It will be GORGEOUS! :)

[iwishtofish]

It was displayed unmounted on the $10 "take-your-chances" rack. I've probably killed it by glueing it this way, although I have seen it done successfully.

Can anyone identify this coral, and does it look like it has a chance? I think the polyps are actually out a bit more than they were in the store.

 

[JackKerouac]

It looks like a piece of Montipora digitata,it's tough stuff .

 

[Kolognekoral]

Looks like M. digitata, but could be M. samarensis. This is the best way to mount these. It will now build a good base and send up branches. This looks like the purple morph, which grows a bit slower than the others. I have one, which I believe is actually M. samarensis, but the two are extremely similar. Side by side one notices that M. samarensis is finer in build.

 

[iwishtofish]

Thanks, JackKerouac and Kolognekoral! I like the "hardy" part.

Kolognekoral, I don't see any purple yet. If it is the purple morph, does that color come out only under the right conditions?

The parent colony in the store was beautiful. It looked almost white because the polyps were so extended. It sent out long vertical branches. Unfortunately, the "coralmaster" walked out of the store before I could ask him more about it.

 

[Kolognekoral]

OK, when the mother was cream-white, then this is not the purple. Lighting does effect the colour of Montis more than other corals in my experience. The pigments are the same, but tend to be lighter under T5, while the colours are richer under HQI. If I take identical frags and place them under different lighting, they develope different pigment densities. This leads people to think they ae seperate colour morphs..We've all been tricked into thinking we have found another morph, only to get it home and watch it change over a couple of weeks to a colour we already have or know.

Check out this link, which has a link to the sister species and decide which fits better. Not that the knowledge allows one to grow the coral better, but it is fun to narrow it down!

http://www2.aims.gov.au/coralsearch/html/201-300/Species pages/252.htm

 

[iwishtofish]

Thanks for the link, Kolognekoral! I will experiment with placement in the tank once I'm convinced it has recovered. It would be great to see some color come out!