anybody know what this is???

[Lifeguard50020042005]

ok so i picked up this little guy...should i say was little.....up at the LFS. He was in the tank with the coral but was marked down to $5.99...a little piece of coral for 5 bucks??? sweet...whats wrong with him. Well the LFS said he is really small and is not looking too good. I mean this guy is about 1/2 inch and looks all shriveled up...so i figured...well for five dollars it is worth a try...a sickly nasty piece of coral...well that was yesterday....i walk out there and look at him now...he is about 4 inches across and is very much not all shriveled up...wow...but the guy at the LFS did not even know what type of coral it was....but here is the big thing...i don't either...any help ????? can anybody tell me what type of coral he is and how to care for him???? does he have to sit on a rock or can i lay him on the sand bottom??

[graphixx]

looks like some sort of soft coral almost a type of leather. I would keep him where he is , he seems to be happy. he will attach on his own. keep us posted

[dakar]

Looks like a Devil's hand leather (sacrophyton sp.). Don't worry, he will go through that shiveled up phase every now and again, then release a slime layer and polyp up, bigger than the he was before. They are quite hardy and contrary to most literature I think you will find they love the light. Under the right conditions they will grow rapidly, often doubling in size a year.

As a side note with most leathers when they shed that slimelayer if you can remove it from the tank with a baster or something it would be best as it can be quite toxic to other corals.