Torch Coral (Euphyllia sp.)

Torch Coral (Euphyllia glabrescens) is named for the long, flowing tentacles tipped in a slight bulge that sway like a torch's flame under even mild flow — making it one of the more hypnotic, motion-heavy corals in the large polyp stony family. It's been a staple of the reef hobby for decades precisely because it delivers high visual impact at a relatively forgiving care threshold: tolerant of a real range of lighting intensity and flow patterns, and slower to show stress than most SPS corals when parameters drift briefly.

Like its Euphyllia relatives (hammer, frogspawn), it carries a genuine sting and uses sweeper tentacles extended at night to maintain space around the colony. Give it a few inches of clearance in every direction from its expected growth path, because it will grow — healthy Torch Coral under good conditions adds measurable new polyp heads over weeks and months, slowly building from a small frag into a substantial colony. Those sweeper tentacles will sting anything they reach, including corals you thought were safely out of range before the colony grew.

Torch Corals in the wild occupy Indo-Pacific reef slopes and walls where they extend into moderate current, which translates well to mid-tank placement with indirect, moderate flow in captivity.

Scientific name: Euphyllia glabrescens
Origin: Indo-Pacific — reef slopes, walls, and lagoon edges at 3–30m depth
Water parameters: Temp 74–82°F · Salinity 1.023–1.026 · pH 8.1–8.4 · Alkalinity 8–11 dKH · Calcium 380–450 ppm
Lighting: Low to moderate — 50–200 µmol PAR; mid-tank placement
Flow: Moderate, indirect; direct high flow causes tentacles to retract and prevents full extension
Tank requirements: 30 gal minimum; needs clearance from all neighbors
Diet: Photosynthetic; target-feed meaty foods (frozen mysis, Reef Roids) to accelerate growth and polyp budding
Husbandry note: Torch Corals that permanently retract and don't extend their tentacles during the day are usually either in too much direct flow or experiencing an alkalinity issue. Check flow first — it's the most common cause.