Kenya Tree Coral

The Kenya tree is a soft coral that resembles a small tree with its trunk and side branches and carries clusters of brown polyps at the branch tips. The trunk is grayish, beige or light brown; some aquarium lines also show greenish tones. Most corals sold under this name in the trade belong to the genus Capnella, but similar-looking Litophyton species may also be sold under the same name; in small colonies they are hard to tell apart. The trunk surface is slightly rough because of the calcareous spicules (sclerites) inside it.

It is an easy-care, fast-growing and easily propagated coral, which is why aquacultured pieces are very common. The same trait can also turn it into an unwanted spreader in some aquariums. It is not covered by CITES.

It lives on shallow reefs of the Indo-Pacific, on rocky bottoms and reef slopes. In places with strong flow it forms squatter, shorter-branched colonies; in calm water, taller and more sparsely branched ones.

• Light: Moderate light (roughly 100–200 PAR); it also adapts to stronger light.
• Flow: Moderate, random flow. In very strong flow the colony stays short and densely branched.
• Placement: The middle part of the rockwork. Keep in mind that the flow may carry branch pieces that break off into crevices in the rock.
• Water parameters: Salinity 1.024–1.026; KH 7–11 dKH, calcium 400–450 mg/L, magnesium 1250–1350 mg/L. It is tolerant of nutrients.
• Medications: It cannot tolerate copper-based medications; treat fish in a separate quarantine tank.

It is photosynthetic; it gets most of its nutrition from symbiotic algae. It also captures fine particles from the water. It does not need to be fed separately.

It has no stinging tentacles, but under stress, for example when moved or cut, it releases compounds into the water that can harm neighboring corals. Leave 15–20 cm of distance from stony corals, and use activated carbon if there are also leather corals in the aquarium. Branch pieces that drop off on their own can attach in another corner of the rockwork and form new colonies; remove those that appear where you do not want them while they are still small.

It is compatible with fish and invertebrates.

The colony naturally drops small branch pieces, which get caught somewhere by the flow and attach. To propagate it by hand, a branch is cut with scissors and tied to a frag plug with a rubber band or secured on top of a small stone with mesh; it attaches within a few weeks.

• Drooping: The branches droop after a new placement, a change in light or when water parameters fluctuate; they usually recover within a few days.
• Unwanted spreading: Pieces that break off can settle in pumps and between rocks; collect them regularly.
• Browning: Darkening of the color is usually a sign of low light or high nutrients; it is harmless, but the light can be raised a little.