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FAQs about Stony Coral, Cnidarian Identification 14

Related FAQs: Stony Coral ID 1, Stony Coral ID 2, Stony Coral ID 3, Stony Coral ID 4, Stony Coral ID 5, Stony Coral ID 6, Stony Coral ID 7, Stony Coral ID 8, Stony Coral ID 9, Stony Coral ID 10, Coral ID 11, Stony Coral ID 12, Stony Coral ID 13, Stony Coral ID 15, & Cnidarian Identification, Stony FAQs 1, Stony FAQs 2, Foods/Feeding/Nutrition, Disease/Health, PropagationCoral CompatibilityStony Coral Behavior,

Related Articles: Stony Corals


What coral is this?      12/4/13
Hi Bob,
I am just wandering if you can identify these 2 corals for me?
Thank you.
<Nope... too poorly resolved images. B>

SPS identification    11/9/13
Hello Mr. F.
How are you?
<Fine; thank you>
Can you please help me identify the coral in the image? I think is a Montipora but I am not sure. It is a beauty, 30 cm high and in order to take best care of it, I need to know what is it.
<... The pic doesn't have enough detail, but this looks like some type of robust Hydnophora at first glance>
I know it doesn't like too much flow, because part of it was in front of an Vortech MP 40 and that part didn't opened the polyps anymore. So I moved the pump a little bit and now seems ok.
Thank you,
Andrei
<Welcome. BobF>

Re: SPS identification      11/9/13
Thank you for your patience.
Andrei
<And you for yours.>

Trying to find a ID   7/12/13
Hi someone told me I should try asking you guys if you can help id this coral. I have asked on many forums but no one can answer it. It came on my pagoda cup rock and seems to encrust. It can really bubbly at times and when it "in" it looks like some sort of brain. If you have any ideas I would love to hear them. Thank you
<Where and when in doubt w/ Scleractinians, shout out "Faviidae!" Average size of the corallites? Mmm, my guess is on Favites sp.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/faviidae2.htm
Bob Fenner>


LR Hitchhikers in QT - OK to transfer to FOWLR display? and engineer gobies     6/1/13
Bob,
<Big D>
Based on my emailing with the Engineers, I've decided to transfer all life from my smaller tank to my display tank. Why not combine households...
<Mmm, well, the Lions may well inhale the shrimp>
There are a few hitchhikers I wonder if I should have worries about with this move. They are the stinging celled specimens in the pictures (which I am having difficulty getting a positive ID for, based on WWM and Google pictures), and also a hairy gorilla crab.
<... the polyps... some sort of stony coral... May be a single Caryophylliid. See WWM re>
They will move, with the engineer gobies and peppermint shrimp (aka lunch),
to my FOWLR display which has - 2 large volitans lions, a large harlequin tusk, a medium red Coris wrasse. A Rabbitfish and trigger will be added later.
<The Labrids will definitely consume the shrimp>
Should I worry that these hitchhikers will threaten my fish or otherwise become nuisances?
<Mmm, no. BobF>
Thanks for your opinion, Dave

Coral hitchhiker      5/26/13
I hope you can I.D. this coral...
<Have you searched the WWM stony coral family files? BobF>
Thanks

Can you identify this little guy/girl ( of course you can ;-) )    3/20/13
Hey Guys,
<Matt>
I thought it was now my time to probe your apparently un-exhaustive  knowledge bank. I got the (beautiful) picture of a rather cool little guy that I found on my live rock.
<Very nice>
 The rock has been in my aquarium for over a year, but I didn't find him (or her) until I moved all the live rock to a new 180 gallon tank. I really like it, but I am a little afraid that it could be
some sort of aphasia,
<I forget... Heeeeee! Aiptasia>
which I will have to kill off. If it is not a pest I don't want to harm it because I think it is really cool.
<Not a pest; well not much of one>
I have seen some other pictures on your site, and you identified them as a non-photosynthetic stony coral, but I just wanted to be 100% sure, and I figured you could use the picture as it seems to be a little clearer than some of the other
pictures of similar creatures on the site.
Thanks
Matt
<Is there a stony skeleton here? If so, then this is likely a single polyp Caryo/Euphylliid of some sort, perhaps a Dendrophylliid colony starter. Bob Fenner>

Re: Can you identify this little guy/girl ( of course you can ;-) )     3/21/13
wow that was a fast reply ;-) I think you are right  - it is a Dendrophylliid - looks very much like
http://www.cibsub.com/bioespecie-balanophyllia_europea-28039
<Ahh!>
though<t> I can't see the bas<e> of it - its in a crevice, but I did see a couple more like it around the tank today and even one right next to it - albeit somewhat smaller ;-)
thanks again for the quick reply
Matt
<Welcome. BobF>

encrusting coral species    2/4/13
Hi Crew!
Just added some mushrooms to a pico tank and noticed encrusting coral on the front of one of the mushroom rocks (see pict). Didn't see anything in the archives that distinctly resembled it. Polyps are low profile, at least for what I've seen under the day and moonlight LEDs.
Curious as to species and optimal care?

<... looks to be a Faviid, perhaps a Porites of some sort. Look up husbandry on WWM>
I have a 4gal Aqueon Evolve. Tank is cycled, ammonium, nitrate, nitrite all undetectable. pH ~8.2; have activated charcoal filter that comes with setup, change these out monthly. Is otherwise housing Discosoma and Ricordea mushrooms and a couple of Nerite snails.
Thanks!
-ln
<... Bob Fenner>

Mystery coral     1/4/13
Hi there,
<Howdy>
I have a Coral and have no idea what it is.  I have had several people look at it, and even posted it on livingreefs.com.  They suggested I try here.
<Ok>
I purchased it a week ago, the seller said it was Leptastrea.
<Mmm, nah>
 When I looked that up, it looked nothing like it.  Another person suggested Galaxea,
<Nope>
 but the pattern for the polyps is all wrong.
I rather like the coral, and just want to make sure I am giving it the proper care.
Here is a picture with my Hawkfish photo bombing it.
<Heeee!>
The stony portions are purple, and the polyps are a pale bluish white-they run a ring around stony protrusions. The frag itself is about half inch square, on a cut stone plug.
Thanks in advance,
Amy Kantor
<Would like to see a larger, more-resolved image, but do I detect hydnophores here? If so, my guess is on the family Merulinidae:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/merulinidae.htm
Bob Fenner> 

 
which LPS is this?     9/21/12
Hello ☺
I got this fist sized coral [photo attached] about a week ago.
It looks like a maze coral but when I read-up from the Aquarium corals book [by Anthony Calfo I think], there are 3-4 varieties that look almost same.
Would you be able to suggest at least an educated guesstimate for this coral??
<A Mussid of some sort, perhaps a Lobophyllia species: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mussids3.htm
Also, the picture shows a whole fish being ingested by the coral while the cleaner shrimp seems to be grabbing a free meal.
The fish is a 2.5” small orange spot goby who was just one day old in the tank.
Is this very common? Would the coral have eaten the whole fish?
<Can happen>
Are the sweeper tentacles out so much due to being in high flow area [photo 1 attached]?
<Could be other stimulus... read the linked files above where you've been referred (above)>
I tried feeding this coral 2 nights ago using Cyclop Eeze
<http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=cyclop+eeze&spell=1> using a syringe. The cleaner shrimps come rushing and get all over the coral. Would the coral get anything in its sweeper tentacles or do I need a feeding hat to keep the shrimps out while I feed this coral?
<... keep reading. Bob Fenner>
Cheers
Ranjith

Coral ID     6/7/12
Hi folks.  Found an interesting coral hiding within my clove polyps.  I was
hoping you would take the time to ID it for me.  Thanks in advance.  Happy Reefing!
Chris
<Mmm, appears to be a young Agariciid of some sort:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/agariciidae.htm
Easier to identify more closely w/ growth.
Bob Fenner>
http://i1256.photobucket.com/albums/ii483/chrssprngs/clovepolyps.jpg

Leaf Plate Coral? – 6/6/12
Dear crew / Bob,
<Dave>
It has been many years since requesting your help, firstly because I spent time away from the hobby after re-locating from Shanghai to sunny Ohio, and secondly due to the vast on-line archives help which is too often over-looked I am sure.
<Ah yes>
However on this occasion I could not find any reference to the problem; or even definitively identify the coral or issue in question. I presently have a 16 month old 75g with 10g sump partitioned with 4" deep live sand and Chaetomorpha, Aqua Medic T1000 skimmer, (2) rotating bags weekly of ½ cup carbon, main tank has (2) 150w MH 14,000K bulbs, 216w T5 actinic mix, 90lb live rock. Conditions are PH 8.0 to 8.2, Salinity 1.025,  Phosphate <0.1ppm, Nitrate <5ppm, Calcium 395, MeqL 4. I do a 20% water change weekly and have had better than my Shanghai experience success with a healthy tank stocked with mainly LPS corals, (2) healthy clams, Regal and Yellow Tang, (2) Allen's Damsels, (2) Banggai Cardinals, Flame Angel (No clam issues), Orange Stripe Prawn Goby. Now to the issue, I saw
in my LFS just South of Toledo the attached pictured 'thing.' The LFS owner who is actually very knowledgeable and helpful could not confirm what type of coral this was, and stated that even his supplier said that he has only seen this very
occasionally but also could not confirm what the coral actually was. I went home and searched on-line and found only 'similar' comparisons to what it looks like.
The closest match I thought was possibly a Montipora, but even that did not seem to form the same shape or surface structure of the coral in question. So my first question would be to ask if you have seen this type of 'plate coral'
before and if so; could you direct me to the resource information about it?
<Mmm, pretty sure this is a Fungiid of the genus Diaseris: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fungiidae.htm
Secondly to the issue, I of course purchased the item because am fascinated with the different things we come across within the hobby; and it had been at the LFS for a few weeks with lots of interest but no takers, mainly as it was not
exactly cheap. However, I thought that I would have a decent chance with the set-up I have, i.e. parameter control and lighting. After discussion with the LFS owner we thought that a mid-tank position would be the suitable approach to
take thinking that this would be a light dependent coral, but not necessarily intense lighting requirements. So I acclimated for (2) weeks lower in the tank to start with and then moved it up to a central location. The problem now, and was apparent in the bottom of the tank also before movement, seems to be that the green 'lines' on the coral are coming away from the base skeleton leaving blotchy areas of the structure. Any assistance with the identification and subsequent requirements would be greatly appreciated before I lose the coral completely.
<I'd "kick up" your dosing of iodide/ate and not move these>
As always, thanks for your continuous dedication and support.
Thanks
Dave
Best regards
<And you, Bob Fenner>

Coral ID Help 4/28/12
First, thank you so much for your website!
<You're welcome Stacy>
My husband bought a stocked Red Sea Max tank and brought it home for me.
<Wow!>
Wonderful gift that we had been planning on, but I thought I had time to research what we would be putting in a tank without being thrown into the life <fire :-)> first. Your site has been VERY helpful for me to keep all my new babies alive. I was at a LFS the other day and found this very cool coral. They had no idea what it was and I have not been able to find it anywhere. It looks similar to a Galaxea coral, but it has feeding crowns like a feather duster. Could you please help me out?
<Mmm, my first guess would be as yours, a Galaxea species. The white tips are a clue as most Galaxea species exhibit white tips on their tentacles. Bob may input here as well.><<Agree. RMF>>
Thank you again for all your help!
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
Stacy

coral ID    1/21/12
Hi,
could you guys or girls help me with an ID of a coral I found.
I have currently 2 pieces of it in my tank. (was given to me)
Anyway I posted the same questions in several online forum but no one seem to have any idea.
Hope you guys can help
Dirk
<Mmm, any idea of where this colony originated? Appears to be a Faviid, perhaps of the genus Montastrea.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/faviidae3.htm
Bob Fenner>

 

Coral Ids, and an update.   7/19/11
Hi crew, I have two corals that came in as hitchhikers on a piece of live rock that I can't ID conclusively. They've been in my tank for about a year now, and they've both grown out from single polyps, about the size of pencil erasers.
<Neat!>
Based on hours spent browsing your site, as well as many others, and a few books too, I'm pretty sure they're both Faviids of some sort, but I'd like to narrow it down more than that if possible. The two corals are the green fleshy one on the left, and the one with the pink base and blue/green polyps in the linked picture below.
http://s168.photobucket.com/albums/u163/Crustodox/?action=view&current=DSC03363.jpg
<Mmm, the green one looks like a Mussid to me; maybe a Lobophyllia, see here: http://wetwebmedia.com/mussids3.htm
and the blue-green other, perhaps a Faviid. The image is too poorly resolved to guess more>
Also, here's an update I'd like to share. I emailed back in July 2009 to ask for an ID on another hitchhiker, and I was told it was a small-polyp Goniopora. I was discouraged when I got the ID, since I know how difficult Goniopora can be to keep, but I did everything I could for it... I installed a refugium with macroalgae, I fed regularly with liquid filter feeder foods, finely chopped fresh seafood, and vitamin-enriched, freeze-dried, finely chopped (powdered, really) seafood, and I'm happy to report, it's thriving!
Here it is when I asked for the ID two years ago
http://s168.photobucket.com/albums/u163/Crustodox/?action=view&current=SPScloseup.jpg
And here it is today
http://s168.photobucket.com/albums/u163/Crustodox/?action=view&current=DSC03367.jpg
<Very nice. Looks now to be a Poritid perhaps>
Thanks again for the amazing service you guys and gals provide. I don't think I could have survived three years in the hobby without WWM to fall back on. Keep up the good work!
Sean
<We're trying. Thanks, Bob Fenner>


Re: Coral Ids, and an update. 7/19/11
Thanks Bob. Here's a few higher resolution pictures. I used my DSLR this time, rather than my wife's point and shoot. I got two shots of the blue/green coral, one with the polyps open and one with the polyps
closed. I sent the pics as attachments this time, rather than linking to them.
Sean
<Same answers. B>

Coral ID please... Likely a Montipora    7/5/11
Hi crew,
<Hi Kurt,>
I sent this message a few days ago but it may have gotten tied up or lost in the shuffle.
<First time I saw it, but it's been a while...>
So again thank you in advance for all the help you have given me and any future advice you may give.
<Happy to help.>
You all are the greatest.
<Flattery will get you everywhere! Heehee!>
I have this coral, which I believe is a Montipora sp.
<I would agree.>
But haven't been able to find any pictures similar to mine.
<Hard to tell from photos but reminds me of a Montipora Danae. More on Montipora here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/acropt3.htm >
This beautiful little coral popped up as a very welcome hitch hiker.
<Gotta love the freebie!>
The body structure is yellowish Orange. It has small, maybe 2mm, bright green polyps. Under actinic lighting the edges glow bright Orange.
<Many Montipora fluoresce.> Am I along the right lines with it being a Montipora sp?
<I think so.>
One photo is with actinic and daylight. The other is daylight only.
Thank you again for your help.
<Welcome!>
Kurt
<Mich>

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