Flexibilis Anthelia (Anthelia flexibilis) Care Guide
Anthelia flexibilis is a hardy encrusting Xeniidae soft coral with long flexible polyp stalks that sway in flow, photosynthetic and beginner-friendly.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Anthelia flexibilis is a soft coral of the family Xeniidae, an octocoral with eight-tentacled polyps. This variant has longer, flexible polyp stalks that sway gracefully in the current. Like other Anthelia it grows as an encrusting colony and relies mainly on photosynthesis.
Taxonomy
- Class: Octocorallia
- Family: Xeniidae
- Genus: Anthelia
- Scientific name: Anthelia flexibilis
Habitat
The genus Anthelia is found across the Indo-Pacific on reef hard substrate. In the aquarium the coral encrusts and spreads over rock, so an isolated placement helps contain its growth.
Tank requirements
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- Salinity: 1.024-1.026 SG
- dKH: 8-11
- Calcium: 380-450 ppm
- Magnesium: 1280-1350 ppm
- Nitrate: below 15 ppm; Phosphate: below 0.1 ppm
- Lighting: 50-150 PAR (medium)
- Flow: low
- Minimum tank age: 3 months
Feeding
Anthelia is zooxanthellate and obtains most of its energy from photosynthesis under adequate light, requiring no target feeding. Supplemental amino acids may aid growth but are not essential in a stable reef.
Compatibility
Passive and reef-safe, with no stinging tentacles and safe with fish and shrimp. Its rapid encrusting growth is the main concern, as it can overgrow slower corals; keep it physically separated.
Propagation
It propagates by encrusting spread and by relocating colonised rock fragments, which reattach and continue to grow.
Anthelia flexibilis Propagation Guide
Overview
Anthelia flexibilis is a soft coral in the family Xeniidae (genus established by Lamarck in 1816). It is an Anthelia with longer, flexible polyp stalks that sway in flow, growing from an encrusting base. As with the genus generally, it spreads as a mat over rockwork rather than forming a compact head.
Reproductive Mode
Propagation is asexual. The coral encrusts outward from its base across the substrate, forming new attachment as the advancing tissue meets fresh rock, the self-spreading growth characteristic of the Xeniidae.
Fragging / Asexual Propagation
Frag by cutting a portion of the encrusting mat, preferably together with the rubble or rock it has grown onto, then relocate that rock-backed piece to a new rock or plug. Banding it in position lets the tissue creep onto the new surface, which is more reliable than bare glue for xeniids.
- Cut a portion of the encrusting mat with scissors or a blade.
- Keep the rubble or rock the coral has grown onto.
- Band the rock-backed piece to a new rock or plug.
- Hold it in low flow until the tissue creeps over and anchors.
Conditions for Propagation
Gentle flow and stable, mature water help the cut mat re-encrust the new surface. An isolated rock keeps the spread contained, since the colony will otherwise advance onto adjacent corals.
Common Challenges
The same encrusting growth that makes propagation simple also drives rapid spread across the rockwork. Containment is the priority: trim the leading edges and keep the colony separated from slower-growing neighbours.