Anthelia glauca Propagation Guide

Propagating the waving hand coral Anthelia glauca, an encrusting xeniid, by cutting its mat and managing its spread across rockwork.

Overview

Anthelia glauca is a soft coral in the family Xeniidae (genus established by Lamarck in 1816). Known as a waving hand coral, it carries permanently extended polyps on an encrusting base and, like its xeniid relatives, spreads as a mat across the rockwork rather than forming a discrete colony.

Reproductive Mode

Propagation is asexual. Anthelia grows by encrusting outward from its base, so the colony expands across the substrate on its own; new attachment points form where the advancing tissue contacts fresh rock, in the manner typical of the Xeniidae.

Fragging / Asexual Propagation

Because the coral grows as an encrusting sheet, fragging is done by cutting a section of the mat, ideally along with the small piece of rock or rubble it has encrusted. That rock-backed cutting can then be moved to a new rock or plug; banding it in place gives the encrusting tissue a surface to spread onto, as bare glue is easily shed by xeniids.

1. Cut a section of the encrusting mat with scissors or a blade.
2. Take the piece of rock or rubble it has encrusted.
3. Band or set the rock-backed cutting onto a new rock or plug.
4. Keep it in low flow until the tissue spreads and anchors.

Conditions for Propagation

Low flow and stable mature water help the cut mat re-establish and encrust the new surface. Isolating the colony on its own rock keeps the encrusting spread contained, since it can otherwise creep over neighbouring corals.

Common Challenges

The encrusting habit that makes Anthelia easy to multiply also makes it spread quickly across the rockwork. The main task is containment: prune the advancing edges and keep the colony physically separated from slower corals.