sps I.D.?

[TomToro]

Anybody know what this coral is?

I want to frag it up and need the name.

Much more purple than I'm showing in the pics

Thanks,
Tom

 

[n8ureman]

I think what you have there is A. nana. Here is a pic from Vernon.

Hope this helps.

 

[Brian Chong]

looks very similar with the ora verde

 

[aqua80]

acropora nana or valida

here is mine (valida I think...) :

 

[SPSEMPIRE]

I'm pretty sure it is an acropora nana. It could be a valida but I don't think it is.

 

[aqua80]

I'm pretty sure it is an acropora nana. It could be a valida but I don't think it is.

what's the trick to tell them apart ?

 

[n8ureman]

what's the trick to tell them apart ?

It's all in the coralites. A.nana has long tubular coralites whereas A. nasuta has nariform coralites ( looks like an upside down nose) also, nasuta likes to grow in a table. ( however this is not as good an indicator because it can take on a corymbose or cluster type growth forms as well)

here is nana again.
And for comparison, here's nasuta look at the coralites.

Hope this helps.

 

[aqua80]

It's all in the coralites. A.nana has long tubular coralites whereas A. nasuta has nariform coralites ( looks like an upside down nose) also, nasuta likes to grow in a table. ( however this is not as good an indicator because it can take on a corymbose or cluster type growth forms as well)
Hope this helps.

thanks !
but my question was between a.valida and a.nana

 

[aqua80]

ok this is the main difference between nana and valida :

radial corallites more appressed to axial corallite in valida...
http://sdmas.com/corals/77.php

so my valida is actually a nana ! (and Tomtoro's too..)
thanks !

 

[n8ureman]

Oops! My mistake!! Yeah the coralites are still the giveaway. IME nana's coralites tend to grow "longer" than on valida giving it a less bumpy look (that valida has) sorry about the confusion.

 

[returnofsid]

My guess would be A. nana

 

[TomToro]

Thanks for all the help, Folks. I now have a name for my frags.

 

[gon08]

That's a pretty impressive infestation of Asterina starfish. Have they done any damage to your coral?

Gon

 

[TomToro]

So far, nothing, Gon. Should I be worried? I can clear hundreds off the glass daily in the morning if I had to.

 

[gon08]

So far, nothing, Gon. Should I be worried? I can clear hundreds off the glass daily in the morning if I had to.

You're lucky so far. I have them and they do eat the coral as well as the coralline algae. The leave little whit spots on the rocks. I pick out 4 or 5 every morning and still can't get red of them. I tried a harlequin shrimp but I couldn't get him to eat anything and eventually died.

Gon

 

[ostrow]

I find asterinas to be one of the better detritivores out there. Only very rare forms will eat live coral. When the coral is dead or on the way out, they will consume the dead flesh.

 

[gon08]

I find asterinas to be one of the better detritivores out there. Only very rare forms will eat live coral. When the coral is dead or on the way out, they will consume the dead flesh.

They may be excellent grazers but they are not rare. I've had them in several (unrelated) systems through the years with the same results. Every single time I have found them near a coral.... they have damaged it. These aren't dying or dead coral either. They also leave marks on the coralline algae.

 

[ostrow]

Well, sort of defies what Shimek has reported numerous times. There are one or two forms, which are extremely rare in the hobby, that are a pest. All the rest (I forget how many variants there are but it's a surprisingly large number) are beneficial detritivores.

I've had asterinas forever, in every setup I've had, and never had a single problem with them. They will heavily multiply when nutrients are increasingly available, a sign of something else going on, like a cyano bloom or other sort of problem, and if those problems cause downfall of a coral they will move in and clean up.

If you have the destructive ones, that is really bad luck.

 

[gon08]

Well, sort of defies what Shimek has reported numerous times. There are one or two forms, which are extremely rare in the hobby, that are a pest. All the rest (I forget how many variants there are but it's a surprisingly large number) are beneficial detritivores.

I've had asterinas forever, in every setup I've had, and never had a single problem with them. They will heavily multiply when nutrients are increasingly available, a sign of something else going on, like a cyano bloom or other sort of problem, and if those problems cause downfall of a coral they will move in and clean up.

If you have the destructive ones, that is really bad luck.

No doubt there are more than one species. The species I have encountered for the most part consume coral. Again these are not corals in decline. They are actively growing healthy SPS corals. Though cyanobacteria and diatoms are found in even the cleanest of aquariums there is not any visible at least not enough to cause an infestation. They reproduce asexually and every time you find one missing legs you can bet there are several more growing out of those legs.

These pics show the damage they cause to the coralline

Sorry Droid X pics

 

[Frick]

First off I am going with Valinana for the ID. lol jk

And second, there are different variants of these stars out there. Generally I find the destructive ones will typically be slightly larger and have little dots of reds, oranges and gray on the top. You can usually spot the harmful ones because they are noming on a mushroom or something. Most of these will munch on coraline but I find this to be beneficial. If the perimeters are right the coraline should bounce back fast with the minor chewing it gets. At least ever tank i have had that had a good population of stars in the past has had a coraline bloom problem as well.