The Anthelia Thick Stem Waving Hand Coral may also be referred to as a Glove Coral or Pom-Pom Coral. They are usually white, tan, or gray. The polyps are not retractable, but do have the distinctive eight-leaved tentacles associated with all of the members of this family. They are colonial animals, and form a creeping mat which has a snowflake, or tuft-like appearance. Some have thicker stems, and when several polyps are present on their leathery base, they resemble a cheerleader's pom-pom.

Predatory fish, crabs, snails, or the stings of other corals may damage the colony quite easily. Therefore, provide adequate space between them and sessile animals, especially other types of soft corals. They are difficult to maintain in an aquarium. They require a medium to high light level combined with a medium to strong water movement within the aquarium. For continued good health, they will also require the addition of iodine and other trace elements to the water.

Under ideal conditions, and once acclimated, they may reproduce in the established reef aquarium, forming a creeping mat, which will quickly grow over any adjacent rock work.

The symbiotic algae zooxanthellae hosted within their bodies provide the majority of their nutritional requirements through photosynthesis. Additional weekly feedings of micro-plankton or foods designed for filter feeding invertebrates are also needed.

	Official Recommendations	My Observation/In my tank
Care Level:	Expert Only	Easy, It just keeps growing...
Light:	High	Moderate, mine is only 72 watts
Water Flow:	Medium
Placement:	Bottom	Mine is located half way up tank
Tank Conditions:	72-78°F sg 1.023-1.025 pH 8.1-8.4; dKH 8-12
Color Form:	Gray, Tan, White
Temperament:	Peaceful
Ideal Supplements:	Iodine, Trace Elements	In addition, Filter Food Occasionally
Origin:	South Pacific
Family:	Xeniidae

My Observations:
This was a hitchhiker coral that came with my purple mushrooms. When I first bought it, it only had 1 stalk, it now has around 10 with more growing each week. I have had this coral for 1 1/2 months (as pictured above). I haven't done anything special to encourage its growth, it is growing nicely with just stable water conditions, invert filter food 3 times a week and 72 watts of lighting.