Mystery Coral....what is it?

JPReef · #1 12/21/2007, 11:55 PM

What is this coral? Picked it up from a local shop and i forgot what they named it. They never told me what its needs were and it was pretty cheap like 15 bucks. What kinda lighting does it need. Wheres the best place to put it? high med low? and should i dose phytomax for it if its a filter feeder?

It was really bright pink when i first got it now the color has faded slightly. Parameters are fine. Main thing im wondering it just Lighting, Water Flow, and what it actually is. Thanks!

demonsp · #2 12/21/2007, 11:56 PM

Is it hard or soft?

JPReef · #3 12/22/2007, 12:01 AM

hard

demonsp · #4 12/22/2007, 12:10 AM

Looks like some kind of SPS. Look here it may help.

http://www.asira.org/caresheets

Sk8r · #5 12/22/2007, 01:11 AM

Sure looks like a greatly retracted carnation coral [softy]. But if hard, it could be anything from a pocillopora to something I just haven't met.

kiknchikn · #6 12/22/2007, 01:12 AM

Carnation was my first guess too until I read "hard".

mr pink floyd · #7 12/22/2007, 01:13 AM

i thought carnation too, but maybe by hard he means hard as in if it was closed compared to open?... more like firm maybe?

PSam · #8 12/22/2007, 01:58 AM

That's not stony. Looks like carnation...

kizkiz · #9 12/22/2007, 06:32 AM

That's a dendro i would say

http://www.marinedepotlive.com/carna...ft-corals.html

adtravels · #10 12/22/2007, 06:38 AM

look at the base, definately a dendro, hard to keep non photosynthetic soft coral, no skeleton, full of spicules.

if it expands, it will be many times bigger, that why it feel hard now

Frick-n-Frags · #11 12/22/2007, 07:07 AM

dendro/sclero no question.

ps: PM eriksmacks, or whatever erik's screen name is at or via CSEA as he may be someone that can help you keep that thing alive.

OnoIgotICH · #12 12/22/2007, 07:39 AM

no..

its a closed up red silk coral Give it back to whoever gave it to you. Its tough to keep
http://www.marinecenter.com/corals/c.../redsilkcoral/

fambrough · #13 12/22/2007, 09:31 AM

"red silk coral" *is* a sclero. Better to use genus or family names. English common names are not particularly helpful as they are unscientifically applied across differing taxa.

Looks like dendro/sclero to me, too. Non-photosynthetic. You need to learn how to feed this coral. Or maybe find someone in your area who keeps denro/scleros or other non-photosynthetic corals.

Best of luck.

JPReef · #14 12/23/2007, 02:19 AM

it just came from a LFS, it was cheap and didnt look much worse than it is in the picture when it was in the fish store. So first off im not giving back to whom i got it from that would be a waste of money. Secondly, ive been doing research to see how to feed it. and third, if it dies that will be another lesson learned.

But no, its not hard, i did a little bit more examining than before, it is VERY soft to the touch. Im going to call a local guy here in a few days hes out of town for the holidays. he works at the store where i got it from and told me it would be fine under PC lighting and with dosing phytomax. Ill find out more and let you all know what it actually is and what the deal is with it.

Thanks for the help guys/gals.

melev · #15 12/23/2007, 02:29 AM

Lighting won't do anything for that coral, as far as I know. Carnation corals need nutrient rich water to be happy, and phytoplankton isn't going to be enough in this case. Perhaps DT's Golden Pearls, some cyclop-eeze, Roti-Rich, etc... plankton-size food.

I recently came across a very pretty one at a LFS near me, and seriously thought about bringing it home as I have a suncoral tank that gets food daily, but resisted the urge.

That coral would do better hanging upside down, as it tends to grow off the side of reef walls and inverted along caves and alcoves.