About the Coral Centre
We originally started fragging corals as a hobby...
a way to meet people locally who kept marine aquariums and, through swapping, expand our coral collection.
In April 2019, we decided to turn a hobby into a business, renting a small unit in Hampshire. Here we started to design and build a dedicated corals facility... the size not seen before here in the UK. So far, we've built three systems, focusing on sustainable UK grown corals. One for soft corals, one for LPS, and one for SPS.
We know that every frag sold is potentially saving corals from being taken from the reefs around the world. You know that with every coral or dry goods product you buy from us, you are contributing to coral research.
This makes us arguably the largest professional coral provider in the UK, if not Europe and it doesn't stop there... that's just a splash in the ocean!
Meet the team
Your friendly neighbourhood coral experts
With over 35 years of experience in the hobby, and having been fragging corals for over 10 years, I turned my vision for a sustainable and research based Coral Fragging business into a reality at the beginning of 2019. I have always tried to push the boundaries of reef keeping to encourage Coral reef preservation and raise the profile of what an amazing hobby corralling is! It has always been deeply important to me to ensure each and every customer of The Coral Centre is provided with the highest quality advice, and best value for money products for their reefing systems.
Favourite Coral? Toadstool leather Corals. they add height and movement to any system and a great home substitute for clownfish.
I joined the Coral Centre in April 2021 as a Digital Marketing Assistant. My role involves supporting Rob with all the marketing assets. I help manage the social media platforms and take various photos of all the new coral frags. My background in Media and Communication, which I study at The University of Winchester, has aided me in producing informative videos on our research, helpful product reviews, and tips and tricks for our YouTube channel. By creating these videos, I hope to make the marine hobby industry more accessible and bring more awareness to all the research at The Coral Centre.
Favourite Coral? Chalice or Acan - I love the chalices' texture and the colour vibrancy of the Acans!
Hello, my name is Leigh-Marie, I am a Marine Biologist who joined The Coral Centre team in January 2024. I studied at The University of Portsmouth, achieving a BSc Hons in Marine Environmental Science and an MSc in Applied Aquatic Biology. Alongside my higher education, I have 4 years of experience in Marine Invertebrate Taxonomy and 10+ years of experience in the aquarium hobby. With a profound passion for coral aquaculture and reef conservation, I aim to bring a unique blend of academic rigor and hands-on experience to the forefront of reef keeping, marine science and sustainability at The Coral Centre.
I have a soft spot for Toadstool and Duncan corals! I really enjoy the way they expand and add movement to any marine aquarium so effortlessly!
Being a puppy, I'm still learning my social skills and when I'm at Coral HQ, I become the star of the show!
Favourite Coral? Acropora, as they look like sticks.... I love sticks!
Research
The research system was set up in July 2019 and will help us to look at how we can promote coral growth & feed back our findings to aid the repairing of coral reefs around the world.
This Autumn will see the launch of a series of YouTube videos 'how to set up and run a reef system for under £200’ and the 'you can frag it' program, which guides you though how to frag at home, is still in development and will be launched soon.
We are renowned for supplying quality corals at great prices, and with over 42 years of marine keeping experience, Rob and Emma, will offer help and advice too for all aspects of marine keeping.
We understand the importance of supplying quality corals, with a commitment to quality and sustainability
Soft corals
We like to leave these corals growing for 10–12 weeks (3 months) before they are ready for sale. Some grow so quickly, we will be able to release them earlier, but we have to be happy the corals are ready for their new homes.
LPS corals
Our range of LPS is growing and some corals we will keep for up to 2 years before selling any frags, but most frags will be ready after being left to settle and grow for 5–6 months.
SPS corals
These corals we will keep for approx five months before becoming available for sale. We want to see the coral has had significant growth, this way, you'll know you're putting a healthy coral in your system.
Homes for happy, healthy corals
It's important for us that we see growth with all our corals. This tells us the corals are healthy and ready for a new home.
Some corals grow so quickly, we can't keep them for these times, but you can be assured they have been given the chance to heal and grow.
We have recently teamed up with suppliers who adopt our same ethos around coral frags, to bring you a wider choice of corals. (If a coral frag has come from a supplier, we will tell you on the listing).
This has also seen us start to supply colonies. We have been asked so many times if we can get quality colonies to support customers who understand that our livestock is of the highest quality.
Our sustainable approach
Here at The Coral Centre, we understand the importance of sustainability in all areas of the business. Any items we use on a day to day basis are recycled where possible. Anything that can't be recycled is incinerated to create electricity. This way, nothing goes to landfill.
Our corals are posted in pots that can be reused time and time again. To make it easier for you, in every shipment we supply a Royal Mail freepost label. This allows customers to ship the packaging back free of charge. We are the only retailer in our industry to do this worldwide.
We grow as many corals here at Coral HQ as possible, & only coral frags grown here in the UK are given the 'UK grown' badge. We source as many colonies from Indonesia, where the corals are maricultured for the aquarium trade.
Animal welfare
Coral HQ operates under Winchester City Council. We are proud to display our first licence we gained in October 2021.
We are now able to sell marine fish and have a small selection available.
We also take orders for fish, so if you’re looking for something special, pop in or give us a call and we will source them for you.
Animal Welfare licence:
Licence No 21/03173/LIANWE with Winchester City Council.
Corals for sale
See our latest range of corals available for in-store or home delivery.
