Lighting
50-180 PAR is a flexible starting range; growth control and steady flow usually matter more than exact PAR.
Soft CoralBeginnerCare score 2/10
Kenya Tree Coral
Capnella spp.
Use this Kenya Tree Coral profile to compare branching soft tree shape with Leather Coral and Xenia, plan conservative spacing, and watch for closure, shedding, or tissue slump under moderate flow.
Compare branching soft tree shape, care range, and nearby lookalikes while checking an ID.
Snapshot
Quick Care Snapshot
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Care score
- 2/10
- Placement
- Variable
- PAR range
- 50-180 PAR
- Flow
- Moderate
- Aggression
- Low
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Minimum tank age
- 1 months
- Minimum tank size
- 10 gallons
Care note
This entry has low confidence or is marked for expert review. Treat the ranges as conservative starting points and compare them with your own system.
- Verify taxonomy before species-level SEO or care claims.
Images
Reference Photos
Photos are shown only when a source includes reusable license metadata. Always verify appearance against the coral in your own lighting and flow.
Primary reference: PilarMeca
Source: Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Emőke Dénes
Source: Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Emőke Dénes
Source: Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 4.0
Ranges
Water Parameters
These ranges are approximate starting points from the coral database and should be adjusted to the stability and history of your system.
- Temperature
- 76-80 F / 24.4-26.7 C
- Salinity
- 1.023-1.026
- Alkalinity
- 7.5-10 dKH
- Calcium
- 380-450 ppm
- Magnesium
- 1250-1400 ppm
- Nitrate
- 2-30 ppm
- Phosphate
- 0.03-0.2 ppm
Care
Care Notes
Flow
moderate flow should help shedding and detritus removal while avoiding constant collapse of the colony.
Stability
For Kenya Tree Coral, review salinity, nutrient swings, and flow before assuming decline; temporary closure, shedding, or posture changes can be normal.
Variability
Kenya Tree Coral requirements vary by specimen, aquaculture history, shipping stress, and tank maturity; use these ranges as starting points, not guarantees.
Feeding
Feeding
- Benefits from feeding
- No
- Food types
- dissolved nutrients, fine suspended foods
- Frequency
- direct feeding not usually needed
ID
Identification
Key features
- branching soft tree shape
- drooping flexible limbs
- can drop branches
Common colors
- Tan
- Brown
- Pink
Similar coral references
How to tell apart
Kenya tree forms soft branching limbs, while Xenia has feathery pulsing hands and toadstools have a cap. When Kenya Tree Coral is confused with Leather Coral and Xenia, the useful clues are branching soft tree shape, drooping flexible limbs, and can drop branches. Color is secondary; structure, expansion pattern, and the first place tissue irritation appears are more reliable. For soft corals, growth habit, polyp arrangement, and shedding behavior are usually more useful than a loose trade name.
Placement
Compatibility
Compatibility depends on specimen size, flow, growth, aggression, and spacing. Use these references conservatively and watch for contact over time.
Usually compatible with spacing
Use caution near
Avoid close placement with
Spacing recommendation: keep about 3 inches of clearance, then adjust based on extension and neighboring coral response.
Troubleshooting
Common Problems
Use these as troubleshooting checks, not a diagnosis. Symptoms may point to more than one issue.
Kenya Tree Coral closure, shedding, or tissue slumpOpen for symptoms, likely causes to check, and practical next steps.
Symptoms that may indicate it
- polyps stay closed, surface film appears, or branches look limp
- Kenya Tree Coral shows less normal extension, inflation, or feeding response than its recent baseline
- changes are localized rather than a confirmed single-cause condition
Likely causes to check
- normal shedding, salinity change, low indirect flow, or chemical irritation in a mixed reef
- recent placement, lighting, flow, or chemistry changes affecting Kenya Tree Coral
- possible irritation from neighbors, pests, detritus, or handling depending on the coral group
Quick checks
- check whether Kenya Tree Coral is shedding before moving it
- improve indirect flow across the surface or branches
- review recent salinity, carbon, or chemical-filtration changes in mixed reefs
Checklist
Common Mistakes
- allow normal soft coral shedding while checking flow and salinity trends
- placing Kenya Tree Coral before confirming branching soft tree shape and its spacing needs
- using Kenya Tree Coral color or trade name alone instead of comparing it with Leather Coral
- changing light, flow, and chemistry together when Kenya Tree Coral looks irritated
- ignoring spread control when keeping Kenya Tree Coral
Compare
Similar Corals
Neighbors
Compatible Corals
These corals are usually compatible with spacing, observation, and stable conditions. This is not a guarantee.
Usually compatible with spacing
Zoanthids
Zoanthus spp.
- Category
- Zoanthid
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Aggression
- Low
Usually compatible with spacing
Mushroom Coral
Discosoma spp. / Rhodactis spp.
- Category
- Mushroom
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Aggression
- Low
Usually compatible with spacing
Green Star Polyps
Pachyclavularia violacea / Briareum violaceum
- Category
- Soft Coral
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Aggression
- Low
Usually compatible with spacing
Xenia
Xenia spp.
- Category
- Soft Coral
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Aggression
- Low
FAQs
FAQs
Is Kenya Tree Coral beginner friendly?
Kenya Tree Coral can be beginner friendly in a stable reef, but still needs acclimation, space, and observation after moves.
Where should Kenya Tree Coral be placed?
Start Kenya Tree Coral on a movable frag plug or isolated rock so it can be adjusted without disturbing the main aquascape. Use 50-180 PAR and moderate flow as a starting point, then adjust from tissue extension, color, and nearby coral response.
Does Kenya Tree Coral need food or just stable nutrients?
Kenya Tree Coral does not usually need direct feeding. The database lists dissolved nutrients and fine suspended foods and notes: direct feeding not usually needed. For soft-coral style care, stable nutrients and enough flow to keep surfaces clean are the main checks.
Can Kenya Tree Coral spread onto nearby rock?
Give Kenya Tree Coral about 3 inches of clearance as a starting point. Its database aggression level is Low. Use caution near Leather Coral and Toadstool Leather. Avoid close placement with Acropora and Chalice Coral. Compatibility is not a guarantee, so check contact points as colonies expand. For spreading or mat-forming corals, also watch the edge of the colony so it does not grow into neighbors unnoticed.
What should I check if Kenya Tree Coral looks stressed?
Use this as a troubleshooting check. For Kenya Tree Coral, polyps stay closed, surface film appears, or branches look limp and Kenya Tree Coral shows less normal extension, inflation, or feeding response than its recent baseline can indicate Kenya Tree Coral closure, shedding, or tissue slump. Likely causes to check include normal shedding, salinity change, low indirect flow, or chemical irritation in a mixed reef and recent placement, lighting, flow, or chemistry changes affecting Kenya Tree Coral. Start with these database checks: check whether Kenya Tree Coral is shedding before moving it and improve indirect flow across the surface or branches.
What should I check before moving Kenya Tree Coral?
For Kenya Tree Coral, review salinity, nutrient swings, and flow before assuming decline; temporary closure, shedding, or posture changes can be normal. The database lists 1 month as the minimum tank age and 10 gallons as the minimum tank size. With soft corals, temporary closure or posture changes can happen, so compare against the recent baseline before moving it repeatedly.
Coral Identifier
Identify Kenya Tree Coral.
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Use the app to compare photos, lookalikes, and key visual clues when you want a second pass on an ID.
Compare branching soft tree shape, care range, and nearby lookalikes while checking an ID.
Photo-based coral IDReference photosLikely matches
