50 feet
Maximum Height: 8″
Growth Rate: Slow
Light: Moderate to High
Temperature: 72-82
Propagation: Sporulation
Difficulty: Moderate
Food Value: Not Palatable
Nutrient Uptake: None
Flow Rate: Moderate to High