Is this a kenya tree?

jbc123

New member
Came on a piece of live rock. Looked dead when I set up the tank last week, after a couple of days it started expanding in light and contracting at night. Looks like it's alive to me. Even saw some slight movement.

Thickish trunk, brownish-pink color. Branches with round tips with tiny tentacle looking things around the tip ends.

Crappy phone pics included.

http://img247.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kenya1fd3.jpg
my.php

http://img376.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kenyasidefl4.jpg
 
The pics aren't clear enough for a 100% positive ID, but it certainly does have a strong resemblance to Kenya Tree.
 
Yeah, sorry about the pic quality. All I have is an old camera phone atm.

It's definitely 'tree shaped'. A long trunk with a few branches.

It's clearly alive which is good. I thought it was just a dead chunk of plant when I aquascaped but over the last couple of days it's begun to flourish and I think even grow.

I just saw a few of the end tips rapidly contract, and then slowly fill back up. Maybe it caught a microorganism to chew on.




It looks very similar to the above pic but its browner. And not as full. It's more of one long trunk and a few small branches. But the end tips look a lot like those with the tenatacles

It's been in a cured live rock holding tank for who knows how long and then brought home and jostled through aquascaping a few times so I'm shocked it made it.
 
Definitely looking like Kenya Tree Weed in those photos. Before long it'll take over the tank ;)
 
Heh, yeah. And like a weed it seems hardy. It's been through hell and the tank isn't even a full week old and it looks active and healthy. Though the rock was fully cured so maybe the cycle won't be unbearable for it.

It's going to be a FOWLR tank for now anyway, at least for a few months before I decide on corals so it can stay. Freebies are always good.
 
They are hardy and can tolerate lower light levels. They'll be taller and scrawnier in low light and "bushier" in brighter light. No need to feed them, they are hardy and will filter out what they need. Pretty soon it will start dropping little pieces of limb and you'll have more of them. Personally, I think they are pretty (lots of movement) but they do tend to take over the tank, growing where you'd rather not have them.
 
I agree it's a Capnella. They are great, but once established they grow very well and will drop heads all over your tank. Great money maker, but can be a nuisance if you keep SPS, as they will sprout up at/on odd places.
 
Well, whatever it is it's incredibly active today. The branch that was laying across the rock is almost straight up, swaying in the water. I'm starting to get a lot of little white specks floating about so I guess maybe the microorganism life is starting to take hold and it wants to feed.
 
Is it normal for this to shrink up to almost nothing after lights out?

Not even an hour and it's virtually disappeared. It expands out fine after an hour of light in the morning though.. so I guess corals 'sleep'?

And is 82F too hot for a Kenya?
 
Yes, It pulls in every so often, gets amazingly small. IMO 82 is as high as you want the tank to go.
 
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