Kenya Tree Coral

Care at a glance

Overview

A sessile, fast-growing tree coral that self-propagates by shedding branch tips. It is passive and low-sting, but its speed and habit of dropping frags mean it can pop up all over a system, so many keepers treat it as a hardy starter coral that needs regular pruning.

In the wild

Capnella grows as a bushy branching tree with soft, polyp-tipped limbs that sway in the current. It is very undemanding, doing well under low to moderate light around 50 to 150 PAR and preferring moderate to strong flow, which also helps it shed dropped branches. Place it low to mid on the rock with room to spread, and be ready to prune, since it is one of the fastest-growing softies in the hobby.

Good to know

Capnella is a soft octocoral in the family Nephtheidae that relies on zooxanthellae and absorbed nutrients rather than needing target feeding. It reproduces readily by dropping small branch tips that drift off and root wherever they land, and it can also be fragged simply by cutting a branch and banding it to rock. This easy self-propagation is why a single colony can quickly seed a whole tank.

Did you know

Kenya tree coral is so prolific that hobbyists warn you may never fully clear it once introduced, as every dropped branch tip can root into a brand new colony somewhere else in the tank.

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