Cespitularia? Blue Xenia? Neither?

rytrearc

New member
I was wondering if anyone can ID this coral for me. I purchased it as cespitularia but I'm not sure if that's truly what it is. I only paid a couple bucks for them so even if they aren't I'm happy. They don't pulse.

The first picture was taken with flash. The lights are 70w 14K I believe.

IMG_0095.jpg

IMG_0096.jpg

IMG_0097.jpg
 
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Those hands look more like silver tip xenia then Cesp. to me. I have some Blue Cesp and it has little hands like the Cesp link Markus posted

While the hands really look like silver xenia hands to me, it might also be similar to the Umi Blue Xenia Steve Garrett has at Garretts Acropolis.

I am nervous about posting a link- I know there are rules about this but I am fuzzy on them

http://www.garretts-acropolis.com/Enlarged_picture_pages/Umi_Blue_Xenia_lg.htm
 
MArkus the Xenia link didn't work for me. I have a question for you MArKus, You are basing your ID of rytrearc coral on color ? Not by the physical characteristics that make me think it's Cespitularia for sure ? Corals change colors a lot, both my types of Cespitularia have completely changed colors from when i 1st got them. The Name "Blue Xenia" is just a common name that was used for Cespitularia .
 
Hello,

ok I try once more the link for this (kind) of Xenia.
http://www.meerwasser-lexikon.de/tiere/1101_Xenia_sp. 03.htm

Colour is of course (just) one criteria to ID a coral.
Cespitularia can be more white or in direction blue (therefore also the name blue Xenia) but it has small polyps, the "traditional" xenia has bigger ones; and the Cespitularia polyps come out here and there of the stem, whereas Xenia is more bundled

regards

Markus
 
Its for sure not the UMI I have a few of them as well with a Blue bali xenia that does pulse.
I know its been a few months but what do that look like now? In an odd way that look like irritated silver tips....
 
hey Markus , the new link works !!! thanks. that look's like a xenia elongata type...and by looking at it it makes rytrearc pic's stand out as cespitualria even more to me ....oh and my cespit. from Bali is much larger and has really big polyps in comparison to the east African variety i have ...
 
no this is not a Cespitularia, they are single coloured:


That statement is equivalent to saying, "that coral is not a Zoanthid because Zoanthids are blue, see this link". We all know Zoanthids and many genus of corals contain an array of colors.


The coral the original poster shared is in fact of the genus Cespitularia which is in the same family as Xenia (Xeniidea).

The image looks very much like this coral:
http://www.terrareef.com/#!gallery/stackeraccordion0=2
 
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