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FAQs about Stony Coral, Cnidarian
Identification 5 Related FAQs:
Stony Coral ID 1, Stony Coral ID 2,
Stony Coral ID 3,
Stony Coral ID 4, Stony Coral ID 6,
Stony Coral ID 7, Stony Coral ID 8,
Stony Coral ID 9, & Cnidarian
Identification,
Stony FAQs 1, Stony FAQs 2,
Foods/Feeding/Nutrition,
Disease/Health, Propagation, Coral
Compatibility, Stony
Coral Behavior, Related
Articles: Stony Corals, | 
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ID hitchhiker anemones – 09/26/09
On Sunday (it is now Friday) we added 200 lbs of live rock to our new
system. The LR had been in a tank for 4 years and in a large trash can
with power heads for a month. We picked up RODI water on the way home
and
showed the rock to the LFS owner. He said the rock was in excellent
condition and the tank would have little or no cycle time. All water
readings have been 0 nitrates, 0 ammonia (both by our kit and the
store's).
While we were at the store we noticed some anemones on the rocks at the
top. The LFS owner looked at them and said he did not think they were
Aiptasia. He stuck his finger in one and was not stung. My husband was
also not stung. There was another experienced hobbyist there and he
could not ID them as well. I emailed the original owner of the LR and he
was not very helpful. He said he had aiptasia in the past, but they had
been under
control. He did not tell me if there had been other kinds of anemones in
the tank.
We have done hours of searching, but can not find a picture or
description that matched these exactly.
- They don't appear to sting.
- They have a fairly wide base compared to height.
- The base is a brownish/yellow color.
- The tentacles are clear with small white stripes and spots.
- The tips have a very small white ball.
They seem to like the tank and appear to be growing larger. We have not
added any food to the tank yet since only what came on the LR is in the
tank (snail, brittle stars, other stars, sponge, etc). We do not have
the good lights on the tank yet. That will happen this weekend.
We would like to know what these are before we kill them off and then
find out they were something someone else might have wanted.
Thanks for your help,
Nicki
<These appear to have an underlying (calcareous) skeleton... I suspect
they are either single polyp Dendrophylliids or Rhizangiids... Please
see the Net and WWM re. Please see here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/dendroidfaqs.htm
Bob Fenner>
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[1].JPG) |
Re: ID hitchhiker anemones –
09/26/09
Thanks so much. No one else had any idea what they were. On the link page
(for Bridget 11/2007) that is them! Except hers look orange. Do they change
color?
<Yes, can>
Ours our clear, except for the base. They have been in a dark circulating
tub for about a month before we got them. We are new to the hobby so I hope
we can keep them happy.
You are awesome!~
Nicki
<Mmm... Okay! Cheers, BobF> |
Australian Coral Identification 9/17/08
Good
Afternoon!
Great website, has helped me plenty to advance in the
excellent hobby of reefkeeping. Just a quick question this time. I am
starting to get into the Australian corals now in the market. I try my
best to avoid corals harvested illegally (I hear many are being
harvested off the coast of Japan) and I am trying to better educate
myself. How can you tell the difference between Lord Acans, Micromussas
and Blastomussa?
<Mmm, most of these Mussids can be distinguished
from gross examination... do you have J.E.N. Veron's in-print works on
Scleractinians? These are the paramount guides for ID here. Otherwise,
free on-line work can be found by our own Sara Mavinkurve (Asira.com)
and Jake Adams (Coralidea.com)>
I bought frags off a local reefer and
cannot identify them. Would pictures help?
<Oh yes>
Are there any
characteristics that can be used to identify them?
<... yes>
From
what I hear, Micromussas are just a smaller version (8mm or less) of
Lord Acans.
Any help is greatly appreciated!
<Do see the ref.s
above. Bob Fenner>
ID Assistance Needed for SPS Encrusting Coral
Coral Id challenge
- Need more info 10/9/07
<Hi there>
So... I am on a
mission. <I can relate to that!> I want to determine what an
otherwise unknown species of coral in my SPS prop tank is.
Unfortunately, I don't have much
information to go on, and the
photos I have taken are just about as good. Sorry, I need a macro
lens. <Very helpful, indeed.>
When I originally acquired this
species, the person who sold it to me broke a chunk off of a rock.
He was trying very hard to keep it intact, with little luck. It
pretty much shattered. He told me he didn't know what it was, but he
was told that it was supposedly rare. <Okay>
I have scoured the
Eric Borneman and Julian Sprung corals books. I have come up with
nothing. Same for the web. Well, not quite nothing, but pretty darn
close. Here's what I can tell you. This SPS coral is very much like
Montipora. <My first impression as well...second guess - Porites.>
So I am totally guessing it is some kind of Acroporidae. <Unless
it’s Porites (Poritidae), etc.> Of course, that doesn't mean much,
and even if I am right, we're talking about thousands of possible
species. <Yes, it's quite a daunting task. Distinguishing
differences between corals usually involves heavy duty magnification
of the skeleton/individual septa, not to mention some taxonomic
nightmares.>
How is it similar? Well... it's an encrusting coral
with extruding polyps. The polyps are much denser and smaller than
any Montipora I have personal experience with. <Have seen such
before – can vary greatly.> It grows the same way as Montipora, but
possibly quicker. <Given favorable conditions, can grow very
quickly.> It seems to layer itself. What does this mean? I glued a
small chunk to a frag disc. The way it is growing now looks almost
like the chunk melted. <Typical encrusting growth pattern.> There is
clear growth on the disk, but it is very thin. As time goes by, it
gets thicker. <Yep> This may also be a result of the small polyp
size. <Mmmm> I also believe that the coral being so brittle is also
a result of small polyp size. If you imagine the coral skeleton
generated by this thing, the more polyps, the more holes. The more
holes, the more porous it is. The more porous, the less structural
integrity there is. <Yes, makes for lightweight/porous structure.>
I took five nickel-sized chunks and glued them to a rock. The growth
has really been good. The pieces no longer look like they have
jagged edges. They have grown out so that the frags are all smooth
on the rock and they are quickly moving toward each other. <Good
growth rate/favorable conditions.> I really believe that within
30-60 days (sooner if I get my calcium reactor up and cooking) all
the pieces will have fused together. <Happy corals!>
Okay, so
earlier I said I had found "pretty darn close" to nothing in my
research. Here's what I found...I found a coral called "Leptoseris
mycetoseroides":
http://www2.aims.gov.au/coralsearch/html/201-300/Species%20pages/228.htm
<Don’t see the typical ridges/anatomy of this species in your
photos.>
A lot of the descriptions, of course, are meaningless
because they are working on the macro, but I am working with the
micro. <The great thing about the Whelk/Aims site is that it usually
includes a skeletal photo - critical for identification.> Unless I
let this thing grow out for years, I might never see some of the
described growth patterns. <Or they might differ from what's shown
due to variable such as current, light, etc.> This photo, however,
seems to be have some similarities to me:
http://www2.aims.gov.au/coralsearch/images/201-300/Large/228-05.jpg
<Note the way, though, that the corallites in the photo are aimed
out towards the perimeter.>
Now, I did say this seems to be an
encrusting coral, and in this photo, it looks like the coral is more
of a plating variety. However, I have several plating Montiporas
that, when they run out of something to grow on, they plate outward.
Just a thought.
<Montipora often show a combination of growth
forms. I have several colonies of M. digitata that seem to
grow/spread equally through branching, as well as
encrusting/covering the rockwork.>
I also saw a coral in the
Borneman book.... Pavona clavus, on page 251. The guy I got the
coral from agreed that this has some striking similarities.
<Other than growth pattern, I’m not really seeing it – again, need
more detailed photo. See this link for comparison:
http://whelk.aims.gov.au/coralsearch/html/201-300/Species%20pages/290.htm
>
OK, so let's talk about my crappy photos. <LOL They’re not that
bad...they show basic growth form - just need to see a lot more
detail to refine search.> In unknown-1sm.jpg you can see the rock
with all the frags glued to it. Not much good for anything but
possibly the color and shape of the coral. In unknown-2sm.jpg there
are two things to look at (you can see the larger colonies in the
background) First, in the foreground there is a rock with two
additional frags glued to it. You can see how the sides are all nice
and rounded off now with new growth. <Yes> You can also see a good
example of what these critters look like with full polyp extension.
In the background is a ceramic frag disc that I glued one little
chunk to. You can clearly see the "melted" look of this coral as it
grows out onto the disk. <Typical> Nothing substantial, but growth
regardless.
<What I can see is consistent with a Montipora spp,
but trying to identify these specimens by photo alone is a fairly
insurmountable task. Here are several interesting/helpful links for
coral identification:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-04/eb/index.php,
http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/CoralGenus.html, and
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/9/aafeature2#h4
Good luck!
-Lynn> Re: ID
Assistance Needed for SPS Encrusting Coral
Re: Coral Id challenge
- 10/9/07
WWM (Lynn):
<Hi there, JW - Lynn here again.>
Forwarded your response to my original source of the frags, who
responded:
"Very interesting. One thing that I can recall of the
coral is that the polyp structure did not resemble any Monti or
Porites that I had ever seen. Monti and Porites are distinctively
round where as the polyps on the mystery coral are more like
tentacles than polyps.
<Interesting. In cases like this, every
clue helps.>
I almost can predict what you will say, especially
after reading the Borneman article, but just wanted to see if this
rang any bells.
<Like Quasimodo? <G> Well, what comes to mind are
the more tapered, or needle-like, polyps of Pavona. I think your
best bet at this point, however, is to ask Eric Borneman. He has a
forum over at Marine Depot and is a heck of a nice guy. By the way,
please let me know if/when you Id this coral!>
JW
<LZ>
Re: Coral Id challenge, follow-up 10/9/07
Lynn,
<Hi JW!>
I have emailed Eric Borneman, but not posted on the forums. I will
do so tomorrow. <Sounds great> Thank you for all of your insights.
<You’re very welcome – good luck! -Lynn> |  
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Coral Identification 8/10/07
Dear WWM crew:
<Hi Julie, Mich
here.>
Thank you for all the information your website provides.
<On behalf of Bob and the rest of the crew, you're welcome!>
I am new
to saltwater, and have literally learned almost everything I know from
your site.
<Much of how I learned as well!>
However, I do have an
identification question that I have been having some trouble with. My
LFS sells their live rock in a big tub with some stray corals mixed in
at the bottom at live rock prices. We picked up some of these corals
last weekend and to our amazement the corals still had some live polyps
growing on them. Please inform us of what types of corals these are so
that we can best care for them.
<Coral1 looks to be a of the Family
Faviidae, genus Favia. Coral2 looks to be of the family
Dendrophylliidae, genus Turbinaria. These corals may be helped by target
feeding with finely chopped fresh/frozen foods like mysis shrimp soaked
in the vitamin supplement Selcon. Will take some dedication to get these
to possibly recover. If you're seriously committed to rehabbing these
corals you may want to employ the method sent in by one our readers.
Please see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/dendroreprofaqs.htm
The query titled for feeding specifics.... Re: Feeding of Tubastrea..
Follow up to Baby Tubastrea Timeline 8/7/07 and the ones directly above
for some results. Quite impressive!>
Thanks again,
<Welcome!
Mich>
Julie |  
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Coral ID, Acroporids sans pix? 7/13/07
Hi Guys, another question
from a beginner. After much internet searching I am unable to find my
little coral frag. The LFS guy I purchased the frag from didn't know
anything about it. Any way it looks like acropora except for its top
polyp. Instead of a polyp there is stringy hair algae type stuff growing
out of it. I was tempted to pull it off but thought better of it. After
days of observation it seems that this hair stuff is part of the feeding
strategy of the animal. During the day it gets filled with debris and
micro bubbles and in the morning its clean and floating.
The coral
itself is thickening, its flesh is encrusting the plug its on so I know
the algae stuff isn't harming it. The corals top center seems hollow and
the clump of algae is growing rather long, it has grown now as long as
the frag itself. Its funny looking. Like a biker with long hair blowing
in the wind.
If this seems like a unfamiliar coral to you I will
send a pic.
<Bob, definitely need a pic. James (Salty Dog)>
Thanks All
Bob Carter
Id...Possibly Merulina ampliata – 07/03/07
I can't find
the following in any of my books, any ideas?
<Hi Brian, I
actually replied to this last night on your web site after listening
to Bob's pod cast, which was quite good by the way! I tried to post
this response but the site only allowed 300 characters. So I sent
the second response.>
http://bp0.blogger.com/_Saa3csugMNM/RogAXQq9gGI/AAAAAAAAABk/mJwEj4Tqbzs/s1600-h/2007+Jul+02+004.JPG
<Greeting! Mich here from www.wetwebmedia.com> Anyone know what type
of coral this is?
<Hard to tell from just one picture. My best
guess is Merulina ampliata>
I checked all my books and cannot
identify it.
<I am glad to read that you have reference books!
Good for you, and the creatures for which you care!>
I was a bad
reefkeeper and bought it without being sure what it was.
<Not a
good practice or the actions of a conscientious aquarist. 40 lashes
with a wet noodle for you!>
I highly recommend not doing this.
<Me too!>
Do your research ahead of time.
<Sage advise! Life
to you! Michelle Lemech>
=====
Greeting! Mich here from
www.wetwebmedia.com It is difficult to tell from just one picture.
My best guess is coral may be Merulina ampliata. A little more info
here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/merulinidae.htm Hope that helps.
Michelle Lemech
Id...Possibly Merulina ampliata 7/4/07
<Hi Brian, Mich
here.>
Hmm...I looked at some pictures of the Merulina, looks
different.
<Could be. Multiple growth forms are possible, often
within the same colony. Some pic's I thought resembled yours:
http://www.aquarium-design.fr/Img/ImgTelecharge/Pt/1192.jpg
http://www.meerwasser-lexikon.de/images/1375.jpg
http://www.mailordercorals.com/displayPict.asp?cartID=1154
http://www.reefaholics.org/Sale/reefaholicsimages/images/PIC00088.JPG
http://www.atlantisaquarium.net/images/merilina.jpg.JPG
The
corallites in this species tend to form ridges and valleys which
radiate from the center, which is why I though this genus was a
possibility.>
I did stumble across Agaricia agaricites. Could
that be it?
<Unlikely, Agaricia is an Atlantic species and
generally not available in the trade. Initially, I was think this
might be part of the Family Agaricidae, along the lines of a
Pachyseris, but the ridges and valleys tend to be more concentric.
It is difficult to identify a coral by one photo alone, and for some
corals it is outright impossible without skeletal examination. So
perhaps it is a Merulina, but it may be something else too.
Wish
I could be more helpful,
Mich> | 
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Rock Anemones and Breaking Rocks to Separate Corals 4/21/07
Hi Guys,
<Hi Jim, Mich here.>
Here are two
pictures that I would like your thoughts on. The first I believe is a
small group of rock anemones.
<Looks like a pest to me.>
They
are about 1/2 inches high. The aquarium is about 4 months old. I have
two small groups of these, which don't seem to be doing much. Do you
think that I should go out and get a couple of peppermint shrimp and try
to stem it now or is it possible that they won't expand?
<Depends.>
I enjoy watching the micro fauna but don't want to risk all. I think of
them as a weed-just a thing that is not growing where someone wants it
but otherwise interesting.
<If it were me/mine I would remove from
the system. If you allow to remain in the system, I would watch
carefully, and be prepared to take action. More here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/cav1i3/aiptasia_impressions/aiptaisia_impressions.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/aiptasia/aiptasia.htm >
Anyway the second picture there are two colonies of different creatures.
Both colonies are expanding.
<A good thing.>
I keep reading that
they may beat on each other and kill one or both colonies.
<Is
possible.>
I wouldn't want that.
<Me neither.>
These just
came on the live rock and started to grow.
<Ooo! A nice gift from
the sea.>
I would have to break the rock to keep them apart. Is this
a viable solution or is there another?
<It looks like the rock could
be easily removed from your system. If this is so, I think I would
remove and use a chisel or better yet a Dremel, and remove and relocate
one of these corals.
<As far as ID's go I think this is Galaxea
fascicularis,
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/oculinidae.htm
though Turbinaria
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/dendrophylliidae.htm
or Goniopora
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/gonioporapix.htm
could be
possibilities, it is difficult to tell from the photo.>
Thanks for
your help as always. Lots of great reading!!
<Welcome! Glad you
enjoy! -Mich>
Jim |
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