It grows in shallow water on fore-reef slopes or in sheltered lagoons, the type locality being the Red Sea.

Colonies of Seriatopora hystrix formed a tangled, bushy clump of fragile, slender, tapering branches with pointed tips.

The corallites form neat rows of oval cup-shaped depressions with raised rims from which the polyps protrude at night.

It has been found that these symbionts are transferred during the brooding of the larvae and that different species of Symbiodinium are associated with the coral in different parts of its range, a likely example of coevolution and specialization.

At times of stress, another form of asexual reproduction takes place that may allow some of the polyps to survive even though the parent colony dies.

A number of symbiotic decapod crustaceans find shelter and protection here and they also obtain food in the form of mucus secreted by the coral.

[7] The threats faced by Seriatopora hystrix and other corals include ocean acidification, climate change and habitat loss.