ID Please

[RedLeader]

Hi everyone,

I've got this piece of coral that came in with some Tampa Bay Saltwater live rocks. Anyone know what it is?

It's got green polyps. Must be pretty hardy since it's put up with my beginner mistakes and a cycling tank.

 

[ofzakaria]

Wow this is strange.
To me it look like a dead coral skeleton filled with aiptasia or feather dusters which is common.

 

[RedLeader]

Lol. Definitely not that @ofzakaria. Here it is with whites and me forcing the polyps to retract.

Purple skeleton. Whitish/green polyps.

 

[ofzakaria]

Lol. Definitely not that @ofzakaria. Here it is with whites and me forcing the polyps to retract.

View attachment 15966

Purple skeleton. Whitish/green polyps.

Wow never seen such coral. Tagging along to see what it is..

 

[Kensington Reefer]

Wow, I’m kinda stumped
Where did you get it?
How long have you had it?

 

[glee]

Interesting. Looks like LPS grown over a dead branching monti. I wonder what this will look like in a year.

 

[MarAquatic]

I'm down for a frag in time lol

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[RedLeader]

Wow, I’m kinda stumped
Where did you get it?
How long have you had it?

It came in on some Tampa Bay Saltwater live rock. I've had it since December 2019.

 

[ofzakaria]

It came in on some Tampa Bay Saltwater live rock. I've had it since December 2019.

Man now am more thinking this is a dead coral skeleton that is occupied by something else.
This is not particular coral

 

[MarAquatic]

I think it's a coral its expanding at the base

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[sfsuphysics]

Looks like a type of monstastrea coral. Definitely a species of that region.

 

[JVU]

Definitely looks like a healthy coral to me, but I don’t recognize it. Maybe ask the TBS folks. Good chance they’d recognize it if it’s common in their harvest area.

 

[RedLeader]

Looks like a type of monstastrea coral. Definitely a species of that region.

Looked up that coral and the growth pattern isn't the same. This coral is branching. Polyps look similar but montastrea's polyps look meatier.

 

[RedLeader]

Definitely looks like a healthy coral to me, but I don’t recognize it. Maybe ask the TBS folks. Good chance they’d recognize it if it’s common in their harvest area.

I'll try that. See what they say.

 

[RedLeader]

Man now am more thinking this is a dead coral skeleton that is occupied by something else.
This is not particular coral

The tips of the branches are white which I'm assuming means that it's growing in that direction. Looks like it's encrusting the rock too.

 

[ofzakaria]

View attachment 15974

The tips of the branches are white which I'm assuming means that it's growing in that direction. Looks like it's encrusting the rock too.

Yeh you are right, its entrusting so it's one specimen..crazy thu, never seen such coral before..pretty cool

 

[Kensington Reefer]

Did you purchase it as a frag?
or did it magically appear on some live rock?

 

[RedLeader]

Did you purchase it as a frag?
or did it magically appear on some live rock?

Part of live rock I ordered from Tampa Bay Saltwater.

 

[RedLeader]

Found it! Oculina robusta. Illegal to collect but its ok if attached to live rock. Doesn't look like it'll color up but is so fluffy I still like it. Lol.

 

[sfsuphysics]

I think all stony corals are illegal to collect in US waters, but good id