page_title: Heliofungia actiniformis
section_title: Aquaculture
hierarchical_section_title: Heliofungia actiniformis / Aquaculture
caption_attribution_description: Español: Heliofungia actiniformis en acuario de arrecife English: Heliofungia actiniformis in reef aquarium
context_page_description: Heliofungia actiniformis is a solitary species of mushroom coral, a large polyp stony coral in the family Fungiidae. This coral is found in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region. It is a zooxanthellate species. It is a popular coral in the reef aquarium trade; wild populations are threatened by disease, climate change, and over-collecting, and the species is considered vulnerable by the IUCN.
context_section_description: Many corals can be increased in number by detaching pieces of a colony and attaching them to the substrate. That is not possible with large polyp stony corals such as Heliofungia actiniformis, but it is hoped to remedy this by placing collecting devices above them when spawning is about to occur, mixing the eggs and sperm under controlled conditions and nurturing the larvae in tanks. The technique has been successfully applied to Acropora formosa. It is hoped that the resulting offspring will be able to be used to repopulate damaged reefs or to relieve the pressure of collecting corals from the wild for the reef aquarium trade.
caption: H. actiniformis in a reef aquarium
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