Among the soft corals we keep in our tanks, we rarely see ones that exhibit multicolored polyps. Typically, aquarium specimens are mostly monochromatic, coming in varying shades of brown, green, and pink. It’s not every day that we see an…
The Orange Tree Gorgonian is a Rare, Deepwater Treat
The wonderful Swiftia exserta, also known as the Orange Tree Gorgonian, is a treat for all those reef hobbyists who enjoy oddball marine life. Their striking color and shape have them highly sought after in the non-photosynthetic side of the…
Tubipora musica – Pipe Organ is the Octocoral Polyp with a Skeleton
Pipe organ is an interesting and very unique species of coral that comes in a dizzying amount of variety that isn’t celebrated nearly enough. Officially known as Tubipora musica the pipe organ coral has a very long and storied history being…
WWC True Blue Xenia is Strikingly Blue
Xenia has long held a special esteem in the reef aquarium world, once cherished for its polyp pulsing behavior, and subsequently reviled for its capacity to rapaciously grow and take over tanks with the right conditions. There’s a long history…
‘Xenia’ is Unsurprisingly Taking Over Venezuelan Reefs
‘Xenia elongata’, recently reclassified as Unomia stolonifera, is a soft coral that is well known in the aquarium hobby for its supernatural growth rates in reef tanks. This fleshy octocoral is so prolific that it has been used in dedicated…
In Memorium: Octocoral taxonomist Dr. Leen P. van Ofwegen
On June 25th, 2021, one of the preeminent octocoral taxonomists, Dr. Leen P. van Ofwegen of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, passed away. Though his name may not be immediately familiar to the average aquarist or diver, his impact on our…
Invasive Sansibia & Clavularia Discovered Growing off Brazil Coast
Sansibia and Clavularia are two genera of soft octocorals that are well known in the aquarium hobby, one for being a pest and the other for sometimes being a colorful aquarium coral. Reef aquarists are well aware of how fast…
Octocorals Photographed In The Wild – North Sulawesi
Octocorals are some of my favorite corals to photograph in the wild. Big fluffy octocoral colonies are especially plentiful around the islands of North Sulawesi, and it seems I have a bumper crop of wild octocoral photos living in my…
Bunga, Laeta and Phenganax: Lots of Micro Octocorals Finally get Named
Bunga, Laeta & Phenganax are the new taxonomic homes for a wide variety of small, nondescript octocorals that often hitchhike into our aquariums on coral bases and live rocks. Phenganax is an existing genus which just inducted two new species…
Hanabira yukibana, a New Species of Encrusting Polyps
Octocorals are a very diverse group of reef animals which include many different families, including the tiny and encrusting Stoloniferans that are very easy to overlook. Today a new genus and species of Stoloniferans gets recognized with the official description…
