I've tried to attach a photo of what I believe is an Alcyonium, but I've not yet made a positive ID. It resembles several photos in Eric's book, and I'm too indecisive. This animal has almost doubled in size since January, and it's bending over like a tree that has too many branches. It only stands about 4" tall, so It's too early to think about propagation. I'd like to make a positive ID in order to deal with what may be a problem. In the photo you might notice a slight fissure developing at the base of the trunk of the coral. Since this pic was taken, this fissure has seemed to lengthen and is most visible when the coral is deflated. I'm doing a water change tomorrow, since I still have not been able to find a reliable nitrate test kit. Can't be too careful! I had to remove a small green brain coral that I'd purchased only a week ago due to rapid tissue necrosis - I could not believe how quickly it happened. {I bought it from a relatively new LFS just to see if I could bring it back up to speed and also to see if they would mention that it did not look too good -- they didn't -- I'm not going back} The water change will help, but I'm concerned about the fissure in the trunk.
Another long winded question - thanks to anyone with information!
Another long winded question - thanks to anyone with information!