Kenya tree coral

Care at a glance

The Kenya tree is a soft coral with a grey-brown branching trunk and polyps that give the whole thing a fuzzy, tree-like shape. It is nearly indestructible: low light, low flow, no special water values and no feeding required.

That makes it an excellent first coral, but it also explains why many experienced aquarists want rid of it again. Kenya trees spontaneously drop branchlets that settle elsewhere, attach and form a new colony — within a year they are everywhere. So place it on a standalone rock and snip off loose branchlets before they establish. Once it is out on the reef, pushing it back is hard.

Related species

• Ricordea mushroomRicordea florida
• Finger leather coralSinularia sp.
• Clove polypsClavularia sp.
• PoritesPorites sp.
• Birdsnest coralSeriatopora hystrix
• PalythoaPalythoa sp.