Not furry either, still lovely.
Frogspawn Coral
Fimbriaphyllia divisa
Also called Frogspawn, Octopus coral, Euphyllia divisa, Euphyllia (Fimbriaphyllia) divisa
From Indo-Pacific: Australia, Southeast Asia, the Ryukyu Islands and East China Sea, the Solomon Islands, Fiji and Palau, mostly in shallow, cloudy water and often on vertical surfaces.12
At a glance the quick version
Looks how to spot one
Large-polyp stony coral (LPS) with a meandering wall skeleton
The hard skeleton forms long, wavy valleys with sharp edges. From them rise big tube-shaped tentacles that split into smaller side branches, each ending in a rounded knob, which gives the whole colony its bubbly, egg-cluster look.21
Personality what they are like
A peaceful, slow-living coral that does best with some elbow room. Like its close relatives it can reach out with longer stinging sweeper tentacles, so it is usually given open space away from neighbouring corals.43
Daily activity how busy a day looks
A sessile coral that stays fixed in place; its tentacles sway and expand in moving water, so gentle, varied flow keeps it looking full.34
Grooming and care the hands-on bits
Hobby guides class it as an easier large-polyp stony coral. Stable water chemistry matters most: general reef targets are about 8.2-8.6 pH, 7-12 dKH alkalinity and 400-450 ppm calcium, with magnesium around 1300-1500 ppm suggested for its Euphyllia-type relatives.354
Home where they are happiest
An established reef aquarium with moderate light and low to moderate, randomised water flow. Reef temperature guidance runs about 24-27 C (75-80 F) and salinity 1.022-1.025 sg. Place it with clear space around it so its tentacles do not touch other corals.354
Food basics what goes in the bowl
Gets much of its energy from light through symbiotic algae in its tissue, and can be offered occasional small meaty foods such as mysis or brine shrimp near the tentacles.34
Company who they like around
A colonial animal made of many connected polyps; it needs no tankmates, but appreciates distance from other corals.42
The story where it all began
Scientists Veron and Pichon named it Euphyllia divisa in 1980. In 2017 a DNA-based study moved it into its own genus, Fimbriaphyllia, together with the hammer coral and other close relatives. It has long been one of the most familiar corals in reef aquariums.16
Fun facts for the dinner table
- 1
Its common name comes from the knob-tipped, branching tentacles that look like a clump of frog eggs.2
- 2
In the wild a single colony can grow wider than one metre.2
- 3
Researchers describe it as seldom common on reefs, yet easy to spot when present.2
- 4
It is often mixed up with Fimbriaphyllia paradivisa, which grows as separate branching stalks rather than wavy walls.1
Recognised by the official bits
- Taxonomy (Veron & Pichon)
- Described by Veron and Pichon in 1980 as Euphyllia divisa.1
- Taxonomy (Luzon et al., PeerJ 2017)
- A 2017 molecular study raised Fimbriaphyllia from subgenus to genus, moving divisa and four relatives out of Euphyllia.6
- IUCN Red List
- Listed as Least Concern (IUCN 3.1).1
The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you
A typical home-care rhythm for a Frogspawn Coral. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.
- FeedingDepends on species, many feed from the light and the watervaries
- Salinity checkevery week
- Water testevery week
- Top-upTop up evaporation with fresh RO water, not salt waterevery day
- Water changeAbout 10 to 20% of the waterevery 2 weeks
- Light checkevery month
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Where this comes from
Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
- Fimbriaphyllia divisa - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.orgused for taxonomy, range, IUCN status, look-alike species
- Euphyllia divisa - Corals of the World coralsoftheworld.orgused for skeleton, tentacles, colour, colony size, habitat, abundance
- The Best Beginner Large-Polyp Stony Corals - Reef Builders reefbuilders.comused for beginner status, LPS light, flow and feeding
- RB Care Guide: Torch Coral - Reef Builders reefbuilders.comused for Euphyllia-type flow, chemistry, feeding, sweeper tentacles
- Reef aquarium - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.orgused for general reef water parameters
- Euphyllia - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.orgused for 2017 genus split
Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.