Another fun Acro ID!

[RCS]

This piece is one of my more happy success stories. Was originally puchased as a brown acro from a local retail store. It was brown, brown, brown. Brown tissue, brown polyps...even the Porites on the same rock were brown. Cost me $30. The week after I got it, I had a terrible greenwater affliction. Took me a couple weeks to clear it up, meanwhile I had this floating upside-down in the tank the entire time attached to a piece of styro. When it was cleared, it had faded out a little and there was some STN from the base, but overall it came through pretty well. For the next 6-7 months, that was it. Brown, brown, brown. Finally started to darken up again and I began to wonder if this was truly a "brown acro". Not unheard of. Then one day it started to turn this brilliant deep jade green color you see in the pictures. Nifty, now I have a green acro instead of brown. Much nicer, but nothing to write home about.

Well, since upgrading my lights to 250w 14K, it has started to grow. A lot. It's put on an inch in the last couple months and now it's...well, for lack of a better term, weird. Weird growth pattern, and the tips, as you can see, have turned a bright purple-blue color, depending on how you look at them. It's actually now one of my favorite pieces and getting nicer every day.

Any thoughts on an ID?

 

[damienkee]

great..... pretty sweet!
great sharing....

 

[LeftCoast]

I'm not sure as of yet. There isn't much coralite definition right now, but it looks like it's going to be one wicked tricolor. My tentative ID: A. cerealis (but don't hold me to that :lol: )

 

[Sanfernando]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7002024#post7002024 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Spiffman257
I'm not sure as of yet. There isn't much coralite definition right now, but it looks like it's going to be one wicked tricolor. My tentative ID: A. cerealis (but don't hold me to that :lol: )

I'm just curious how you go about ID'ing the coral to the species level? How did you make a tentative ID?

 

[RCS]

I think corals can be ID'd for the most part...maybe not always 100%, but you've got a good shot within 2-3 different species most of the time.

The weirdest thing about this coral is the axial corallites. Notice how most branches seem to be forming multiples?

 

[LeftCoast]

It's not an exact science for most people on ReefCentral, but do a lot of looking at photos and at Veron's CoralSearch web page (I have it set to the homepage button, i.e. the little red house above my posts). I go with my gut from there. But you always take ID posts with a grain of salt; they're more of suggestions and guesses.

 

[mntl]

Sanfernando--start HERE As you use it more you will get faster with it. Choose a coral you think it might be close too then it will give links in that coral's description to others that are similar.

RCS--that is awsome, looks like it could be some kind or reef-crest or deepwater, I collect them and always try to find wierd ones. It's cool when it is both wierd and colors up well .

Thanks for sharing!!

-John-

 

[LeftCoast]

That website that mntl hyperlinked to is the one I use.

 

[RCS]

How about Acropora torihalimeda? Growth form seems similar, with the nearly non-existent corallited on the lower parts of branches.

 

[LeftCoast]

I think we can't make any definitive identification until it has more growth with more defined corallites. Remember, patience is a virtue (even though you want an ID now ).