Jellybean Chalice: Care Basics for Vibrant Color

The Jellybean Chalice is a small polyp stony (SPS/LPS-borderline) coral prized for its wild mix of colors. It’s not the hardest chalice to keep, but it does demand stability and respect for its sweeper tentacles.

Place your Jellybean Chalice on stable rockwork or a frag rack in the lower half of the tank. Start it in low to moderate light, then slowly increase intensity over 2–3 weeks if colors look dull. Too much light too fast will cause fading or bleaching.

• PAR target: roughly 80–150 PAR
• Flow: low to moderate, indirect, with gentle sway
• Tank age: best in systems stable for 4–6+ months

Tip: If tissue recedes at the edges, your light or flow is likely too strong, or nutrients are too low.

Feeding, Parameters, and Long-Term Success

Jellybean Chalices respond very well to feeding. After lights out, look for feeding tentacles and offer small amounts of:

• Fine coral foods (reef roids–style powders)
• Finely minced meaty foods (mysis, clam, or fish eggs)

Feed 1–2 times per week and watch for improved inflation and color. Avoid overfeeding; excess food will spike nutrients and fuel algae on the skeleton.

Keep your water stable above all:

• Alkalinity: 8–9.5 dKH
• Calcium: 420–460 ppm
• Magnesium: 1300–1400 ppm
• Nitrate: 5–15 ppm; Phosphate: 0.03–0.1 ppm

Give the Jellybean Chalice some space—its nighttime sweepers can sting neighbors. Mount it on its own small rock “island” so you can easily move or frag it later. With stable parameters, gentle light, and regular target feeding, this coral will grow into a colorful showpiece that stands out in any reef.