ID on this acro please

[fishcrazee]

Anyone know what this is? I'm assuming some sort of staghorn acropora? It was a freebie from a tank tear down and they didn't know what it was either. The polyps are greenish brown, not the prettiest thing, I know, but a fast grower!

 

[kevinpo]

Hello,
It is Montipora digitata. It is a very fast growing hardy corals that thrives under a wide variety of lighting and flow conditions. Under the proper lighting conditions it will turn purple or lavender. Sometimes the color is only on the new growth areas other times the whole coral turns color. You will need to experiment with placement (distance to the light source) to get the best coloration.

It is a brittle coral which easily breaks when bumped by you or your fish. It can become the dominant species in a SPS tank over time (4-5 years). It becames stronger when subjected to high flow and tends to fuse at the tips.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[fishcrazee]

Thanks!!! It does break easy, see the 2 frags I stuck on the rock right next to it? I'll try getting it closer to the halides....... it's not directly under them right now. I can't believe it'll turn purple though......... hmph, I guess we'll see

 

[bradreef]

Kevin can get his sps to turn crazy colors with light. his oranges will turn pink and greens a flourecent yellow. The first thing the is going to rule that coral out of being a acropora is the lack of axial coralites. (no coralites on the ends of the branches)

 

[fishcrazee]

Now if I only knew what a coralite was...........

 

[SueT]

a coralite is the opening that the polyp comes out of. In various species of acropora they are all different and some species can be id'd depending on what the coralite looks like or to a degree they can be id'd.

 

[Boomer]

Kev

How do you know that it is Montipora digitata and not something like a Acropora cervicornis ? The polyps don't look right, to small and widely spaced where digit's are larger ad more cloesly spaced.

 

[bradreef]

boomer that is an acropora there. dont know which one.

 

[kevinpo]

How do you know that it is Montipora digitata and not something like a Acropora cervicornis?

Well I certainly don't know for sure but I'm pretty sure. I have many that look just like it and are very brittle too. It is about the most brittle common stag type coral I can think of.
Here is a picture I took after touching a M. digitata. You can see that the corallites can be fairly wide spaced (mostly towards the bottom of the branch). It's hard to tell the spacing because there is no size reference. M. digitata can be quite variable in the home aquarium even on the same branch. It is very susceptible to growth form changes due to flow.

It also is almost smooth after the polyps retract like Seritopora and Stylophora.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[Detri]

Are these corals better to be standing vertical? I have 2 frags of this. I am just not 100% sur how I want or where I want it to go in my tank/

 

[CarlaW]

Ron, it will grow any way you put it. I am pretty sure it is a digitata also. With 2 frags, you can also try different mounts to see what happens either way. JMHO

 

[kevinpo]

If you lay most branching type SPS horizontal they tend to encrust more before branching and therefore can be hard to remove all of the coral later. When mounted with the branches pointed up you get much less encrusting, (there are exceptions) and the coral can easily be broken off and relocated.

HTH,
Kevin

 

[Boomer]

Kev

My reasoning is this

1. The pic is poor for and ID

2. Mont's corallites are housed in distinctive pits

3. Acro, like Acropora cervicornis, the corallites rise up as a "node"


In his pic I see "nodes" and no pits

Monti' showng pits
[imghttp://www.got-chow.com/pics/aquaria/digitata_080202.jpg[/img]


I'm good for nothing on ID coral without my books sitting in from of me and hopefully coral in hand :lol:. It is this one just struck me funny, as I have boxes full of dead bleached Acropora cervicornis from the olden days that trigger me as that pic looks like those, not that they are actaully Acropora cervicornis. You may be right

 

[kevinpo]

My reasoning is this

1. The pic is poor for and ID
Yes you are quite right.

2. Mont's corallites are housed in distinctive pits
That is correct. The picture I posted shows this quite clearly.

3. Acro, like Acropora cervicornis, the corallites rise up as a "node"
Yes corallite structure is a great help in identifying corals.

In his pic I see "nodes" and no pits
I don't see nodes

Maybe fishcrazee can take another picture after touching the coral so we can see clearer if ther are pits or nodes.

The fused tips on the lower left branch are another very common feature of M. digitata.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[Rod Buehler]

hehe,, just for a little more confusion, it could also be seriatopora, but its very hard to tell from thos pics
a little latin..
Acro=tip, and pora= polyp, so when there is a polyp/coralite at the very tip of a coral, its usually an acro. (Note the tips of the acro in boomers pic)
Monti=many , and there are many polyps at random
Seria= in a row, and those polyps are surely in a row. Especially when compared to the pic that kevin posted, and to the pic of the acro in boomers pic.
without a better pic, and hopefully a better pic of the tips of the brances, it could be any of the three.

 

[Boomer]

Rod I see what you mean, the tips. I have a zoology book with all the latin names. Do not know why I did not take it out. They are in a row on fishcrazee. They are not on mine or Kev's.

 

[kungfuchan2000]

Could that be some kind pocilipora? I don't really see the nodes in fishcrazee's pic. Well, just my guess. I could also be very wrong because I am new to "keeping" SPS but "read" a lot about it before. =]

 

[redneck]

Is This A Green Slimmer

I've had this coral about 1year, it was a 2in frag when I got it with only two branches. I would like to know if this is this good growth. Not a good pic

 

[SueT]

to me this looks like a montipora digitata. and for sure it's good growth..

 

[redneck]

Thanks for the info SueT this is a pic of my 55g tank I have sence installed a in wall 180, have alot of pic from start to finish but only one posted, need a new camera. By the way very nice sps tank.