The 'Wellso' is a free-living folded-brain LPS with a meandering, tightly enclosed valley pattern and vivid colors. The trade names Wellsophyllia radiata and Trachyphyllia radiata are now both regarded as synonyms of Trachyphyllia geoffroyi, the single accepted species in the monotypic genus Trachyphyllia. It is a hardy, peaceful intermediate coral for the sandbed.
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Free-living single fleshy colony with folded/meandering valleys; typically 8-20 cm across expanded
Lifespan
10–50 years
Social needs
solo
Native region
Indo-Pacific; soft-substrate reef lagoons of the Western Pacific and broader Indo-Pacific
Origin
Old World
Climate
🌴 Tropical
Water type
🌊 Marine
Family
Merulinidae
Genus
Trachyphyllia
Part of the LPS Corals
Large-polyp stony corals (brains, Euphyllia, Goniopora, Scolymia, Lobophyllia, Favites, Acan, Dendro, Octospawn) with fleshy polyps over a calcium-carbonate skeleton. Intermediate-care reef corals that appreciate moderate light/flow and direct feeding.
From the minimum an animal needs to be kept humanely, up to the ideal setup. Bigger is almost always better — minimums are floors, not targets.
Photo coming soon
Minimum
Stable nano reef
20+ gal / SG 1.025 / Alk 8-9 dKH / Ca 420-440 / Mg 1300-1400
LPS coral — needs more stable Alk/Ca/Mg than soft corals. Medium light, LOW flow (sweepers/tentacles need calm to extend). Some target-feeding helps. Wellsophyllia (Wells Brain) — folded open-brain coral; similar care to Trachyphyllia.
Photo coming soon
Recommended
Established 40+ gal reef
40+ gal cycled 6+ mo / stable Alk
Established reef with calm pockets for tentacle extension. Target-feed mysis/PE pellet 1-2× weekly. Watch for sweeper tentacles stinging neighbours.
Photo coming soon
Ideal
Mature reef + LPS garden
75+ gal / show-quality stability
Mature mixed reef with dedicated LPS placement (low rockwork or sand) and spacing for sweepers. Stable parameters > peak parameters. Wellsophyllia (Wells Brain) — folded open-brain coral; similar care to Trachyphyllia.
Life & growth stages
How this animal changes through its life — each stage often has its own care, diet and space needs.
Photo coming soon
Planula larva
Corals begin as a free-swimming planula larva released into the water column after spawning or brooding. The tiny, ciliated larva drifts and swims until it finds suitable hard substrate to settle on.
Photo coming soon
Single polyp
Once settled, the larva metamorphoses into a single founding polyp that secretes a calcium-carbonate (or proteinaceous) base and extends a ring of tentacles to feed. Reef-building corals begin laying down skeleton at this stage.
Mature colony
The founding polyp buds asexually into a colony of many genetically identical polyps, building the species' characteristic growth form — branching, plating, encrusting, or massive. A mature colony can reproduce and contributes to reef structure.
Color & pattern variants
Natural variants occur in the wild; selectively bred (man-made) variants were developed in captivity.
Natural
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Rainbow Wellso
Highly prized morphs showing concentric bands of contrasting color (red, orange, green, blue) radiating across the folded valleys; naturally occurring color forms selected in the trade.
representative
Red / Green Wellso
Common single-or-two-tone forms with deep red or bright green tissue and contrasting valley lines, the classic folded-brain look.
Keep in an established marine reef aquarium (75+ L) with stable reef parameters: 24-27 C (75-80 F), salinity 1.025-1.026 SG, alkalinity 8-9.5 dKH, calcium 400-450 ppm, magnesium 1300-1400 ppm, pH 8.0-8.4. It does well with modest nutrients (nitrate 2-15 ppm, phosphate 0.03-0.1 ppm). It is a free-living coral meant to rest on a soft sandbed, not on rock, where it inflates fully.
Substrate
Best kept on a fine-to-medium sand or crushed-coral bed, since it is a free-living coral whose skeleton sits in soft sediment in the wild. Do not glue it to rock. A gentle depression in the sand keeps it from tumbling in flow. Keep the surrounding sand clean so detritus does not lodge under the tissue.
Equipment & setup
Reef hardware: heater (24-27 C), low-to-moderate reef lighting (LED/T5, ~50-120 PAR; it colors beautifully at lower light and can bleach if blasted), gentle, indirect flow (strong flow tears the inflated tissue and prevents full expansion), protein skimmer, and dosing/water changes to maintain alkalinity, calcium and magnesium. RO/DI water and a refractometer are essential.
Diet
Photosynthetic via zooxanthellae and an enthusiastic feeder. Target-feed 1-3x weekly with mysis, brine, chopped seafood, or coral pellets placed on the inflated tissue/mouths, usually in the evening when feeding tentacles emerge. Regular feeding noticeably improves color, tissue volume, and recovery from shipping. Avoid letting food rot in the valleys.
Behavior & temperament
Sessile (free-living) single colony. It is peaceful and largely non-aggressive, lacking long sweeper tentacles, though its short feeder tentacles can mildly sting anything resting directly against it, so keep a few cm of clearance. It inflates dramatically during the day and can balloon well beyond its skeleton; give it open sandbed space. Not handleable; do not touch the delicate tissue.
Health
Generally hardy but the soft, balloon-like tissue is prone to mechanical damage and to brown jelly if injured, smothered, or kept in too-strong flow. Common issues are recession from alkalinity instability, tissue tears from being moved while inflated, and detritus collecting in the valleys. Dip and inspect new specimens; provide gentle flow and stable chemistry. Recovering imports color up well over weeks with feeding.
Tips, DIY & hacks
Place it on open sand near the bottom with gentle flow and modest light for the best, most inflated look. Never move it while fully inflated, deflate it gently first by light shading or wait for evening contraction. Spot-feed in the evening to fatten and color it up, especially fresh imports. Wellsos generally are not fragged at home because they are single free-living colonies; buy the color you want. Note that the 'Wellso' (more enclosed, folded valley pattern) and the open-brain 'Trachy' are now considered the same species, Trachyphyllia geoffroyi, differing only in growth form.
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