ID Acro and Info if possible

[justthewife]

Could someone please tell me what type of Acro this is. I got this about 7 months ago with no polyp extension and it was not looking very good so I put it on a frag plug and this is what it did. In real life it looks mostly brownish. I have no idea why it keeps looking green when I photograph it with my cell phone. The war coral does not really look that way either. It looks a bright red in real life. I have it under Ecotech LEDs on natural reef mode 40% and it is at the top of my tank about 18 inches from the lights. Anyway, is the Acro supposed to look like this? It looks like a wooley mammoth thing.

 

[Frick]

Way too small. Let it grow out and bring some pics back. Pics of the polyps retracted help too.

 

[justthewife]

It is really not a small frag. It is about 3 inches tall.

 

[justthewife]

It is really not a small frag. It is about 3 inches tall.

Is this pic any better or no?

 

[justthewife]

Or maybe this one? And it's just fat.

 

[justthewife]

this is with some polyps retracted. It used to have more corallites. And the color is still off a bit from the lighting and cell camera. Sorry

 

[Frick]

Still it is not big enough to have destinct features to ID it to one Acropora. It could be any of these so far:

Acropora abrolhosensis Acropora abrotanoides Acropora acuminata Acropora akajimensis Acropora anthocercis Acropora appressa Acropora arabensis Acropora aspera Acropora branchi Acropora brueggemanni Acropora bushyensis Acropora cerealis Acropora cervicornis Acropora chesterfieldensis Acropora clathrata Acropora convexa Acropora cophodactyla Acropora copiosa Acropora crateriformis Acropora cuneata Acropora cylindrica Acropora cytherea Acropora dendrum Acropora derawanensis Acropora digitifera Acropora divaricata Acropora elegantula Acropora exquisita Acropora fastigata Acropora florida Acropora formosa Acropora gemmifera Acropora grandis Acropora haimei Acropora hemprichii Acropora hoeksemai Acropora horrida Acropora humilis Acropora hyacinthus Acropora indonesia Acropora inermis Acropora insignis Acropora irregularis Acropora japonica Acropora kimbeensis Acropora lamarcki Acropora latistella Acropora macrostoma Acropora maryae Acropora massawensis Acropora meridiana Acropora microclados Acropora microphthalma Acropora millepora Acropora monticulosa Acropora multiacuta Acropora nana Acropora nasuta Acropora natalensis Acropora nobilis Acropora ocellata Acropora orbicularis Acropora papillare Acropora parahemprichii Acropora parilis Acropora pectinatus Acropora plana Acropora plantaginea Acropora plumosa Acropora polystoma Acropora pulchra Acropora robusta Acropora samoensis Acropora sarmentosa Acropora scherzeriana Acropora schmitti Acropora secale Acropora sekiseiensis Acropora selago Acropora spicifera Acropora stoddarti Acropora striata Acropora subulata Acropora tenuis Acropora tumida Acropora valenciennesi Acropora valida Acropora variabilis Acropora variolosa Acropora vaughani Acropora vermiculata Acropora verweyi Acropora yongei

 

[justthewife]

Still it is not big enough to have destinct features to ID it to one Acropora. It could be any of these so far:

Acropora abrolhosensis Acropora abrotanoides Acropora acuminata Acropora akajimensis Acropora anthocercis Acropora appressa Acropora arabensis Acropora aspera Acropora branchi Acropora brueggemanni Acropora bushyensis Acropora cerealis Acropora cervicornis Acropora chesterfieldensis Acropora clathrata Acropora convexa Acropora cophodactyla Acropora copiosa Acropora crateriformis Acropora cuneata Acropora cylindrica Acropora cytherea Acropora dendrum Acropora derawanensis Acropora digitifera Acropora divaricata Acropora elegantula Acropora exquisita Acropora fastigata Acropora florida Acropora formosa Acropora gemmifera Acropora grandis Acropora haimei Acropora hemprichii Acropora hoeksemai Acropora horrida Acropora humilis Acropora hyacinthus Acropora indonesia Acropora inermis Acropora insignis Acropora irregularis Acropora japonica Acropora kimbeensis Acropora lamarcki Acropora latistella Acropora macrostoma Acropora maryae Acropora massawensis Acropora meridiana Acropora microclados Acropora microphthalma Acropora millepora Acropora monticulosa Acropora multiacuta Acropora nana Acropora nasuta Acropora natalensis Acropora nobilis Acropora ocellata Acropora orbicularis Acropora papillare Acropora parahemprichii Acropora parilis Acropora pectinatus Acropora plana Acropora plantaginea Acropora plumosa Acropora polystoma Acropora pulchra Acropora robusta Acropora samoensis Acropora sarmentosa Acropora scherzeriana Acropora schmitti Acropora secale Acropora sekiseiensis Acropora selago Acropora spicifera Acropora stoddarti Acropora striata Acropora subulata Acropora tenuis Acropora tumida Acropora valenciennesi Acropora valida Acropora variabilis Acropora variolosa Acropora vaughani Acropora vermiculata Acropora verweyi Acropora yongei

Well....which one of those does it look most like so far :lolspin:

 

[Frick]

All of them. Sorry but you are asking us to tell you what car you are driving by looking at the tread on the tire only. We need to see the established growth, even better if it was a colony. Clear close up pictures of the, radial and axial corallites that have grown in for a while help. I actually trimmed that list down quiet a bit of the species it is definitely not. But at this point all of those could be it. Let it grow out until is has a few branches on it at least and we can narrow it down some more.

 

[justthewife]

I might actually be leaning toward Acropora humilis. I know, I know, let it grow out. :deadhorse:

 

[Frick]

let it grow out.

 

[kevin_e]

I don't see a humilis. jmo

 

[justthewife]

What I am actually trying to figure out here guys is an idea of what this acro is so that I can better it's survival. I am not really interested in the fancy names, I just want to do the best I can to give it the best quality of life in my tank that I can. I can't do that without some idea of what it is. When I first got this acro, it was a piece that was damaged off of an Aussie Acro at an LFS and they didn't really know what it was. They just said it was some sort of Yellow Acro. Since then it grew over itself and the damaged areas and has encrusted at the base and keeps encrusting down the rock now but it has not really branched except for a couple of bumps and I am afraid it is losing its corallites but the polyps themselves are very large. I am wondering if the polyps being so large and out most of the time are actually keeping the zooxanthellae from staying inside the coral or something. I have only ever had LED lights, all my params are good and everything else is growing great in my tank including other acro's. This acro has been growing for at least 6 months now without much success in my opinion. It is at a high position in my 90 gallon tank. Also, I believe this Acro is wild as my other Acro's were pretty established from other tanks. I am new to Acro's.

 

[Frick]

Sounds like you're on the right track. Sometimes you just have to move it around to eventually find a sweet spot for it. Give it different lighting and types of water flow. What kind of LED lights are you using?

Sometimes different Acroporas take several months to take off. And sometimes they become weeds instantly. You would just have to assume it is a slow grower at this point.

 

[Frick]

Oh and one more tip. If you can't get it to look ideal. Give it to a fellow reefer to try. I have never seen a reef tank that every Acro that is put in it is a complete success. Sometimes it is better to admit frailer than to have an troublesome Acro in the tank. If you feel like you have tried everything then pass it on and find a new frag to try. I would suggest a green slimer Acro, Acropora valida, or a single color plating Montiporas

 

[justthewife]

Oh and one more tip. If you can't get it to look ideal. Give it to a fellow reefer to try. I have never seen a reef tank that every Acro that is put in it is a complete success. Sometimes it is better to admit frailer than to have an troublesome Acro in the tank. If you feel like you have tried everything then pass it on and find a new frag to try. I would suggest a green slimer Acro, Acropora valida, or a single color plating Montiporas

Yeah, that is what I was trying to determine at this point, giving it to someone else.

I have it under Ecotech Gen3 LEDs on natural reef mode 40% and it is at the top of my tank about 18 inches from the lights.Since we just upgraded a few months ago to these lights, I think I will give it a few more months. I noticed just today the polyps are turning a bit more green under normal lighting from the usual brown which has been the first change in color since I have had it. The mother acro it came from originally died within months at the LFS. We have a tri color Valida that is growing like crazy and a purple acro that is also doing great and is branching from its base and we have only had those two a month or so. Judging from the size of this other odd particular acro, if it ever does take off it will probably be huge in size. Right now it just looks really strange. My ugly duckling.