Waving hand coral (Anthelia glauca) care guide
- Group
- Corals
- Other names
- Anthelia, Glove coral, Pom-pom coral
- Family
- Xeniidae
- Origin
- Indo-Pacific and Red Sea
- Water
- saltwater
- Temperature
- 22–26°C
- pH
- 8.1–8.4
- Hardness
- dKH 8–12
- Care level
- intermediate
- Reef safe
- with_caution
- Lighting
- Moderate; about PAR 80–150
- Flow
- Moderate, indirect
Care
Anthelia glauca is a soft coral that forms creeping mats of feathery polyps, each with eight feathery tentacles. Unlike pulsing xenia, its polyps do not pulse and cannot retract. Colours are white, cream, lavender, blue or brown. Placement: low to middle rockwork on its own rock, or behind a sand gap, so it cannot spread onto other corals. Light and flow: moderate light, increased gradually, and moderate flow. Water and supplements: iodine and trace elements; stability matters more than exact numbers. Care level: the sources disagree. Top Shelf calls it easy and fast-growing once settled, while LiveAquaria rates its blue form difficult. In practice it settles well in a stable, established tank but can melt after shipping. Sources: LiveAquaria (liveaquaria.com/products/waving-hand-coral-blue); Top Shelf Aquatics (topshelfaquatics.com/pages/corals/anthelia-coral). Checked October 2026.
Diet
Photosynthetic. It may take fine foods such as phytoplankton once or twice a week; LiveAquaria suggests weekly micro-plankton. Avoid heavy feeding.
Breeding
Easy: cut a section of mat with a sharp blade and hold it on rubble with mesh or a loose rubber band, or leave it in a shallow cup in low flow for about a week. Glue does not stick to soft tissue.
Compatibility and tank mates
Spreads by runners and can overgrow rockwork and smother other corals; keep it 10–15 cm from neighbours. Stinging corals, crabs, snails and fish can damage it.
Last updated 8 October 2026. Community-edited care guide on Aquatic-Auctions.