Anybody else have this?

[gooch]

 

[UnderwaterExotic]

I would second the opinion of Monti! Looks like a few pieces i have!

 

[ChunksInClemson]

Well, if underwater seconds it, I third it! Monti is beautiful.

 

[gooch]

I still think it is an acro of some kind. I will update this thread with a pic of a branch if another one ever shoots up.

I imported hundreds of wild colonies during the three years I kept a shop. Many acro's and monti's. I have never seen a monti like it. And I have never seen an acro like it. I am confused myself.

Also I had monti nudi's about a year ago and they destroyed all but a few slivers of the two other montipora's I have. They never touched this one. Which again gives me a strong feeling it is not a monti. If it is the nudi's don't like it.

For now I will call it a monti until I can come up with further info to help ID it.

 

[gregm5]

i'm definitely leaning towards a monti due to the coralites... as there are branching montis. regardless of what it is, it's a beautiful coral.

 

[joetbs]

Gooch, are those little spines between the corallites? I can't make them out 100 % in the close ups, but if there are, it could be Stylococienella.

 

[gooch]

I do not see any spines. You know I never even gave thought to the fact it could be niether. It sure looks closer to stylocoeniella armata(veron cow volume 2 page 2,4,5(pic3). It is possible it encrusted over an acro colony in the wild giving it the bumps(branches). But that doesn't explain the acro like branch it grew. The absence of spikes(not sure if they had them when they came in and just do not develope with my flow) leads me to believe it is not. But man the color is identical and polyp spacing is near exactly the same. Looking at pic one on page 4 it is kinda similar(the nubs to me looked more like monticulosa branches and more uniform) to how it came in looking(I fragged most of the humps off it). But it was only a five inch piece. There is also a lot of bumps on mine that could be spikes under stronger flow. It says it comes from shallow reef areas. And I know that that flow is hard to reproduce. No telling how or if it would/could morph

As a rule I tend not to look at the corals labeled rare. I know that they are hardly ever collected and the chances of me getting one are slim to it will never happen. Especially in a wholesale order.

Thanks for digging deeper. It is food for thought. I have been looking at picture three(veron) for about 10 minutes and minus the spikes it looks exactly like it.

 

[kmagyar]

It does resemble montipora, specifically Montipora Spumosa, aka MACs (reefermacs monti) shown below. I agree with your last statement gooch, no spines.

 

[gooch]

Dou you still think it is a montipora?

I found this pic in one of my old folders. I didn't even know I took it. You can see the branches growing out of the base. This is what it use to look like.

This is now.

 

[joetbs]

Wow. Definite axial corallites there. Looks like an acro mashed with an encrusting monti.

Not too sure now, I guess it's Acropora. I don't understand how more axial corallites weren't formed over time.
joe

 

[gooch]

Now you see why it is so confusing?

 

[RCS]

Montiacropora confuseus.

I'd have to at least agree Acro on that last pic...weird. I had a similar piece at one point, with a deep maroon base and neon green polyps. Thought it was a Monti but was told Acro. I'll see if I can scrounge up a picture.

 

[RCS]

Sadly, it's only a skeleton in my tank anymore, as it passed on when my tank got nuked thanks to some carpet cleaner.