What is the hx of Red Planet Acropora?

[smtank]

After looking around for a couple months, and not finding the information, I was wondering where or what a Red Planet Acropora is specifically.

I have a beautiful ORA colony (at least I think so), the coralite structure looks similar to Acropora Prostrata, but other features like the polyps and polyp extention look similar to Millepora.

Are wild colonies ever available or has this coral been aquacultured for so long that it not longer resembles it's wild ancestors?

The common name significance means nothing to me, I am more interested in it's origins and scientific name. Thank you in advance.

 

[allsps40]

That does not look like a RP to me, more like a milli. RP has a green or white base depending on the lighting.

 

[theplatypus]

Doesn't look like a ORA Red Planet to me either.

 

[klepto]

My understanding is that ORA's Red Planet (RP) is likely an A. hyacinthus. I'm not positive about this label, but they do share some traits.
http://sdmas.com/corals/36.php

I'm sure you can find a wild colony if you look hard enough. But why bother when RP is easily found amongst hobbyists? Trying to bring a wild colony back into good health is far more difficult than growing out an already stabilized coral from a frag.

 

[smtank]

Oh it's a Red Planet, for sure. Here are frags from that colony, nice and green. It's just the lighting and placement that gives it that appearance, the base is as green as can be.

@klepto,

Hmmm interesting, I actually have a fairly large A. hyacinthus. Thanks for the link.

 

[bobbychullo]

i think i post this 5 times a week and no one seems to read it.

glassbox-design dot com

press release for ORA Red Planet from 2008:

quote form website: "ORA has released a new coral, the Red Planet Table shown above. It looks to be a beautiful Acropora anthocercis. Here’s info sent out to LFS, posted on RC: This has been our most anticipated release of the year. The coral is truly stellar and sure to be the talk of the town..."

http://glassbox-design.com/2008/ree...s-wavemaker-bk-releases-the-peppermint-angel/

I have a hyacinthus, its just growing off of its frag plug but it doesn't look much like a red planet to me. it encrusts horizontally with corallites growing from the center and edges. its colors for me have been whitish cream to yellow base with blue and green at growing tips and pink down the shafts of the growing corallites.

i can see why some folks mistake a hyacinthus for a mille as well because their polyps look very similar but my rainbow mille is right below my hyacinthus and again, you can tell hyacinthus is not a mille.

i do not have any photos at this point, once they grow in a little I will have photos for comparisons. smtanks last photo does have similarities to hyacinthus i have in my tank but i do not think they are the same.

anyone feel free to correct me if i am wrong...

 

[bobbychullo]

here's a horrible iphone photo of my hyacinthus. its hard to see all of the colors it has.

but you can see its not a green base with read or pink corallites, which is Red Planet's usual color form.

 

[bobbychullo]

im not a photographer, thats for sure lol. here's as good as I can do until my friend comes over a takes pics of my tank for me.

 

[smtank]

i think i post this 5 times a week and no one seems to read it.

glassbox-design dot com

press release for ORA Red Planet from 2008:

quote form website: "ORA has released a new coral, the Red Planet Table shown above. It looks to be a beautiful Acropora anthocercis. Here's info sent out to LFS, posted on RC: This has been our most anticipated release of the year. The coral is truly stellar and sure to be the talk of the town..."

http://glassbox-design.com/2008/ree...s-wavemaker-bk-releases-the-peppermint-angel/

I have a hyacinthus, its just growing off of its frag plug but it doesn't look much like a red planet to me. it encrusts horizontally with corallites growing from the center and edges. its colors for me have been whitish cream to yellow base with blue and green at growing tips and pink down the shafts of the growing corallites.

i can see why some folks mistake a hyacinthus for a mille as well because their polyps look very similar but my rainbow mille is right below my hyacinthus and again, you can tell hyacinthus is not a mille.

i do not have any photos at this point, once they grow in a little I will have photos for comparisons. smtanks last photo does have similarities to hyacinthus i have in my tank but i do not think they are the same.

anyone feel free to correct me if i am wrong...

Thanks so much for the post. :love1:

Sincerely I have done searches and such and have not come across that link.

Funny that it worded the description almost like mine " similar to Prostrata and Millepora in appearance".

And my Hyacinthus, very close to the RP, looks nothing like the RP. It has a cream and green tint to it and does not show the same exaggerated PE that the RP does.

Thanks again.

 

[klepto]

Thanks for the info Rob.

 

[bobbychullo]

Thanks for the info Rob.

no problem

Thanks so much for the post. :love1:

Sincerely I have done searches and such and have not come across that link.

Funny that it worded the description almost like mine " similar to Prostrata and Millepora in appearance".

And my Hyacinthus, very close to the RP, looks nothing like the RP. It has a cream and green tint to it and does not show the same exaggerated PE that the RP does.

Thanks again.

i'd love to see a photo of your hyacinthus if you have one. I get a lot of PE on my hyacinthus. i got mine from steve garrett out here in california, he told me to blast it with flow. he had it right under a powerhead in his tank. i have mine directly opposite my MP10 and its happy. it's literally getting 400-500 gph almost right at it.

they actually do look very close to each other, the RP and the hyacinthus. I am not sure if ORA ever confirmed that it is an Anthocercis, I think the people at glassbox-design know their stuff tho. there's a photo of a wild colony of anthocercis in eric bourneman's "Aquarium Corals" book and it looks very close to RP, thats how i got on the trail. i found that link by searching Acropora Anthocercis, not Red Planet...

 

[allsps40]

Oh it's a Red Planet, for sure. Here are frags from that colony, nice and green. It's just the lighting and placement that gives it that appearance, the base is as green as can be.

@klepto,

Hmmm interesting, I actually have a fairly large A. hyacinthus. Thanks for the link.

These are RP for sure but the one in the OP really does not look like RP at all. Coralites are all wrong and polyps are more milli like. Here is my ORA RP direct from ORA on a ORA plug.

 

[smtank]

That is a nice RP piece you have.

This is an image of mine 1 year ago and then today, it just changed a lot and likes good flow.

The frag images are from that above mother colony.

 

[smtank]

no problem



i'd love to see a photo of your hyacinthus if you have one. I get a lot of PE on my hyacinthus. i got mine from steve garrett out here in california, he told me to blast it with flow. he had it right under a powerhead in his tank. i have mine directly opposite my MP10 and its happy. it's literally getting 400-500 gph almost right at it.

they actually do look very close to each other, the RP and the hyacinthus. I am not sure if ORA ever confirmed that it is an Anthocercis, I think the people at glassbox-design know their stuff tho. there's a photo of a wild colony of anthocercis in eric bourneman's "Aquarium Corals" book and it looks very close to RP, thats how i got on the trail. i found that link by searching Acropora Anthocercis, not Red Planet...

This was a wild pieces, in poor condition when I got it. Went from completely bleached to a cream/green.

It is right behind the monti cap, in the middle of the image. It's placement in the tank makes it hard to get an image of. It appears much more tabling in person.

Thank you again for your assist with the RP.

 

[bobbychullo]

nice, thanks for the pic.

 

[JasonMHorn]

These are RP for sure but the one in the OP really does not look like RP at all. Coralites are all wrong and polyps are more milli like. Here is my ORA RP direct from ORA on a ORA plug.

I know that this is an old post but whatever. I had a RP just like this. Unfortunately I had so chem issues and it died. I'm trying hard to find one to replace it with.
These pics are horrible compared to how it looked in person.