AquaticCare difficulty: IntermediateLegal complexity: Low

Orange spiny sea rod

Muricea elongata · also called Orange muricea, Spiny orange gorgonian, Rusty gorgonian

A tall Caribbean gorgonian shaped like a shrub, with yellow to amber and orange branches made rough by pointed, upward-angled calices. It is recorded as carrying zooxanthellae, so it relies on light, and it also benefits from feeding. Meet both needs with moderate to strong light and regular fine food.

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Quick facts

Size	Tall, shrub-like colony up to about 46 cm (18 in), branching low down and turning feather-like near the top.
Lifespan	—
Social needs	solo
Native region	South Florida, the Gulf coast, the Bahamas and the Caribbean
Origin	New World
Climate	Tropical
Water type	Marine
Family	Plexauridae
Genus	Muricea

Part of the Soft Corals

Soft corals such as leathers, colt, cloves, Anthelia, gorgonians and Sympodium. Octocorals with flexible, often swaying colonies and eight-tentacled polyps, and no stony skeleton. Many are hardy, beginner-friendly reef corals driven by photosynthesis and tolerant of a wide range of light, flow and nutrients, but some gorgonians have no algae of their own and depend on regular feeding, so check eac

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Color & pattern variants

Natural variants occur in the wild; selectively bred (man-made) variants were developed in captivity.

Natural

Orange Spiny Sea Rod →

The usual hobby form, with orange to amber branches.

Habitat & enclosure

Give it a mid-level spot with moderate to strong light and moderate to strong flow. It attaches to hard bottom, sometimes half buried in sand, and to patch reefs in about 3-22 m of water in South Florida, the Bahamas and the Caribbean, with other records from shallow inshore hard bottom and deeper outer slopes.

Keep stable reef water: SG about 1.025, 24-27 °C (75-81 °F), pH 8.1-8.4, alkalinity 8-11 dKH, calcium 400-450 ppm and magnesium 1250-1350 ppm.

Substrate

Glue the base to live rock or a plug with reef-safe gel glue, or wedge it into a crevice, and keep it upright. Leave room around it so the branches do not rest against other animals.

Equipment & setup

Moderate to strong reef lighting and powerheads that give moderate to strong, varied flow suit it. Because it should be fed regularly, run a skimmer and keep up water changes.

Diet

Relies on light, and benefits from feeding. It is recorded as carrying zooxanthellae, so give moderate to strong light and offer fine plankton foods several times a week.

Behavior & temperament

Side branches start low on the colony and become more feather-like toward the top. The pointed calices make the branches feel rough, and the polyps are white. Field references record almost nothing on its growth or breeding.

Health

Accounts of its hardiness differ. The genus is called a little delicate in captivity, while a rusty-orange shallow form from the Florida Keys, which appears to be this species, is described as very hardy. Whichever applies, film algae or cyanobacteria settling in weak flow can kill the tissue beneath, and some Muricea species need very strong water movement to stay healthy.

Tips, DIY & hacks

Watch how the colony responds. If the polyps open well for food, keep feeding. Do not assume it can live on light alone, and do not cut feeding on the strength of a label. Identify it by the rough, pointed calices and shrubby shape.