Can you tell me what you know about a Kenya Tree

[angelfan]

link won't open page how else can i see pic?

[angelfan]

Found it and it looks nothing alike. Although it resembles http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...48&pcatid=2548 except it has less tiny branches and it is a brighter pink. It was sold to me as a kenya tree but I'm not positive on what it is. I got it from Blue World Aquariums in Edmonton..... my favorite place for livestock hands down. Soon if all goes as planned I will post some pics and start offering frags

[Myka]

Can you post a pic of yours?

[angelfan]

I'm buying a camera today so I will most likely have some pics later today or tomorrow

[angelfan]

I can't even figure out how to put a pic in a reply but it is now in my slideshow if you want to see it. It curves up sometimes and just lays down others, but its growing

[midgetwaiter]

Originally Posted by angelfan

Found it and it looks nothing alike. Although it resembles http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...48&pcatid=2548 except it has less tiny branches and it is a brighter pink. It was sold to me as a kenya tree but I'm not positive on what it is. I got it from Blue World Aquariums in Edmonton..... my favorite place for livestock hands down. Soon if all goes as planned I will post some pics and start offering frags

I'm guessing that we're talking about the coral in the top right of your full tank shot?

You were pretty close in your Scleronephthya spp. guess but I am 90% sure it's a Dendronephthyla. I feel confident in saying this because of the colour on the body of the coral. Most of the things commonly called Colt or Kenya Tree (Capnella, Nephthea, Stereonepthya and Cladiella) have white bodies and occasionally coloured polyps but usually brown. The coloured bodies are usually either dendronephthyla or scleronephthya, given how far it is slumped over and the fact that it is much more common in the trade a dendro is most likely. The swelling you mistook for growth (common mistake) is a good indicator as well.

You can do a web search for info on keeping dendros but not many people have had success. It is an azooxanthellate coral which means it doesn't rely on light at all for nutrition, it has to catch all of it's food and this means a very specific type of setup.

There was a good article in Reef Keeping recently:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...ture/index.php

Given the totally wrong id, I'd try and return it.

[angelfan]

Thanks, I might just try to return it as he told me it was a pink Kenya tree which is easy to care for. Also, will it feed on my clam, xenia, duster food? I'm using Pohl's Zeovit.

[midgetwaiter]

Originally Posted by angelfan

Thanks, I might just try to return it as he told me it was a pink Kenya tree which is easy to care for. Also, will it feed on my clam, xenia, duster food? I'm using Pohl's Zeovit.

I'm not very experienced with the zeovit stuff, somebody else can probably give a better answer but if you mean Zeofood7 then I think so.

The problem isn't so much what to feed as it is getting a sufficient concentration of it to the coral without overloading the tank. One thing that would probably work is cutting the bottom off of a pop bottle and putting it over the coral when you feed it. Squirting the food in the bottle will allow you to concentrate it there without adding tons of it to the tank.

Also one quick note, if you are trying to feed this to your xenia you probably won't get much out of it. Xenia doesn't really eat, it gets it's nutrition from zooanthelle in it's tissue via photosynthesis and direct nutrient uptake from the water. It's autotrophic (gets carbon from photosynthesis), the opposite of your heterotrophic (gets carbon from food) dendro.

[angelfan]

I don't target feed so at least I'm not wasting time on the xenia but I will definitely use your bottle idea.
Thanks again for your suggestions

Greg

[Myka]

This is why I asked for a pic...I was VERY suspicious that it was a Dendronepthya. It definately looks like one to me too. Good luck with it...you'll be fighting an uphill battle, and you will likely pollute your tank trying to feed it. Watch for algae blooms in your tank.