Any softie id guru's out there?

[matttaylor]

I have a softie with very "different" colors and appearance than i've ever seen. I've tried to get a pic, but i think i'm going to have to switch to 10k bulbs to get the color right. If any of you are good at id's then when i get the pic up i'm going to need some help. The body color is pink and purple, VERY pink and purple, it also has some hints of green and blue. The body texture resemble a colt, but the polyp structure resembles a nepthea. I'll post a pick asap, but any guesses would help.

 

[matttaylor]

I should mention this image is not altered in any way! That is the actual color. Any ideas?

 

[woodycb]

looks like a green sinularia.

 

[airinhere]

Sinulara was my first thought as well. How long have you had it in that tank?

 

[matttaylor]

It's definitely not a green sinularia. I have 2 colonies already and it looks nothing like it. I'll try and get a better pic tomorrow. Oh and i've had it for about 9 hours.

 

[dots]

It couldn't be some Blue Moon Xenia with burnt tips could it?

 

[Justin74]

For that coral a closer shot would be mandatory at obtaining a good educated guess as to an ID. From your description, it does sound like a Nepthea, but also looks like a beat up green Capnella, one I use to have one that also shared that odd mix of green and purple coloration.

-Justin

 

[jtarmitage]

It looks like a Finger Leather, Sinularia sp. Once it expands and the polyps come out the colors should be more tan. My finger leather looks the same way when he is ****ed off, with an awesome flourescent green tint to the body, but when he perks up and the polyps come out...nearly completely tan. You can still see some of the green, but I attribute that to the 20k MH and actinic bulbs.

 

[pbetito]

I had a huge green sinularia for a long time that would show all kinds of other colors from time to time. Many irridescent blues and purples. It even looked red and yellow at times.

 

[Elite]

Look at the bottom pics. Does it look like any of those??
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-09/eb/index.php

 

[jtarmitage]

It doesn't look like a dyed sinularia, just shrunken with all the pigments squashed into a smaller area giving the appearance of another color. JMO.

 

[matttaylor]

Sinularia is possible, but i'm leaning toward nepthea. I was informed that it had been under the rock work of the previous owners tank for at least several months, so the polyps and branches aren't in good shape and he had no idea what it was. But i think with time and special attention it will look great.

 

[robertloop]

Hey matt. I have some of that coral. I'm pretty sure its nepthia. Ive had some of this in my tank or quite some time. I never knew what it was untill I gave some to my brother. It changed into what is a more familiar nepthia in his tank. Longer slender branches and such. It grows very slowly in his tank. In mine, I has the full thick branches and grows very fast.

 

[robertloop]

Here's a couple pics of mine. This is after a cutting a month ago. totally sawed it off and well.... Trashed it. No one wanted any. Mine is mainly pink with green irridecense.

And one more.

I gave a cutting of this to my brother and I'll get a pick of that tomorrow. It takes on a more "classic" shape in his tank.

 

[Jacob D]

I'd say either Dendronephthea or Neospongodes, probably the latter. I have a yellow Neo. and it looks similar. I'd like to get a frag some day of the purple

From my vantage point the coral in RobertLoop's pic seems to be a sinularia or cabbage leather.

 

[matttaylor]

I was tinking robert's looked like cabbage (sinularia dura) as well, but my cabbage doesn't have that growth form to it. I want to see what it looks like in his brothers tank.

Also, mine could possibly be a Neo, but i think once it has time to recover and grow i'll have a better idea. I was informed however that when it was new to the store it's from, it was a labeled as a sinularia. But this is secondhand info, so only time will tell.

 

[robertloop]

I havent been over to my bros house yet. Hoping to get over there later on today. I'll bring my camera. His "version" grows out on a stalk and has long slender branches growing from the top. More of a nepthia look to it. I acknowledge that I could be totally wrong here. Only going on what I have been told by other reefers.

 

[matttaylor]

From what i hear sinularia dura has several growth forms depending on lighting and current. Then again so do most soft corals. I would like to see a pic of your brothers though. Does yours have a firm and rough texture to it Robert? Or is it more of a soft slimey texture?

 

[robertloop]

Ok!! Check these out. I got some real good ones. One is the main colony that I gave him about a year ago.. And the smaller colony is a break off of his original. Good stuff. Here goes. Worse case scenario, I hijacked your thread Matt, and Mothera tell us what my imposter is.

First, two pics of the main colony.

And a closer polyp shot..

Here's a great shot of his smaller colony. You can see the polyps very well.

Nepthia imposters?

 

[robertloop]

BTW Matt. In the upper right of your image... sarcophyton? (toad stool)

Heres another old pic when I had it in my 55 years ago..