What type of Caulastrea?

[Logzor]

Anyone know what type this is? Almost seems too big to be caulastrea.

 

[seapug]

that looks to me like a Scolymia or Cynarina. What makes you think its a Caulastrea?

 

[Logzor]

I was told that it was one.

What are other features of the corals you mentioned that I can help ID it with?

Also, what are the requirements? I have up mid light mid flow.

 

[Logzor]

I will try to get a pic of the mouth area, maybe that will help.

 

[Jefe12234]

I agree, definitely not a Caulastrea. Is the underside of the coral smooth or broken? My guess off hand would be Scolymia. They have a smooth, slightly cone shaped underside. Cynarina is a similar coral, but it is usually somewhat transparent revealing the skeleton beneath the tissue. It also grows attached to a substrate, so it will have a broken skeletal base. Both are solitary corals.

 

[Logzor]

It seems to be growing from a dark spiky (thorns) trunk. It looks like a new one is beginning to grow from the side of it.

 

[Jefe12234]

In that case my guess would be Lobophyllia.

 

[Ephraim]

looks a little too fleshy to be lobo, i think scoly

 

[Logzor]

Another note. It has a small slit for a mouth, unlike caulastrea which send out translucent tentacles.

I think this coral matches it (scoly):

The slit for the mouth give it away.

 

[Logzor]

Should I put this guy in the sand or keep him up high in the tank?

I think my T5 penetration is about the same regardless...

Does sand play a factor in its growth/health?

 

[Jefe12234]

It does look a lot like Scolymia, but I've never known Scolymia to grow from a stalk. They are always flat bottomed. My Cynarina has a spiky stalk and a slit shaped mouth just like you described, but the tissue is more smooth and transparent plus they are always solitary. Hmmm?

 

[Logzor]

Yep is has the spiky stalk and there is definitely a new one growing off the side.

 

[Logzor]

I will get better pics in the morning. It must be some kind of Cynarina, I noticed the scolys have tentacles.

How do the cynarina reproduce, do they branch off?

 

[tmz]

I think it's a scolymia australlis. Low to moderate light and low flow.

 

[Logzor]

Yep, it does look a lot like that one, too:

 

[Logzor]

Well I put it lower in the tank. Touching it made it shrink down a bit.

We will see how it does down there. There looks like there was a dying one next to it or that a new one is growing. It is obvious that it had, at one point, been sawed off and glued onto the plug.

CORRECTION: lights just turned off and there are white tentacles coming out of it.