coral identification please!

margaritaville · 05/19/2012, 07:38 PM

first of all thank you for helping. i tried to post a pic but it wont work for some reason. it was sold to me as an orange chalice coral but now that i looked into it, it doesnt really look like one. it is orange in color and it looks like a bunch of tiny tiny little flower like polyps all over it, if it gets disturbed ( hermits not walking around it lol ) all of the flower like things retreat leaving it smooth and darker orange in color. again sorry about the picture trouble but if you have a pic of what you think it is please post it. thanks

IridescentLily · 05/19/2012, 07:47 PM

chalice has multiple mouths but it doesn't have polyps like you describe, but sps does.
It sounds like some kind of montipora, a pavona, or porites, those are the only orange sps corals that i know of but i can't be certain without a pic.

margaritaville · 05/19/2012, 07:56 PM

thanks, it looks like the porites coral kinda, it is a small frag thats in the shape of an upside-down bowl. i described it as polyps but there not, there kinda like tiny xenia hands , and the whole thing is covered with them with no spacing in between

IridescentLily · 05/20/2012, 12:06 AM

Hmm, a montipora danae maybe, sunset montipora.
What color are the tiny little zenia like hands? Same color as the rest of it or are they different color?
Or maybe it could be a fungia. A fungia is round and dome shaped, orange, has little feeder tentacles that come out sometimes, sits in the sand.
Is yours like a fluorescent kind of orange?

margaritaville · 05/20/2012, 07:12 AM

the little hand with fingers are semi bright orange and they are somewhat flourescent under actinics, when they retract it doesnt flouresce and its way darker orange, almost brown

margaritaville · 05/20/2012, 08:08 AM

ahh, finaly figured out how to upload a pick in the right size, sorry about the quality, its from my kodak easyshare

allsps40 · 05/20/2012, 10:03 AM

Looks like a monti

Postal · 05/20/2012, 11:54 AM

Leptastrea?

IridescentLily · 05/20/2012, 01:22 PM

Yes, i thought it was a monti, and it does indeed look like a montipora danae species which is an encroaching species, not a plating montipora.
Here's a pic of another one
http://www.google.com/imgres?start=1...20,s:154,i:221

05/19/2012, 07:38 PM	#1
margaritaville Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Deltona, Florida Posts: 19	coral identification please! first of all thank you for helping. i tried to post a pic but it wont work for some reason. it was sold to me as an orange chalice coral but now that i looked into it, it doesnt really look like one. it is orange in color and it looks like a bunch of tiny tiny little flower like polyps all over it, if it gets disturbed ( hermits not walking around it lol ) all of the flower like things retreat leaving it smooth and darker orange in color. again sorry about the picture trouble but if you have a pic of what you think it is please post it. thanks

05/19/2012, 07:47 PM	#2
IridescentLily Editor-Reefkeeping mag Join Date: May 2008 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico Posts: 3,858 Blog Entries: 5	chalice has multiple mouths but it doesn't have polyps like you describe, but sps does. It sounds like some kind of montipora, a pavona, or porites, those are the only orange sps corals that i know of but i can't be certain without a pic. __________________ ~April Editor-Reefkeeping Magazine

05/20/2012, 12:06 AM	#4
IridescentLily Editor-Reefkeeping mag Join Date: May 2008 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico Posts: 3,858 Blog Entries: 5	Hmm, a montipora danae maybe, sunset montipora. What color are the tiny little zenia like hands? Same color as the rest of it or are they different color? Or maybe it could be a fungia. A fungia is round and dome shaped, orange, has little feeder tentacles that come out sometimes, sits in the sand. Is yours like a fluorescent kind of orange? __________________ ~April Editor-Reefkeeping Magazine

05/20/2012, 10:03 AM	#7
allsps40 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Arizona Posts: 4,627	Looks like a monti __________________ __________ Current Tank Info: Past reef tanks: 20H softy, 29G mixed reef, 55G mixed reef, 40B sps dominant mixed reef and 75G sps dominant mixed reef. No tank currently

05/20/2012, 01:22 PM	#9
IridescentLily Editor-Reefkeeping mag Join Date: May 2008 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico Posts: 3,858 Blog Entries: 5	Yes, i thought it was a monti, and it does indeed look like a montipora danae species which is an encroaching species, not a plating montipora. Here's a pic of another one http://www.google.com/imgres?start=1...20,s:154,i:221 __________________ ~April Editor-Reefkeeping Magazine

05/19/2012, 07:56 PM	#3
margaritaville Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Deltona, Florida Posts: 19	thanks, it looks like the porites coral kinda, it is a small frag thats in the shape of an upside-down bowl. i described it as polyps but there not, there kinda like tiny xenia hands , and the whole thing is covered with them with no spacing in between

05/20/2012, 07:12 AM	#5
margaritaville Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Deltona, Florida Posts: 19	the little hand with fingers are semi bright orange and they are somewhat flourescent under actinics, when they retract it doesnt flouresce and its way darker orange, almost brown

05/20/2012, 11:54 AM	#8
Postal Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Wesley Chapel, FL Posts: 2,707	Leptastrea?