Care
Organ Pipe Coral is an atypical octocoral from the Suborder Stolonifera, within the vast OrderAlcyonacea. This sole representative of the Tubiporagenus, often tentatively denoted a "soft coral", builds a dark red "skeleton" composed of thin, vertical, organ-pipe-like tubes of magnesium-rich calcite, attached to each other by concentric stolons. These tubes are actually fused sclerites, and Organ Pipe Coral is one of only two types of familiar octocorals that calcify an external skeleton, the other being the Blue Fire Coral (Heliopora coerulea). Tiny retractile polyps, usually no more than 3mm across, emerge from the tubes of the OrganPipe Coral, displaying 8 feathery tentacles. Once the whole colony is fully expanded, the attractive skeleton is pretty much obscured from view, unless looking side-on. The subsequent mass of open polyps could easily be mistaken for a mat of Clove Polyps (Clavulariaspp.). Strangely enough, there is currently only one species of Tubipora currently recognized, despite an enormous variance in tentacle size, shape, and colour. Organ Pipe Coral is found across quite a wide range of habitats but prefers calmer, more sheltered waters that are also frequently inhabited by other soft corals. In the home aquarium, Tubipora can cope with quite a range of lighting, but always fares best under brighter illumination. Always site the coral in an area that receives moderate water movement, but not so brisk or direct that it pummels into the fragile skeleton and damages it or pushes the colony from the rocks (this is a lightweight species). Having said this, flow should still be turbulent enough to prevent the accumulation of debris or algae from blocking the tubes. Organ Pipe Coral used to be regarded as rather challenging to keep, but advances in the care of this species have shown that it thrives in tanks with decent sand bed fauna (or a refugium) and where the water is actually somewhat nutrient-laden; indeed, it tends to fare better in moderately stocked aquaria with little or no protein skimming. A balance needs to be struck where there is enough nutrients in the water for the coral, without having a detrimental effect on other livestock through employing less foam fractionation. As the skeleton is so delicate, it is not unknown for pieces to break away, no matter how carefully handled. Most pieces are able to survive and grow to form a new colony, but any empty tubes will be quickly inhibited by various microfauna; commensal shrimp and sponges may already be living amongst any vacated tubes in wild-collected colonies. Largerbristleworms may try and predate on this species, so do observe carefully for any signs of attack and take remedial action if necessary. Organ Pipe Coral is not aggressive and it does have an advantage over other similar-looking soft corals (such as Clove Polyps) in that they will not rapidly spread across the rocks and crowd out other species. Ensure it is placed amongst species of a similar peaceful nature.
Feeding
This is a zooxanthellate species that requires good lighting to sustain the photosynthetic algae living symbiotically within its cells. It will also benefit from feeding with baby brine shrimp (Artemia nauplii) and rotifers, and many experts believe the species really thrives when given the opportunity to absorb micro-particles from the water, so additional feeding with microscopic foodstuffs such as plankton and foods for filter feeding invertebrates could be very advantageous.
Propagation
Organ Pipe Coral colonies will expand by growing more calcite tubes around their perimeters. These corals are very easy to frag by cutting the colony from top to the base, including the substrate to which it is attached. As mentioned above, wild-collected specimens may have sponges growing in amongst them; in this instance any cutting shouldtake place underwater, so that the sponge is not exposed to air and subsequently dies off, causing microbial infections in the coral colony.
