Brown Gorgonian

About

Found along the eastern Pacific coastline from the United States down into Mexican waters, Muricea fruticosa is a gorgonian sea fan that grows in the cooler, subtropical depths of around 50 to 100 feet. It develops an arborescent, tree-like branching structure that can reach an impressive size for a soft coral. Mature colonies push well past a foot tall and can spread considerably wider. That large adult size is worth keeping in mind before acquiring one, as it will eventually need real estate in the aquarium. In the wild it anchors to hard substrate in areas with consistent, vigorous water movement, and replicating that strong flow in a home system is probably the most important husbandry detail to get right. Unlike many of the more commonly kept Caribbean gorgonians, this is an eastern Pacific species, which gives it a slightly different ecological profile and makes it a less routine find in the trade. It is considered reef safe and is rated as an intermediate-level species, so while it is not the most demanding coral you could choose, it rewards keepers who already have some experience managing flow, placement, and the needs of non-photosynthetic or low-light colonial animals.