MussidIDFAQs

FAQs about Mussid Coral Identification 1

Help ID'ing LPS... Not Sure -- 10/01/07 Hi Crew Member, <Hello Querier> First I'd like to thank you and the site for all the great information you provide. <On behalf of Bob and the crew, you're welcome.> I bought a piece of LR over a year ago now, about a few months after my purchase I noticed a pink spot on an old LPS skeleton on the LR. <Cool!> The pink spot has now grown enough to be somewhat identifiable by the trained eye. <Mmm, maybe, but maybe not this trained eye... Might be more helpful to see of the underlying skeleton from which this polyp is growing.> I searched the net to find something that would maybe resemble my mystery coral with no such luck. <Sometimes not the easiest thing to determine when they are this small.> I have included a pic if the nickel sized LPS. Any help ID'ing this coral would be greatly appreciated. <Fungia commonly produce these babies on skeletons... Maybe a member of the family Mussidae looks a little like a Blastomussa but I don't think it is, Scolymia or Cynarina maybe possibilities. Is hard to tell from just one photo and this coral is still quite small.> Thank you,
<Welcome! Mich>

Coral and Algae ID 3/15/06 Hi Crew! <John> Just a quick question if you please. I have attached the picture as well as insert it into this mail. First, can you tell me what the coral is in the yellow circle under the mushroom corals? It stays retracted like that during the day, but seems to "bloat" when the lights go off at night. <Perhaps a juvenile Mussid... can barely make it out> It has grown a little in size since the rock was placed in the tank a little over two weeks ago. Also, is the object in the second circle and pretty much all over the rest of the rocks BGA? <Yes, of some sort> At first, I know I am going to sound like a newbie, but it is okay, because I am :), <No worries> I thought it was red coralline algae. However, when cleaning my tank today I noticed with a little effort that it can be scraped off an it only on the parts of the rock that receive direct light. It appears no where else in the tank than on the live rocks. I do 10-25 % water changes weekly (With R.O water). I have been adding calcium and strontium (Sp) to the tank as well as Iodine for the skunk cleaner shrimp. My levels are all zero with the exception of my nitrite which this week was at .25 ppm. <Mmm, this is a clue... should be zip> My ph is 8.3 . I am also using a Berlin Airlift skimmer that is one of their in-tank models. That also gets cleaned weekly to insure proper operation. Thanks for the assistance! Oh yes my SG is 1.023 Thanks! John <Do give the articles, FAQs files on BGA, Algae Control a read over on WWM. Bob Fenner>

Coral ID 12/22/05 Hi, I am hoping you can help me ID this piece of coral that my loving husband got for me today for Christmas. My husband can't remember the name, only that it is a hard coral. lol I have looked everywhere and the only thing that closely resembles it is a brain. When he first brought it home, I thought it was a clam cause of the shape of its mantle but it is indeed not. There are spiky ridges all over it and if it has tentacles/polyps they haven't extracted yet. The crown is white with a pink center....the color of the pic is rather poor. I hope this helps. <Sorry to say that you either have a very ignorant or very unscrupulous fish store. It looks like this was probably Lobophyllia, but it is very much dead. If this is what it looked like when purchased, I would demand a refund.> If you don't mind, I have another coral question. I have two (red and green) Montipora digitata frag, the green one seems to be secreting this clear spider web like slime. Is this normal or should I be worried? Thanks <If the coral looks normal otherwise (good rich color, polyps extended, not tissue recession), I would not worry at all. If it really bothers you, you could blow it off with a turkey baster (a new, clean one please!! Every reefkeeper should have one.) Best Regards. AdamC.>

Anthony and Steve, The upside is that it may actually be easier to ID in this condition! Heartbreaking that some store actually took this guys money. Adam

Acanthastrea echinata 8/3/05 Hello (again) <Hi Niki, Ali here...> Hope your day finds you well.....could you possibly identify this coral for me? <Sure can...> I looked around, and I couldn't make a definite I.D. It was shipped to us as a Micromussa (not what it looks like to me!) <Acanthastrea echinata, great coral, I just hope you didn't pay too much!> Thanks again, <Take care, Ali>

What Coral? Hi Bob, I am hoping that you can help with the identification of this coral. The hobbyist who has had a very healthy colony for the last 10 years, insists that it is a "brain coral". He also has a sister colony from it. I have looked in several books but not found it. Thanks for your help. All the best, Iggy <Mmm, a Mussid for sure, likely a Lobophyllia species. Please see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mussids2.htm Bob Fenner>

Identification of Neat Looking Thing Hello Mr. Fenner ~ Would you please identify the creature in the attached photo? <A type of anemone... may well be part of a group called Glass Anemones, particularly of the genus Aiptasia... Ill-regarded due to their penchant for rapid reproduction, and difficulty of control/removal. There is coverage of this family on the WWM site: http://wetwebmedia.com/aiptasia.htm> If you look at its middle, it is beginning to cleave and has two distinctive oral grooves (disks?). <Oral grooves> Although the picture does not show it, there is actually a third smaller oral groove on the bottom. When it came attached to some rock purchased out of a friend's tank a couple of months ago, it only had one oral groove. Thank you! Sherri Lindsey <Please do read over the bit on WWM here, and I would separate the rock these are on to limit their spread somewhat. Bob Fenner>

Re: Identification of Neat Looking Thing Oops -- I guess the picture I sent you didn't come across very well or something. The neat looking thing is an ahermatypic coral. (<A HREF="http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s= ad4770b8b8fba3f17801b79141c3f4d7&threadid=28129"> http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=ad4770b8b8fba3f17801b791 41c3f4d7&threadid=28129</A>) The only reason I tell you this is so that if you post the picture along with your response on your site, I hope others who have something similar to mine don't mistakenly eradicate it. <Hmm could be... a Mussid? Do you detect, as in see, feel a solid base/theca to this animal? Perhaps take a look through Dr. Veron's recent "Corals of the World" through the ahermatypic Mussids. Bob Fenner> Thank you, Sherri

Blastomussa "Pineapple Coral" II Thanks for your reply. I have had the coral for 4 months now and it "appears" fine but, there is no new polyp growth or anything. <a notoriously slow grower... please consider feeding very finely shredded meaty for to keep this coral and grow it> It is located on top of a rock in my 20 gal tank and I wanted to make sure that it didn't like sand. <yes... but do be careful not to burn it... a change or upgrade in bulbs could shock this animal terribly without caution> I'm glad it doesn't because there is no sand in my tank. Are there any good sources for information on this species? How can I tell that it is truly happy? <regular polyp extension/cycling and some growth. A rich dark color too> Just so you know, I kind of "stumbled" upon this coral, the LFS had just received it and they thought it was a red mushroom rock (which I had been wanting for some time). I must say, it did look like mushroom rock in the shipping package but, to my surprise shortly after I turned on the lights the next day it was NOT mushroom rock but, a Blastomussa wellsi coral! <yes... I agree. And it is often misidentified... even as a brain coral (Faviid)> Thanks again! Ann
<best regards, Anthony>

Atlantic Corals Anthony, or whomever is on tonight, <cheers mate> Thank you for identifying the last two pics I sent you. These are all hitchhikers on my LR from the Florida Keys. <wow... hat is some killer live rock you have there! Purchased or collected? Very beautiful diversity it seems> I'm not going to add any corals to this tank, but I like to know what I have in order to supply these creatures with the best care I can give them. <admirable my friend> I don't believe in the idea that when something dies to say, "oh well, it came with the LR". Every organism deserves its best chance in my setup. <I'm starting to sound like the aquarist's version of M. L. King Jr.> <we are in agreement... and you do have some rarities that many reef keepers would trade dearly for and give a great home of you ever choose to part with them> Anyway, some more pics, if you please. I thank you so much (and my critters thank you even more), Mike <my pleasure... the first image is likely a Faviid: the Rose coral (Manicina)... although it is not crystal clear from the image/age/size of coral. Possibly Mussa... but I think it likely will be a rose coral. The second image is a solitary cup coral. Three families with more than a handful of species looking quite similar are included under this umbrella name. Both corals here are scleractinian reef builders... the latter is weekly symbiotic or not symbiotic at all (requires daily feeding). Feeding finely minced meaty foods of marine origin 3-5 times weekly minimum is necessary and will keep these beauties just fine, Daily feeding for fast growth. Do consider buying the Humann and DeLoach set (3) of dive books on Florida and Caribbean creatures... all of these corals and so much more on your live rock are Id.ed therein. Great books (Reef Creatures, Reef Coral, Reef Fishes). With kind regards, Anthony>

Brain Coral ID Hi Everyone, One of my friends is selling this coral to me. It is growing too large for his tank. I would like to know what type of brain is it and what type care it needs before I make purchase? As always thanks for your expertise. Wayne <Looks like a Lobophyllia sp. to me. Pls see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mussids2.htm Bob Fenner>

Blastomussa wellsi? 4/11/03 Hello again, I picked up this coral the other day thinking it was Blastomussa wellsi... <it does appear to be so... often mistaken for Faviid brain corals> I was really excited as it was sold for $28 and the girl at the store shrugged her shoulders and said," I think we call it moon coral." <indeed... it is how Blastomussa are commonly imported (with Faviids)> Her uncertainty only solidified my belief that it was Blastomussa. But I think I am wrong. Could this be a Favia/Favites sp.? I need to know, because as of now it is near the bottom of the tank and I'd like to give it proper placement for light and current. I hope the picture gets through. Sorry for the file sizes being a bit large. Thank you, -RY <I'd need a clearer image of the polyps to be sure... but as a red Faviid or a Blastomussa, it will be treated the same (low light... moderate (not too weak!) water flow. Best regards! Anthony>

Coral identity 3/20/03 can you guys help identify as to what kind of coral this is? Jonathan That would be a Lobophyllia... feed weekly too (needs more than the best lights can give). Anthony>

Re: coral identity (part 1) (pictures will be sent in 2 separate emails as otherwise my computer automatically zips them) can you guys help identify as to what kind of coral this is? Jonathan <Looks like a Lobophyllia to me. Please see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mussids2.htm Bob Fenner>

Lobophyllia Hi, have any of you ever heard or seen of this type of branching brain coral? <Yep... Lobophyllia (hemprichii) form. Rather common. Hardy, handsome... and all round nice guy as LPS species go> I have attached a pic for reference. I never have and am wondering if it is a true branching coral or a hoax? <not true branching... simply phaceloid> There is one on the net right now and am thinking of buying it but have never heard of or seen one. <a fine coral, but don't pay a premium for it. Average value as corals go> Should I buy a bridge in Arizona first? Thanks, Jeff <Dude... I'm in Pittsburgh. We have got some serious bridge action if you are interested. Best regards, Anthony>

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