Help with ID and care of studeriotes sp (?)

[GPHowell]

Hi,

I've had this coral for a few months (it was my first coral in a new set-up).

It was sold as a medusa coral but looks quite different to me compared to pictures of this species in ref books etc. Can anyone confirm?

It has recently shed its skin; it used to be pink and is now almost white- are these corals prone to bleaching/expelling zooxanthellae algae or is this just a new skin tone?

The main fingers expand and contract during day night and it has small dark dots (see picture)- I presume these are the polyps? Other pictures of medusae show much greater extension (hence my doubt as to whether it is actually a medusa); I've never seen greater extension than that shown for this particular coral.

Also, I read that medusae like to be anchored directly into sand/gravel and mine is currently on a small piece of rock- should I consider relocating?

Any comments/advice appreciated!

 

[cloak]

It just looks like your run of the mill Sinularia coral to me. Quite common in most LFS around here. What kind of lights was it under at the LFS? What kind of light is it under now? It might have bleached. IME, these are not that difficult to keep. Moderate lighting and a lot of flow. Once they have a firm base, they'll really appreciate that extra current and take off.
If the base is attached to a small piece of rubble or a rock, you might want to find a good spot among the rock structure and epoxy it in place. After that, just leave it alone. GL.

 

[GPHowell]

Thanks for the reply.

I've looked up sinularia in a ref book etc and it does look very similar.

The LFS had T5 and I have a mix of T5 & LED. If it has bleached, is it likely to repopulate with zoox or is it likely to be a slow, wasting death for the poor blighter?

G

 

[cloak]

It should color back up. Instead of securing on your rock structure now, you might want to put it in a place where it's receiving low light for about 3 weeks or so. (bottom of tank perhaps/maybe in a corner) If things look good, move it someplace where it's receiving a little bit more light for 3 weeks, and so on and so fourth. Your basically just acclimating the coral to the lights you have now. GL.

On a side note, try not to fiddle with it. Just leave it alone for these periods of time if you can.

 

[GPHowell]

Roger. I'm new to the marine/reef aquaria (originally a freshwater fan) so I'm on a steep learning curve with corals etc!

Thanks for the help.