Could anybody ID These Three Corals ?

[ReeferMadnessUS]

Glaudds,

Yeah we should probably label all of our frag bags but the amount of time that it would take would be considerable.

It is much better for me to see a photo later on (just like this) so that we can get more publicity and I can see how our frags look once they are established in our customers reefs. I am always interested in how they do as folks used to and still do tell me that the frags from wild colonies don't do well because they are just that "wild". But I have seen otherwise as our reefs become more advanced and "cleaner" with more flow. I remember the day when we used to think that 10x turnover rate was sufficient but now we discuss 50x or more. The more the better. Sometimes I think that flow is more important than lighting (within reason of course). Enough of that I feel as I am blabbing... just like I do on the phone. My wife always tells me "there you go again... off on another tangent, never to the point"

The frag you have there is a A. clathrata. There are a gorgeous tabletop when they grow out.

Beautiful photo by the way.

Chris @ RM

 

[143gadgets]

Chris

Any idea what mine could be?

 

[bogg]

Hey Chris can you id this one?.

 

[bogg]

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=172198&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500[/IMG]

 

[wentreefgirl]

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[exoticaquatix]

hey all, im hoping you can help me ID this coral i found in one of our tanks. it was completely brown about a month ago and it has since colored up to this greenish blue. i have a close up of the polyps if necessary. thanks.
-nick

 

[exoticaquatix]

ok, im getting the hang of posting pics here. this one has been the source of debate with my co-workers and I. they say granulosa, i say lokani. who's right? any of us? this is the best pick i have. the mother colony seemed to have a table-like shape if that helps.
-nick

 

[wentreefgirl]

Ok, there are three it could be, the first two you said and carolininiana. All are tables. But if you had a pic of the mother colony as you cant really see the adult design it has. But if I had to make a Jen Veron guess it would be Lokani and if not it would be carolininiana. And the first is Cyphastrea Microphthalma.

 

[exoticaquatix]

wow, that was easy! thanks wentreefgirl. is Cyphastrea Microphthalma a hard to find coral? its the only one ive ever seen, im guessing its just not "flashy" enough to import too often. as far`as a pic of the mother colony of the other one im afraid it has since been fragged and spread across Baltimore. ill just have to wait for mine i guess.
-nick

 

[Stoney Mahony]

Lokani. Yeah, definately Lokani.(Rainman voice)

 

[exoticaquatix]

wentreefgirl
i just looked up the C. Microphthalma and all the pics showed the visible septa. this coral has never shown them. even after transport last night the polyps never retracted enough to show what would be the 10 septa. might it be something else? here is a pic of the polyps close up. thanks again.
-nick

 

[wentreefgirl]

Ok, let me pull out the old coral bible and I shall see what I find.

 

[wentreefgirl]

I still think is cyphastrea species but might be wrong. C.Japonica, C.Serialina. But It could also be echinopora hirsutissima.

 

[exoticaquatix]

after some more looking i agree it is def a cyphastrea. fraggle reef has/had a pic that looks identical but the page does not work when i try to get details on it. how about C. ocellina? the search continues. thanks again wentreefgirl.
-nick

 

[wentreefgirl]

Another possiblility.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wentreefgirl/Picture884412223.jpg">

 

[wentreefgirl]

Oh, real big. yikes.

 

[ReeferMadnessUS]

Wentreefgirl,

Sorry I'm a bit late this week, work has been super busy... From your post on the previous page. The frags that you have requested to be ID'ed are too small for me to really give definitive answer, but I will do my best.

#1 Could be mistaken for a A. gomezi but the corallites are so packed in there that I think it might be A. pectinatus.

#2 A. azurea or A. valida but again it is too small to really get a good idea on its overall structure.

#3 A. valenciennesi as this is another stag that has corallites that are stacked and packed in there. But like I said before these are really to small to give a reasonable ID.

Retake them in 6 months or so and try me again....

Chris @ RM

P.S. I love the outfits... the Second Coming of the Brady Bunch. Man did I hate that show! LOL

 

[ReeferMadnessUS]

143gadgets,

I am here I promise.

A. aculeus as this is a bottlebrush species with very short and thinnner axial and incipient axial corallites.

Nice specimen, I have one right now that has huge white polyp extension right now. Seems to get shaggier by the day. I love the growth pattern of a bottlebrush, so different than almost any other species of Acropora.

Chris @ RM

 

[ReeferMadnessUS]

Sara B,

It has been quite awhile. I hope everything is doing well. I look forward to seeing you again at my warehouse. It looks so much better than the last time you came out to visit Southern Cal.

Bogg,

The photo is quite small, but from the loose branching structure and the "Crayola Tabletop" coloration pattern I believe that this is a A. desalawii. But I could be wrong as I can't see the corallites structure. If you can post a larger photo (or a closeup) I can help even more.

Thanks for joining in...

Chris @ RM

 

[ReeferMadnessUS]

exoticaquatix,

You are correct sir! I also believe that this is a A. lokani. A. granulosa will almost always have much more rounded corallites but they both grow in a tabletop fashion.

Looks like a gorgeous colony.

Now for the second coral that you wanted ID'ed. Wentreefgirl said that it resembles Cyphastrea but you pointed out the the tentacles remained out and fleshy. Cyphastrea are neither. They only have tentacles out while feeding and they are not fleshy. So this pointed me in the direction of Plesiastrea verispora. Another way to positively ID a Cyphastrea is that between the corallites will be bumpy and will not have ridges. This coral seems to have ridges rather than bumps and therefore another identifier of Plesiastrea verispora. Another thing I just noticed about your photos is that the corallites openings are large and open where as on Cyphastrea they are quite closed and tight to the mouth of the corallite.

I hope this helps you out. I love this Genus and species. I have only seen it a few times in my life.

Chris @ RM