Birdsnest Coral

Seriatopora hystrix

Care Level	Intermediate — good starter SPS
Lighting	Moderate to high
Water Flow	Moderate to high
Placement	Mid to upper rock
Aggression	Peaceful
Coloration	Pink, green, cream needle-tipped branches

Overview

Birdsnest Coral forms delicate, tightly branching thickets with fine, needle-tipped tips. It is one of the easiest and fastest-growing SPS corals, making it a great first branching SPS. Pink and “Ponape” birdsnests are hobby favorites. (The similar “Bird of Paradise” is a close Seriatopora relative kept the same way.)

Care & Placement

Give moderate-to-high light and moderate-to-high, turbulent flow to keep the fine branches clean. Mount mid-to-upper on rock. It grows fast when parameters (calcium, alkalinity, magnesium) are stable.

Feeding

Photosynthetic; stable water is far more important than feeding. Light amino-acid or fine coral-food dosing can enhance color, but consistency of alkalinity is what matters most.

Propagation

Extremely easy to frag — the brittle branches snap off cleanly; glue a piece to a plug and it takes off. Birdsnest is one of the best SPS to learn fragging on.

Cautions

The fine branches are brittle — handle gently. Sensitive to alkalinity swings like all SPS; keep parameters stable. Needs good flow or detritus settles in the branches.