TAXONOMY
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Order: Alcyonacea (soft corals)
Family: Alcyoniidae

Genus: Sinularia notanda (Tree-like soft coral)

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS: Colors include purple, pink, gray, green, and yellow, but are usually brown to cream. They have stalks with tree-like branches, and from those form little branchlets. The branchlets have small autozooid (feeding) polyps which have the ability to retract fully.

DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: Tropical Indo West Pacific on coral reefs in fairly strong currents.

DIET IN THE WILD: Phytoplankton and very small zooplankton
(Harbors symbiotic zooxanthellae which adds nutrition to its tissues from the algae’s photosynthesis.

References

California Academy of Sciences Steinhart Aquarium Color Cluster 2016 AQA17 Pam Montbach

Ron’s flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/cas_docents/27838187418/in/album-72157659465376212/

Aquarium Corals E H Borneman TFH Publications 2001 page 132

WoRMS http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=29991