2yr wait for a frag of this Monti ID plz!!

[mark728]

I waited 2 yrs for a frag of this from a local fish store the only reason i got a frag was it was about to hit the front of the glass ,they never could give me a postive id 1 guy said its a spongodes but ive seen them before and this is not the same the pillers are upto 6 to 8 in high this is a very big coral ,i have 3 frags from it my frags are the last 2 photos ,any help ,info ,id where its from would be a great help cause ive never seen this anywhere before except at this local fish store .THANKS

 

[Kolognekoral]

M. spongodes is as good a guess as any. I can't make out the surface in any of the fotos. It looks undulate in the top fotos, but the frags look pretty smooth.

Other species to consider are M. incrassata, M. cactus and M. hispida.

 

[mark728]

yea it does have ridges my frags have lost some color but in my tank they should color back up in a week or 2 those pics where takin the same day i got the frags here are some close ups to look at

 

[Kolognekoral]

From the surface it resembles M. undata, but I've never seen one with such branches. It is listed as producing columns and branches, so it could be. Also, M. confusa has an irregular coenosteum, but with more parallel ridges. Then there is M. vietnamensis, which fits in there, too. Without a close examination of the skeleton it is hard to know.

 

[therman]

Could be our infamous M. porites too I suppose. It might grow differently depending on flow/lighting. Hard telling from those photos though.

 

[mark728]

I will post some high res pics today take a look and let me know what you think ,and thanks for all the help guys !

 

[mark728]

hi res pics

 

[MechEng99]

Here's my Montipora Confusa if it helps. I have it right at the focal point of 2x150W MH's & it has colored up immensely (no brown at all.) It seems to be a VERY fast grower (fastest in my tank anyway.)

I've never seen one with structures that tall, but I haven't seen too many. It does seem to plate more than growing up.