ID please

[dugg]

I bought this piece today at a petland that is setting up a coral tank. It's a bad joke to say the least. This was still in the bag, and the guy sold it to me as a purple mushroom for $14.99 lol. I just kinda said hum mushroom huh? You said $14.99? i'll take it lol. So what exactly is it, and what do i need to do to help it recover from it's shipping damage? It hasn't opened back up yet, but was fully extended in the bag at the store.

 

[jdhuyvetter]

Probably Goniopora sp. or possibly and Alveopora sp.

 

[bagged87blayzer]

I dont know what it is but I want to know which Petland......

 

[dugg]

The one by the Leesburg mall on 441

 

[MitchReef]

It looks kinda like a really pi$$ed off Meteor Shower cyphastrea to me!!!! If it is you just made the score of a lifetime....

 

[jy544]

I second a red Goniopora. Nice grab for 14.99!

 

[dugg]

I'm pretty sure it's not a Meteor Shower cyphastrea. The polyps are more like tiny feather dusters when they open up. It also seems to be encrusting coral of some kind. It is wrapped around a piece of Tonga branch. My lights just came on for today, so maybe he will open back up and let me get a better picture later. The wonderful employee there handled it like it was a piece of dry rock while he was bagging it up and letting me know what an expert he was at reef care lol.

 

[ccampo]

Whatever it is, it's beautiful and for that price it is even more beautiful.
Congrats on your new acquisition.

 

[reefnfish]

Its is a Alveopora

 

[dugg]

I did some searching and found a Goniopora that was identical to what i have. Hopefully he will revive and do well. Thanks for all the help

 

[phunkie99]

nice "mushroom" :rollface:

 

[chrisstie]

It's definitely a goni/alveopora (One has 12 "petals" the other has 24, possibly in that order).

I have one at home just like it. It doesn't extend much like the other species do but is very pretty nonetheless and thats quite a bargain!

 

[dugg]

Here are a few pics of my $14.95 purple mushroom after finally opening up today. The funny and not so funny part of all this is that this is thier saltwater expert that knows everything there ever was to know about keeping saltwater lol. While he was bagging my mushroom , he was selling a lady one of those all you need in one box 10 gallon plastic tank setups, and telling her she could just set it up and put in about a 6 inch flounder that she wanted in the same day lol. I'm betting that went over real nice for her.

 

[solutions]

So you said the one by the Leesburg mall on 441
I have not been there in a while

 

[dugg]

Not worth any kind of trip to see. If the coral i got hadn't been still in the shipping bag, i wouldn't have bought it. Thier system is an ich outbreak waiting to happen. Very poor setup at best.