Xenia, a soft coral. Beginner to keep, Typical PAR 50–150, low to moderate flow.
Rarity tier: common, reviewed 2026-08.
Soft coral whose polyps open and close rhythmically, one of the few corals that visibly moves without being pushed by flow. Its polyps rise from individual fleshy stalks, which is what separates it from Anthelia, sold alongside it and also pulsing, whose polyps come off a shared encrusting mat. The pulsing does real work: it stirs the boundary layer around the polyp and measurably raises photosynthesis rather than being decoration.
Same warning as GSP, more so: it spreads by detaching and drifting. Unpredictable too: it either takes over or melts, with little in between. Check where the polyps attach before buying, since Anthelia gets sold as Xenia and spreads as a mat rather than as separate stalks.
Forgiving of most placements, and it moves water on its own. Pulsing Xenia is beginner to keep at a typical PAR of 50–150 in low to moderate flow. A typical starting range for this type of coral rather than a measured requirement for this morph. Spectrum, how it was acclimated and the system it grew in all move it.
Full care notes for soft corals
No verified sales yet. A range publishes once 3 dated, checkable records from 3 different sources exist, priced per frag and reported as a median, with what shops ask kept separate from what buyers paid. One frag is a single cut on a plug, whatever its exact size. Colonies, mini colonies and mother stock are excluded rather than averaged in. Nothing on this page is for sale. Shops are typically asking $15 to $28 per frag, median $25, across 18 shops surveyed on 2026-09-07; the full sweep ran $5 to $50. Asking prices are what sellers want, not what buyers paid. On 2026-09-07 it was in stock at 18 surveyed shops: aqua-vault.com, barrierreefaquariums.com, bcpcorals.com, bluewaterreefaquatics.com, coralstop.com, fsaquatic.com, and 12 more.