Neon green octospawn

Neon green octospawn is a soft coral morph listed as Clavularia sp. Polyps rise on short stalks from a thin encrusting base, and each polyp shows the eight tentacles that mark the octocorals. A settled colony forms a low carpet of individual flower-like polyps that sway together. The neon green name follows the bright green carried through the polyps, a color that glows strongly under blue light and stays vivid at light levels where many green corals fade.

The entry lists beginner care, medium light, medium flow, middle placement, moderate aggression, and fast growth. Set the frag in the middle of the rockwork where the base can spread over open rock. Medium light holds the neon tone at full strength. A patch kept in deep shade may stretch, thin, and dull toward olive. A patch pushed suddenly into the brightest zone may close through the day and pale at the center. Step any change in stages and judge the green over a week or more.

Medium flow keeps the carpet clean and open. Moving water lifts detritus off the base and out from between the stalks, where waste otherwise settles and algae starts. Polyps leaning hard one way all day, or a section that stays closed while the rest opens, point to a jet hitting one face. Gentle, varied flow across the whole patch supports even extension and steady spread.

Feeding is mostly indirect. Fine particulate food from regular broadcast feeding reaches the polyps, and light supplies much of the energy. Present, steady nutrients support soft coral growth. Tanks stripped very clean can slow the spread, and unstable nutrients can bring algae onto the surrounding rock faster than the mat can claim it. No target feeding routine is needed for a healthy patch in a fed reef.

Aggression is listed as moderate because of how the colony grows. The patch has no sweeper reach. Its base advances over rock and can overgrow the foot of a slower coral, shade low tissue, and take space planned for other frags. Give the colony a rock it can own, leave a clear border beside slower growers, and watch the advancing edge during regular maintenance so redirection happens before contact.

Growth is listed as fast for a soft coral. The base creeps outward, new polyps appear along the margin and fill gaps inside the patch, and cover thickens over months. A settled colony opens fully each day, holds its green across old and new polyps, and shows a clean growth edge. A thinning center, polyps shrinking week by week, or an edge overrun by algae call for a check of light, flow across the base, and nutrient steadiness.

Common pitfalls include planting the frag on shared display rock and being surprised by the spread, placing it in a still corner where the base collects waste, and chasing brighter green with a sudden rise in light. Give it a defined rock, moving water, and medium light, then let the patch prove the spot over several weeks.

Field notes — what keepers report

- Color reports center on blue light. Keepers under blue-heavy light describe the green reading as near-fluorescent across the whole carpet, while keepers under whiter light describe a cleaner, softer green on the same type of patch. Both sides describe the color holding well at medium levels and dulling in deep shade.

- Containment reports divide keepers. Some describe an island rock that kept the patch exactly where it was wanted for a long run. Others describe a mat crossing a small gap onto the main rockwork and becoming a regular trimming job. Planning the rock at placement is the shared lesson.

- Settling reports are generally calm. Keepers describe new frags opening within a short settling period when flow stayed gentle and the spot stayed unchanged, and longer closures after repeated handling or moves. Reports agree that a patch left alone spreads sooner than one repositioned often.