Waving Hand Coral

Care at a glance

Overview

A sessile mat-forming octocoral that spreads by encrusting rock and by shedding fragments that root wherever they land, making it one of the fastest colonizers among the soft corals in this catalog. It has no sweeper tentacles and will not sting neighbors, but its sheer growth rate lets it overrun slower corals through simple overgrowth, so most keepers confine it to an isolated rock or island. It tolerates a wider range of water conditions than most soft corals and needs no target feeding, which is why it is often recommended as a first coral.

In the wild

Anthelia forms broad mats across shallow Indo-Pacific reef flats and lagoons, with feathery polyps standing up on long stalks to catch light and current. It tolerates a wide light range but does best under low to moderate light, roughly 75 to 150 PAR, and wants medium to strong, fairly steady flow to keep its stalks swaying and clean. Place it low to mid on the rockwork with open room around it, since a happy colony spreads across bare rock quickly and is difficult to relocate once established.

Good to know

Anthelia is a soft coral in the family Xeniidae, the same family as pulsing xenia (Xenia elongata) already in this catalog, though Anthelia's hand-shaped polyps stay open and sway rather than rhythmically pulsing. It relies mainly on zooxanthellae for energy and only lightly captures fine particulate food from the water column. Colonies spread by encrusting outward and by dropping small pieces that reattach and grow into new mats.

Did you know

A single small piece of Anthelia can carpet an entire rock within months. Because it is often confused with pulsing xenia at the store, the easiest way to tell them apart at a glance is that Anthelia's hand-shaped polyps stay open and sway in the current instead of rhythmically opening and closing.

Related species

• 

  Pulsing Xenia

  Xenia elongata

  7.9 in (20 cm)11 gal (40 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Acan Coral

  Acanthastrea echinata

  7.9 in (20 cm)11 gal (40 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Candy Cane Coral

  Caulastraea furcata

  7.9 in (20 cm)11 gal (40 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Encrusting Star Polyps

  Briareum

  7.9 in (20 cm)11 gal (40 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Frogspawn Coral

  Euphyllia divisa

  7.9 in (20 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Hammer Coral

  Euphyllia ancora

  7.9 in (20 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)