Clove Polyps

Clove Polyps, Green Star Polyps and Pipe Organ for Sale

These three get mixed up all the time, and they behave differently enough that it matters which one you put in your tank. All of them are forgiving soft corals that suit a newer reef. Everything here is photographed in our Key West systems, and WYSIWYG listings are the exact piece you receive.

How to tell them apart

• Clove polyps (Clavularia): fluffy, feather-like tentacles on separate polyps joined by thin runners across the rock. When they close, they deflate like little balloons.
• Green star polyps (GSP, Briareum, once sold as Pachyclavularia): small polyps rising from a rubbery purple mat. When they close, they pull all the way into the mat and leave only a small bump.
• Pipe organ (Tubipora musica): the polyps can look like either of the others. The tell is the skeleton underneath, a cluster of bright red tubes joined by flat plates.

Care, in numbers

• Light: clove polyps do fine at 50 to 100 PAR. GSP handles 50 to 200 or more. Pipe organ wants moderate to strong light and does poorly in dim spots.
• Flow: clove and GSP like moderate, turbulent flow, which also keeps algae off a GSP mat. Pipe organ wants low to moderate flow and will not open if it is too strong.
• Feeding: clove and GSP live on light. Pipe organ depends on food more than most keepers realize. Give it fine, specialty coral foods.

Green star polyps will go where you let them

GSP grows in sheets and will cross onto the glass, the sand and the neighbors. It can overgrow and smother other corals. Keep it on its own rock, an island with sand or open water on every side, and trim it when it reaches the edge. If any rock touches the glass, assume it will climb.

Clove polyps spread more slowly, and keepers disagree about how fast. Pipe organ keeps a tight shape and does not spread aggressively.

Common problems

GSP stays closed. One to two weeks closed after handling or shipping is normal. Algae growing on the mat also keeps polyps closed, so raise the flow over it.

Clove polyps dying back. Detritus caught in the runners is the usual cause. More flow across the rock helps.

Pipe organ slowly fading. Usually underfeeding. Some also decline near leathers and other soft corals that compete chemically.

Questions we get asked

Which one should I start with?

Clove polyps if you want movement without a takeover. GSP if you have a rock you want covered and can keep it isolated. Pipe organ if you will feed it.

Do they sting other corals?

Not much. The risk with GSP is overgrowth, not stings.

How it ships from Key West

Soft corals ship UPS Next Day Air on Tuesdays and Wednesdays only, so no box sits in a hub over a weekend. We ship to the lower 48. We do not ship to Alaska or Hawaii.

• Shipping charge: $30 for qualifying Florida livestock orders under 6 lb, and $50 elsewhere in the lower 48. The shipping charge is per order.
• Free livestock transportation: on qualifying livestock subtotals of $349 or more. WYSIWYG pieces count toward the $349. Dry goods do not.
• Box & Handling Fee: $10 per livestock box, and it still applies on orders with free livestock transportation. A box carries up to 6 lb of packed livestock. Heavier orders go out in additional boxes, each with its own $10 fee.
• Live arrival: if something arrives dead, photograph the animal inside the unopened bag within 4 hours of UPS delivery confirmation and send it with your order number.

Keep reading

• Classic Soft Corals: Leathers, Cloves and Pipe Organ
• Best Beginner Corals
• Pipe organ · Leathers · Zoanthids · All soft corals