ID please

[cynthiamc]

We have this piece of coral that when we first bought it we were told is was a Red Cap however as it has grown it does not look like a Red Cap. Does any one know what it is??????

 

[Anemone]

[moved]

Kevin

 

[sporto0]

It could be a Red Cap Monti, I need a closer look at the polyps, they are an encrusting coral & if it doesn't have a rock to spread to, it will develop like yours is.

 

[cynthiamc]

It could be a Red Cap Monti, I need a closer look at the polyps, they are an encrusting coral & if it doesn't have a rock to spread to, it will develop like yours is.

Here is a bigger photo

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

It could be a Red Cap Monti, I need a closer look at the polyps, they are an encrusting coral & if it doesn't have a rock to spread to, it will develop like yours is.

Red cap would be Montipora capricornis which is not an encrusting coral, it's a plating coral. This one is still very small and will plate as it gets larger.

 

[cynthiamc]

Thanks Adrienne, we have had it about two months now and it is really not growing and it just does not look like all the photo's of caps we have seen.

Red cap would be Montipora capricornis which is not an encrusting coral, it's a plating coral. This one is still very small and will plate as it gets larger.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Caps are fairly slow growing. Keep your magnesium, alkalinity and calcium in the proper ranges for optimum growth. Lighting matters too. What kind of lighting do you have?

 

[sporto0]

I stand corrected, Red Cap Monti is a plating coral & not encrusting, however that looks to be an encrusting coral, I will defer to Adrienne on this one though, it certainly could be a plating Monti.

 

[ecdragonz]

Red caps can grow good in the right conditions.

 

[cynthiamc]

2 175w metal halides and two actinic power compact.

Caps are fairly slow growing. Keep your magnesium, alkalinity and calcium in the proper ranges for optimum growth. Lighting matters too. What kind of lighting do you have?