ID Please (red coral)

[Eduardo]

Fellow,

In a recent travel to the states I bought this coral due it's red color which is not common in aquarium, however neither I or the seller know what it is. Could you ID for me please? ID will help me to give it a better care. Thanks from Caracas-Venezuela

[rcmike]

Looks like some kind of turbinaria (scroll coral) to me. I have never seen that color before though.

[MIKE NY]

.....looks more like a Turban....same family Turbinaria

[katpurdy]

alevopora or gonipora...hard to keep. LPS

[gasman059]

Not an alveopora-(easier) looks like a gonipora and yes it will look red for a while , unfortunately it does not do good in captivity, many Stores sell them but not many tell u that they are extremely diff to take care of. I have and alveopora for 8 months. All is well

[rcmike]

Originally posted by MIKE NY
.....looks more like a Turban....same family Turbinaria

Yeah, I guess I shouldn't have said scroll coral. I just meant it looks like some kind of Turbinaria. I still think that is what it is although I could see it being a goniopora. It is kind of hard to tell for sure from that picture.

[Big Boy69]

Looks like a small piece of pagoda cup to me.

[Reefer87]

do u think its a dyed pagoda?

[Eduardo]

Another Picture



This picture was taken using flash to show the real color of this coral. The first picture was taken without flash under 20k HQI MH lamp with auto white balance.

It is a small frag, about two quater cents. It is very thin (flat) and it is glue to a small rock. It polyps are about 2mm diameter and if you touch it, the polypd retract very fast.

I have seen other goniopora, but this one I don't think it is, and I say this because the skeleton do not like a goniopora, mine is complete flat (about 1mm) and goniopora are bigger I think, honestly I hope it is not a goniopora because I know they are to hard to keep alive.

Let me know what other information you need to ID this coral.

Thanks.

[johnnybravo234]

not goni

[ScallopKing]

Looks like a pagoda cup coral to me.

[Kreeger1]

Looks like a died cup coral, I've seen them come in before died like that

[Eduardo]

I have a question, why do you say is a died pagoda? the coral extend all polyps when the light is on and if you move it or touch it the polips retract very fast. Also I have been looking over internet and there is no place showing a red pagoda. I check Sprung's book and no red color in pagoda coral and he say that polips in pagoda coral keep extend mostly at night and this coral retract his polips when the light comes out

[DarkXerox]

well if it was dyed, it should lose its color over the next couple weeks.

As for pagodas retracting poylps, I've had one in my 90g for over 3 years that stays pretty open during the day like that.

[ScallopKing]

Mine stays extended all the time.

[gasman059]

Correction def not an alveo or a goni(BETTER PIC THE SECOND ONE). Most likely a pagoda and yes this can be dyed. Otherwise very easy piece to take care of. U shouls enjoy its color for a few months.
I've never seen one this color before so it leads me to believe that's dyed. BTW where did u get this piece?

Not an alveopora-(easier) looks like a gonipora and yes it will look red for a while , unfortunately it does not do good in captivity, many Stores sell them but not many tell u that they are extremely diff to take care of. I have and alveopora for 8 months. All is well

[cmc0814]

I say turbinaria (pagoda cup) too....

[Rays]

Eduardo, he means dyed=artificially colored, as opposed to die=dead. I too believe it to be a dyed cup coral.

[Eduardo]

Sorry my english is limited, now I understand why you said dyed because I was thinking in DEAD. Now I have another question, when you say DYED=artificially colored means that I did something with Photoshop to paint it in red color? if so, first I do not retouch the photo, second how I show that I do not retouch in any way the photo. For the first photo I used a Panasonic Lumix FX-07 for the second one I used a Olympus C-3020.

About your thoughts in ID this coral, I found a very similar photo in the web (Red Gonipora ) the issue is in the Sprungs book said that gonipora have 24 tentacule and I tried to count using several pictures and this coral seems to not have 24 tentacule per polyps, but in the web the description is very similar to the coral.

I get it in Aquacon, I stayed in Miami on vacation back in January and call them to walk-in their store and found this coral frag and a digitata without color (which is turning in orange) which you can see a little piece in the first photo.

Tonight I will take some photos to see if I get a better picture.

Thanks again

[Rays]

Now I have another question, when you say DYED=artificially colored means that I did something with Photoshop to paint it in red color? if so, first I do not retouch the photo,

No, no to the contrary, I don't know the particulars, but the collectors/shippers will artificially color some corals to make them more desirable to the public. If that coral isn't dyed it's gorgeous, only time will tell.

[mr. pluto]

aquacon you say? there's a reputable store.

[Eduardo]

Ok, Rays now I understand I even know that a coral could be colored. This coral have 20 days old with me, and color remain as the first day after more than 24 hours in transit. I double check in Veron book and found Scroll Coral be similar but I am not sure yet.

I originally posted here because I thought this coral was a SPS, but everything point to LPS, let see if anyone have more info to add here, and I will ask also in the LPS forum.

Thanks everyone

[Rays]

[calero]

im sorry guys, im gonna explain a couple of things in spanish for eduardo.
hola eduardo, dyed significa tenido, muchos proveedores estan tinendo cada vez mas corales desafortunadamente, al menos eso pienso, le acorta la vida al coral y ademas luce artificial cuando alguien con un minimo conocimiento observa el aquarium, para mi luce como scroll coral ( turbinaria ) tenido, la turbinaria es un coral razonablemente fuerte y quizas soporte bastante bien que lo hayan tenido, no creo q sea una goniopora pero solo por fotos no es tan facil identificar, yo vivo en miami, si deseas me puedes contactar cuando vengas y te sugiero algunas tiendas para q tengas mas opciones.
Enrique

[Lenny C]

It is good looking and I too hope it is not dyed. I was totaly ignorante to people dying corals untill I saw a bright yellow leather.... but it was sitting in bright yellow water too.