Colt Coral

Colt coral is the name given in the hobby to species of the genus Klyxum; the same name is sometimes also used for its close relative Cladiella. The colony is soft, slippery and short-branched; the tops of the branches are covered with long, light brown or cream polyps. With its polyps open the colony looks like a puffy, fuzzy bush; when they close it shrinks into a branched lump of flesh. Its species can hardly be told apart from the outside, and their care is the same.

Because it grows fast and propagates easily, aquacultured pieces are very common. It is not covered by CITES.

It lives in the Indo-Pacific, especially on shallow reefs and reef slopes of the Western Pacific, on rocks with good flow that receive moderate to strong light.

• Light: Moderate light (roughly 100–200 PAR); it can be slowly acclimated to stronger light.
• Flow: Moderate to strong, random flow keeps the polyps open and clean.
• Placement: The middle part of the rockwork. As it grows, the bush-shaped colony widens and shades its surroundings; leave space around it.
• Water parameters: Salinity 1.024–1.026; KH 7–11 dKH, calcium 400–450 mg/L, magnesium 1250–1350 mg/L. It looks best in water with a small amount of nutrients.
• Medications: Like most soft corals, it cannot tolerate copper-based medications; treat sick fish in a separate quarantine tank.
• Acclimation: Place a newly arrived colony somewhere with weaker light first, then move it to its final spot over a week or two.

It is photosynthetic; it gets most of its nutrition from zooxanthellae. Its polyps also capture fine particles; phytoplankton or very fine powdered food once a week can support growth, but it is not essential.

It has no stinging tentacles, but it can affect nearby corals by releasing terpene compounds from its tissue into the water. Some keepers report that when kept side by side with leather corals such as Sinularia and Sarcophyton, it makes them decline. Leave at least 15 cm of distance and use activated carbon.

It is compatible with fish and invertebrates. Some dwarf angelfish and butterflyfish may pick at the polyps.

It is one of the easiest soft corals to propagate in the aquarium. A branch is cut with scissors and tied to a frag plug with a rubber band or wedged between small stones; it attaches within a few weeks. Because the tissue is slippery, glue usually does not hold. The colony can also propagate on its own by dropping branches.

• Shrinking and contracting: The colony may shrink for a few days after a sudden increase in light or a large water change.
• Drooping: If flow or light is insufficient, the branches droop and thin out; move it.
• Melting: Bacterial rot of the soft tissue is seen, though rarely; cut off and remove a melting branch immediately.