Help identify life on rock from Gulf Live Rock!!

[RCKY]

I ordered rock from Gulf Life Rock this week and am pretty happy with it. It does have a lot of different life on it.

I have found some cup corals, a turkey wing clam, an acan?, various macro algae, Halimeda, some sponges, small barnacles, and a hard coral that I can not identify.

I attached a picture of what I believe is an acan. I have never had one before.
Am I correct?

The hard coral looks like half a golf ball; maybe a type of brain coral?
It kind of looks like cup corals tight together with no gaps.
I also attached a picture of it.
Anyone know what type of coral it is?

Any help identifying would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Devaji108]

1st one looks like an open brain to me. not sure about the second.
the LR looks good I have used gulf rock before too as was pretty happy with it.

 

[RCKY]

I think you may be right about it being open brain coral.
It appears that acans have multiple groups of heads that are "separate".
I can not find anything on-line similar to the second picture.

 

[RCKY]

Can anyone offer any help on picture #2?

 

[MrKris]

Second one looks like a leptastrea

p.s it looks to be dying/sleeping. I'd recommend repositioning it (bottom facing light)

 

[coolrunnings]

The second pic looks like a starlet coral- siderastrea siderea. its really common in biscayne bay , the gulf and our atlantic reefs.

 

[RCKY]

Thanks for the info on picture #2. I looked up both suggestions and I think sideastrea sidereal is correct because the rock is from the Gulf off Florida.
Really appreciate the help.

 

[zachfishman]

My first instincts are Diploria strigosa and Stephanocoenia intersepta. But the first could easily be a Mycetophyllia "cactus" coral, and the latter could also be a Siderastrea (probably radians). Their small size makes ID difficult, as mature colony characteristics are often necessary for discerning congenerics (especially between Siderastrea siderea and S. radians).

I identified Caribbean corals for three years as a grad student.

 

[RCKY]

Thank you for your input. I hope to be able to have them grow and develop stronger identifying characteristics.

 

[coolrunnings]

zachfishman-you are right on the 2nd coral after thinking about it some and considering the area where the live rock is collected i think radians is the right call. where i see the sideria type is mostly in more mature reefs closer to the spur and groove reefs not the less developed reefs in hawks channel or in the gulf patches.

 

[RCKY]

To Zachfishman and Coolrunnings.
I looked up lots of pictures of Siderastrea corals. I was able to locate close up pictures of the septa and the mouth at the center. The mouth on the radians and the sideria seem deeper than the mouths on the coral I have. The stellata type appears to have a shallower mouth.
Is it possible for it to be a stellata?

How are my chances at keeping it alive?

 

[zachfishman]

I'm not familiar with S. stellata; we didn't have any in SFL. As for husbandry I'd just give it medium light and medium flow and hope for the best.

 

[coolrunnings]

i looked up S. stellata and it appears to be common of the atlantic coast of brazil w/ a probable range in the caribbean , atlantic side of florida including the keys and in parts of the gulf of mexico . but it didnt show it in the gulf coast off of florida.