Watermelon Psammocora is a hardy, eye-catching SPS coral that’s perfect for reefers who want color without the high-maintenance demands of Acropora. Its green-and-pink “watermelon” pattern pops under blue lighting and encrusts over rockwork, making it great for filling in bare spots.

Placement, Flow, and Lighting

Watermelon Psammocora is more forgiving than many SPS, but it still needs stability.

• Placement: Start in the middle of the rockwork and move higher only if color looks dull. Avoid direct blasting from powerheads.
• Flow: Aim for moderate, random flow. Too little flow allows detritus to settle; too much can cause tissue recession on edges.
• Lighting: Does well under moderate PAR (150–250). Under strong LEDs, acclimate slowly using reduced intensity or light diffusion to prevent bleaching.

Care, Feeding, and Troubleshooting

Stable water quality is more important than “perfect” numbers.

• Parameters to target: Alkalinity 8–9 dKH, calcium 400–440 ppm, magnesium 1300–1400 ppm, nitrates 5–15 ppm, phosphates 0.03–0.1 ppm.
• Feeding: While mostly photosynthetic, it responds well to occasional broadcast feeding of fine particle foods (reef roids, powdered plankton) with pumps off for 10–15 minutes.
• Fragging tips: Use bone cutters to break small edges of the encrusting base. Glue frags to rubble and place in moderate flow to heal.
• Pest and shading watch: Keep an eye out for algae creeping onto the edges and avoid letting faster-growing corals over-shade it.

Quick habit: When you test alkalinity each week, quickly check the Watermelon Psammocora’s edges. Receding rims or faded color usually show up here first, giving you an early warning that something’s off.