Scleronephthya gracillima Care Guide
Scleronephthya gracillima is a bright pink-red azooxanthellate soft coral resembling a strawberry that requires a demanding feeding regimen.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Scleronephthya gracillima, often sold as a strawberry tree coral, is a bright pink-red azooxanthellate soft coral. The genus hosts no zooxanthellae and needs a constant food source, making it an expert-level coral.
Taxonomy
- Family: Nephtheidae
- Genus: Scleronephthya
- Scientific name: Scleronephthya gracillima
- Authority: (Kükenthal, 1906); originally described as Alcyonium gracillimum
- Common synonyms: Strawberry Coral
Habitat
The species originates from the Indo-Pacific. As a non-photosynthetic soft coral it is not restricted to brightly lit reef zones and instead occurs in shaded, current-fed positions. Studies of the genus have found large quantities of phytoplankton in the gastrovascular cavity, indicating that plankton carried by water flow is central to its nutrition.
Aquarium requirements
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- Salinity: 1.024-1.026 SG
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- Alkalinity (dKH): 8-11
- Calcium: 400-450 ppm
- Magnesium: 1280-1350 ppm
- Nitrate: below 20 ppm; Phosphate: below 0.15 ppm
- Lighting: low (about 0-50 PAR; no light dependence)
- Flow: high
- Minimum tank maturity: about 1 year
Feeding and compatibility
As an azooxanthellate coral it depends entirely on food particles in the water column and must be fed fine planktonic foods such as phytoplankton, supplemented with amino acids, frequently. It is passive, lacks potent stinging tentacles, and is reef-safe, shrimp-safe and fish-safe. Reported growth is roughly 0.1-0.3 cm per month.
Scleronephthya gracillima (Strawberry Tree Coral): Propagation Guide
Overview
Scleronephthya gracillima is a soft coral of the family Nephtheidae. The genus Scleronephthya was established by Studer in 1887 and belongs to the octocoral lineage; recognised species occur in South-East Asia and Australia. In the aquarium trade colonies of this group are sold as bright pink-red strawberry corals.
Like its relatives in Nephtheidae, this coral is azooxanthellate and carnivorous: polyps emerge to capture food rather than relying on light. That dependence on a continuous supply of plankton is the reason colonies rarely survive long enough in captivity to be propagated.
Reproductive Mode
As an octocoral in Nephtheidae, Scleronephthya reproduces sexually in the wild. The whitelisted sources for this genus are limited and do not document a specific captive asexual propagation method, so its reproduction should be described as wild biology rather than a home technique.
Fragging / Asexual Propagation
No source-backed fragging protocol exists for Scleronephthya gracillima. Because the species depends on constant feeding and is exceptionally hard to maintain, cutting a colony is unlikely to yield viable, recovering fragments. The honest position is that this coral is effectively not propagated in home aquaria.
Feeding & Conditions for Propagation
Sustaining this coral at all requires the non-photosynthetic feeding regime described by Reef Builders: varied particle sizes from phytoplankton through rotifers and copepods, offered daily and multiple times per day, with strong current comparable to a stony-coral system. Only under such conditions could a colony accumulate the energy that any growth or tissue recovery would demand.