Birdsnest Coral

Care at a glance

Overview

Sessile and passive with no sweeper tentacles, so it will not attack neighbors, but the thin branches are easily damaged and it can be stung by aggressive corals like Euphyllia, so give it clear space. Considered one of the easier beginner SPS corals, forgiving of general conditions but intolerant of sudden parameter swings, so stability matters more than perfection.

In the wild

Forms a dense, tangled bush of very thin, needle-tipped branches that gives the coral its birdsnest name. It does well in moderate to high light, roughly 150 to 300 PAR, and wants strong, random, turbulent flow to keep detritus from settling deep inside the branch tangle. Avoid a constant direct blast, which can strip the fragile tips. Place it in the mid to upper tank with room to bush out.

Good to know

Seriatopora hystrix is a zooxanthellate SPS coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It is mostly photosynthetic but will take fine particulate food, and it is one of the fastest growing SPS corals, forming dense colonies quickly. The delicate branches are brittle and snap easily, which also makes it trivial to frag.

Did you know

The branches are so brittle that colonies can shed live fragments when bumped, and each of those broken pieces can settle and start a whole new colony, which is one way birdsnest spreads across a reef.

Related species

• 

  Cat's Paw Coral

  Stylophora pistillata

  5.9 in (15 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Cauliflower Coral

  Pocillopora damicornis

  9.8 in (25 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Blastomussa

  Blastomussa merletti

  5.9 in (15 cm)11 gal (40 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Blastomussa wellsi

  Blastomussa wellsi

  5.9 in (15 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Chili Coral

  Nephthyigorgia

  5.9 in (15 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Flower Tree Coral

  Scleronephthya

  5.9 in (15 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)