Could anybody ID These Three Corals ?

Perc,

Thanks for the compliments, but it comes with a price as folks always looks at me kind of funny (or tell me to shut up, if they live with me :) ) when watching a reef related program on PBS, etc...

The first is a A. austera (Yellow Tort), a slow grower but they are bulletproof.

The second is a bit tougher, the photo is a little close (I can't see the overall structure). I am assuming that this is a staghorn and what a beauty. From the striations on the corallites and separation between them I am guessing A. striata. But if you can get another photo of the overall coral I might have a different guess.

I would love to have a frag of that one....

Chris @ RM
 
rkl303,

This looks to me like a A. sarmentosa that originally was collected in a lower flow area as it has the same blunt axial corallites but the radial corallites are not quite as pronounced as they normally are.

Chris @ RM
 
Thanks for the compliments, but it comes with a price as folks always looks at me kind of funny (or tell me to shut up, if they live with me ) when watching a reef related program on PBS, etc...

Well just remember that for every person like that, there is another one out there (like me) that really admires you for it. While they may tell you to shut up, I would probably pay money to hear your commentary on a pbs show:D
I can also tell how passionate you are about it, unlike alot of people who do it just to prove something. And it shows in your web site and your live stock. They all look amazing:eek2: . I cant wait till this summer, i am currently setting up a 210 sps dom tank, and I def know where I will be getting all of my large colonies:cool: .

anyways
But if you can get another photo of the overall coral I might have a different guess.
Yeah, if this picture is true to its real colors, I would def give an appendage for a frag of it. Here is a pic of the whole colony, this pic is actually the reason I fell in love with this colony. The color is is absolutely gorgeous.(Im a sucker for blue :rolleye1: )
Iwan016.jpg



And one more of mine for ya
acro5.jpg


Once again thanks for takin the time to help us out:D
 
ok...a few ID's for ya...treating corals now for redbugs so a good chance to get a pic or two...same coral...polyps out...and in





not the best pics...but do believe you can see corallites





chips?




color is washed out...usually a light green



tort?


thanks....will get some of your frags I have in your forum..thanks
Roy
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7400561#post7400561 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rkl303
Unknown1a.jpg


What is that pinkish purple frilly thing on the left of that picture? I have some in my tank it it is kind of a slow grower but the ex emerald crab used to love eating it.

As far as I know, it is a type of coraline algae. And yes, it does grow slow.
 
Perc,

That is one incredible Blue Staghorn, I can't remember the last time I have seen something that bright a blue. Well I take that back a few years back I was in Fiji during one of the Bleaching episodes and I saw a few corals that were that blue in nature but unfortunately they were almost dead (hyperoxygenated) :( . Is this one of those Stags in that European system? And from the second overall shot I still believe that this is a A. striata (same branching structure).

The frag that you have pictured is a A. humilis. They have blunt tips and very distinctive circular radial corallites.

I recently did a hour and a half talk for MASLAC in LA about the identification of corals. I went over about 18 different groups of common misnomers (slimers, superman danae etc...). It sure was alot of fun. I seemed to get a pretty good response. Botwin sure helped me out with the setup of a Power Point presentation. Kudos to him! But beyond that we actually spoke about helping out other Reef clubs and folks that would like to know more. I would be happy to get this thing moving.... I just need the time to be able to do it... Family, RM, etc.... But it was so much fun I would love to do more public speaking.

Well thanks again for listening.

Chris @ RM
 
Roy,

I hope your treatment goes well...

photos 1 thru 3= Yellow Tort or A. austera, they have pretty distinctive radial corallites that are tubular but also shaved off at an angle.

photos 4 and 5= Green Tort or another A. austera. Look at the structure of the radial corallies you will see that they are almost exactly the same.

#6 could be a Chips but what is the species name of a Chips? The polyps are out so far I am having to tough time deciding but I believe that this might be A. desalawii or something similiar to this. Just a guess though, if you can get a photo with the polyps retracted I might be able to give you a better guess.

#7 A. tenuis, almost always has a long tubular axial corallite and radial corallites that have circular openings.

#8 A. tortuosa, and what a nice beginning to a beautiful colony.

Give me some more if you have them.

Chris @ RM
 
Vitaldefect001,

Sweet photo and a gorgeous piece. Do you have anymore that I can help you with? I would love to help you out in any way that I can....

Chris @ RM
 
That is one incredible Blue Staghorn, I can't remember the last time I have seen something that bright a blue

Yeah, tell me about it. There is just something about that color, It looks beautiful.

Well I take that back a few years back I was in Fiji during one of the Bleaching episodes and I saw a few corals that were that blue in nature but unfortunately they were almost dead (hyperoxygenated) . Is this one of those Stags in that European system?

Yes it is from that "system". I couldnt get the owner to respond to any of my questions(another reason I appreciate your help) and I just had to know more about this colony. So does that mean that this one is hyperoxegenated as well? What does this mean for the health of the coral? It seems to be growing quite fast.
Never the less, these systems kindof make me wary, I would love colonies that look like that, but not at the cost of the health of my animals. Any insights on what is causing this coloration?

I recently did a hour and a half talk for MASLAC in LA about the identification of corals. I went over about 18 different groups of common misnomers (slimers, superman danae etc...). It sure was alot of fun

Wish I could have been there:( . Sounds like a very interesting topic. Some times I feel like I am on the wrong coast. Everything important in this hobby seems to happen on the west coast. Do you have any info about this topic I could check out over by the atlantic? :rolleyes:

Thanks again
David :D
 
David,

Coral Bleaching in nature seems to be completely different than what happens in captivity. Hyperoxygenation (=insanely colored)is usually the last stage that one sees before the coral completely expells all of its zooxanthelle and therefore dies. Very sad sight to see especially when a whole reef top is effected. But what was really interesting was how quickly the reef tops started to regenerate after that bleaching episode occured. I saw some reefs that had some corals that survived the episode (mainly LPS- Acans, Faviids, etc), but the really cool thing was how many new Acropora that were popping up all over the dead skeletons. The recruitment was pretty neat to see.

But a captive reef is different especially when these new chemicals are involved. Now take what I am thinking here lightly as I am not a expert when it comes to these new additives like Zeo, etc. I have plenty of customers that use it and they love it, but I have many more that don't use it and have amazing colors (just not quite as intense). If one goes to a pristine reef in Fiji, Palau, GBR, etc one will see some corals that are incredibly colored but most are just average or even brown. But one will almost never see an entire reef that is colored to the point of making you choke and pass out from amazement as you dive in. Now that being said this "European Reef " is a sight to behold but it sure reminds me of a nautural reef that is on its way out. Kinda like holding on but at any moment they are ready to let go. I think this reef is an extreme example. I am sure not all Zeo, etc tanks looks this way. Now if this reef holds on and does well for years to come then shame on me for giving a critique about something that I know almost nothing about... see notes above :) But the point I want to stress is that 99% of pristine reefs do not have these kind of colors found in every coral on the reef. Just a guess but maybe 5 to 10% have really nice colors (in natural, non-stressful conditions). The only time you get colors like this across an entire reef is when a swath of hot water passes over the reef and sits there for a few weeks stressing the corals to the point of them expelling their symbiotic life giving algae. Any coincidence? I am not sure and I cannot make a judgement. But I always like to keep my captive reefs as simple as possible. The more crap you add the more chance you have for it to fail.

Take "my uninformed opinions" for what its worth= uninformed. :)

Chris @ RM

Maybe I can make an Audio Tape or a cheesy video that I could for all of you on the East Coast. :) lol - Or someone can pay for my flight out there- to do my cheesy Talk on coral ID's :)
 
I have a few Acros which I could use help with ID wise. Gimmee your best guesses.
107544DSC_1589_edited-med.jpg
107544DSC_1591_edited-med.jpg
107544DSC_1593_edited-med.jpg
107544DSC_1602_edited-med.jpg


The first 2 are MI Ocean cultured colonies I've been babying for about 6 monthes and the 2 others are frags recent acquisitions from a fellow reefer.

Thanks for any help.
 
Hey Chris here are a few more :D Thanks for the other ids.

Formosa?
blue-formosa-5-06.jpg


???
ora-delicate-stag-5-06.jpg


A closer pic of a previous acro that you wanted a closer look at.
180-may-25th-d.jpg


This guy up top. I bought for growth and of course the purple /geen combo
180-may-5th-f.jpg


Was a lfs brown out . Again I bought for growth
180-may-25th-e.jpg


Some type of deepwater? Maybe jaq. ?
180-may-25th-a.jpg


This one ?? Never anymore PE than that
180-may-25th-b.jpg


And this one which I have had over 2+ years. It is finally getting color back after a 1.5 year brown out.
180-may-25th-c.jpg

This is when I first got it
new-aquacultured-coloniesbluegreeno.jpg
 
Malolo,

#1 A. vaughani, but i'd be curious to see what this looks like in 6 months as it looks like as though it wants to shoot up vertically.

#2 A. parahemprichii but I could be way off on this one. The photo is a little burry and I am having a hard time making out the radial corallites.

#3 A. tenius but the axial corallites are shooting outward giving it a deceiving look. But I have seen this with some of our colonies that we get in especially if they are in a lower flow area.

#4 A. robusta with the shaggy polyps and the small radial corallites.

I gave them my best but they are just guesses as they are kinda small.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend.

Chris @ RM
 
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