Another hitchhiker ID please - 10/06/2009
Hello crew,
<Howdy>
First, thank you for your previous help on IDing Dendros on our LR. We have been feeding them daily and they are growing. We counted about 20 total!
After we started getting a handle on the Dendros we noticed that another coral on the same rocks (3 rocks, each rock has both types of coral, not present anywhere else in the tank but these 3). When we first put it in
the tank we thought they were skeletons, but they have begun sprouting tentacles. After our Dendro experiences we experimented with feeding them directly as well and sure enough they are now growing. We would like to see if we can figure out what these are so that we can take care of them properly as well. We are not sure if they are photosynthetic or not.
Thanks for your help,
Nicki
<... this is quite unusual... I do think this may be a Blastosmila. Is that a big ole crab claw in the backgd.?
Bob Fenner>

Help with coral ID -- 08/14/09
Hi Bob,
<Chris>
A friend gave me the coral in the attached pic, but I am having a Dickens of a time ID'ing it. I'd appreciate any help (family, genera, etc) that you all can provide.
Best,
Chris
<A Pectiniid of some sort: http://wetwebmedia.com/pectiniids.htm
BobF>

Live Rock ID 5/5/09
Hi Crew,
<Roxanne>
I've read your web site for months as we set up our saltwater tanks.
We've had tanks for about 35 years on and off, but things have changed dramatically. That's most likely from folks like you who have disseminated useful and valuable information to this hobby. Kudos for the great work.
<Thank you>
Now for my question.......
I purchased some live rock which I think came from the Florida Keys.
It's filled with polyps, sponges and the critter I'm trying to ID here.
They stand about 1/4 inch off the rock, though the smallest are still barely above the surface. Even the smallest send out the polyps you see in the 2nd picture. I'm just curious if you have any idea what they may be? (Sorry, if the pictures are too large. Making them small lost all detail - hindering ID.)
Thanks for your help.
Roxanne
<Mmm, given your clue as to origin... and the prominent/distinctive features of the corallites (deep pits, alternating protruding and smaller septa...) I do think these are Hidden Cup Coral, Phyllangia americana
(family Faviidae)... Is mostly found "under rocks and ledges" in the wild, and often has more color... reddish-brown. Bob Fenner>

Mystery Sac I.D. 04/29/09
Good Morning,
I am hopeful you can identify this mystery sac, that , on closer inspection, seems to have a string (of eggs) inside it.
<In my opinion, no, this is not eggs. To me, this looks like a "swollen" feeding tentacle with a mesenterial filament.>
It is attached to what I believe may be a dead chalice coral (free with purchase of neighboring coral!). I've inset a closer view, but it is quite transparent, about an inch long, with a small opaque tip and it is
difficult to photograph.
Thanks for your kind assistance. I tried Googling 'sac of eggs' or 'sac of water' without any good results, as you well might imagine.
<Again, to me, it looks like a swollen feeder. But I don't know why the tentacle might be swelling like that (maybe irritation, stress, etc...or maybe just no "good" reason at all). Some Euphyllia sp (and other) corals
do release eggs from their tentacles (which you can actually see in the tentacles before they are released). However, that's not what this looks like to me.>
Reef Tank residents: 2 juvenile Picasso Clowns, 1 Midas Blenny, 1 Blue Spotted Jawfish, 2 Cleaner Shrimp, 3 Glass Shrimp, 1 Lettuce Sea Slug, 1 Turbo Snail, 1 Tonga Fighting Conch, 1 Blue-legged Hermit (uninvited), 1 uninvited crab of unknown type, and about 7 corals of various types.
P.S. If this coral is indeed dead (my LFS did not know), I assumed it would begin to degenerate, and I would then remove it, but it has looked unchanged for about two months now, as I decided to wait and watch. Is this prudent?
<Yes... for now, the coral does not look unhealthy to me.>
Thanks again for any suggestions you might have.
Lianne
<De nada,
Sara M.>

Coral ID - Catalaphyllia jardinei or not Catalaphyllia jardinei? 4/29/09
Gentlemen!
<Mmm, have sent to SaraM for her better analysis>
Please find attached a few pictures of a species that I think may be Catalaphyllia jardinei. I am however seeking your view on its identification.
<Mmm... might be, but I don't think so>
The block of heads is circular with a diameter of 2 inches. The heads are very close together and have individual heads with diameters of 1/3 of an inch. The discs are all uniformly bright green and the tentacles are grey to white in colour. The tentacle tips are white under my lighting conditions.
There is a sharp septa between each head, which is only visible when the discs are very retracted or out of the water.
This species is placed about 3 inches under the water surface.
<Not the habitat of Catalaphyllia...>
The light is a combination of 10,000k VHO (2 x 24W) and white and actinic LEDs. Water circulation is strong for the size of the tank, but does not hit the species directly. Water quality is pristine (dixit my tests) with regular water changes and overskimmed with ozone. The species had been thriving in my tank for over 6 months, not being specifically fed,
<Needs to be>
but grabbing a Mysid or Artemia shrimp on occasion.
Your help in identifying the species is greatly appreciated!
Thank you &
Best regards,
Tim
<Appears to be a starved Duncanopsammia axifuga to me more than anything...
I'd be reading re its needs, meeting them. Bob Fenner>

Re: Coral ID - Catalaphyllia jardinei or not Catalaphyllia jardinei? Sara M and Jake Adams input -- 4/29/09
Hi Bob,
<Tim>
Thank you for your reply. However, my expectation is for Duncanopsammia axifuga to have stem/trunk where each of the heads individually attaches, like hammerheads.
<You are correct. Both are meandroid in morphology>
<<Hmm... I don't think this is a Duncan, but I do agree with Bob that it does appear meandroid. Maybe a Platygyra sp.?>>
This is not the case with the species in my tank: every head is closely attached to the other and only separated by a sharp septum, and the coral attaches directly to the rock.
<Oh! Sorry re... Is not obvious to me in the images>
But here again, I am a total beginner in coral taxonomy! The other comment that I would make is that the species is very high in the tank because that is where I chose to put it - and it does seem to be faring quite well so far. Anyway, I will do more research into Duncanopsammia axifuga.
Thank you &
Best regards,
Tim
<Let's wait on SaraM's better experience here.>
<<Ha. I'm a "beginner" in coral taxonomy myself... but I think better pictures (ones of the coral completely retracted, showing the skeleton better), would be helpful. Till then, my "best guess" is Platygyra sp. If only I had my Veron books handy here... bunk!>>
<In the meanwhile, If you can send along a larger image (1 mb let's say)
better resolved... perhaps taken from the surface down... with the pumps shut off temporarily. Bob Fenner>
<<Ditto. Sara M.>>

Ok... forget what I just said. I just asked Jake Adams for help. He says it's a Hydnophora pilosa... and unless pics of the skeleton show any different, I have to agree with him.
Cheers,
Sara M.

Re: Coral ID - Catalaphyllia jardinei or not Catalaphyllia jardinei? -- 4/29/09
PIC4
<Tim, please see my last e-mail. You absolutely must resize your images to ~500 KB. I've had to delete your original images -- all of them -- because they're blocking our 10 MB e-mail allowance. In doing so, they're bouncing back other people's messages, which isn't fair. Resize your images, and then send them again. We do specifically ask for this from everyone who writes, as you'll see on the page where you got the Crew e-mail address.
Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Coral ID - Catalaphyllia jardinei or not Catalaphyllia jardinei? -- 4/29/09
Apologies for this,
I sent the pics in large format as requested by Bob in his earlier email,
<<This is so. Sorry, I should have asked for just one image... or had you send them to my personal email... which you eventually did. RMF>>
but will get them resent to you in a smaller format ASAP.
Best
Tim
<Hi Tim, one big image isn't so bad, but eight of them, each over 4 MB
each, simply blocks everything else getting to us. For screen work (as
opposed to print) then 72-96 dpi is fine, and resized to 640 x 480 or 800 x
600 should be ample. If all else fails, crop away everything that isn't
relevant. Thanks for understanding. Cheers, Neale.>

What is this coral? 4/2/09
Hello,
<Hi there Teresa>
I have read on your site extensively. It has helped me in so many ways, I am truly grateful. I purchased this coral and I did not research it before hand. I know I should have but the pet store man who is their saltwater specialist has sold me most of my tank inhabitants and is usually right on. The trouble is I forgot the name of it and cannot find it on the site. I think it maybe so sort of Porites.
<Perhaps>
I remember it started with a D but I would love to know how to feed it and care for it.
<Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/poritidfdgfaqs.htm>
He said it was not aggressive so it is in the middle of a 155 bow with mega flow 2 sump 3 250w MH and 6 blue bulbs. I feed oyster eggs and rotifer 2x a week. Tank numbers are good.
Thanks for any help you may have
Teresa
<If you have time, interest in a more sure answer/ID, please make and send along a more-resolved (larger file, close-up) pic. Bob Fenner>