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Coral ID Favia and a Brain Coral 4/15/07 Hello I am Lucino from Roma. Can I know the species of this coral? Thank you, ciao. <Ciao Lucino, Mich with you today. Both corals are in the family Faviidae, one appears to be of the genus Favia, identification to the species level is barely possible when using taxonomic references to compare skeletal structures, from a picture alone it is not possible. The other coral appears to be a brain coral, perhaps of the genus Leptoria or Platygyra. Hope that helps. -Mich>

Open Brain ID? - 04/10/07 Guys, <<Jorell>> You all are a blessing, thanks for all the fantastic help you have given people like me over the years. <<Is our pleasure to assist>> I am writing in after a couple of years, though I do browse the site quite often. <<Excellent>> I recently found this unique open brain, the colour is fantastic and I have not seen one like this. <<Mmm...a couple possibilities come to mind>> The photo does not do it justice; the pink has got certain iridescent qualities the photograph does not capture. I was wondering if you guys could help me out with identifying the exact species of this open brain. <<Not so sure about being "exact" (unless Bob can make a definitive ID),<Mmm, no...not w/o references and the skeleton... RMF> but I think I can give you a few leads to run down to see what you think. My first instinct (mostly due to the color) upon seeing the photo is Trachyphyllia geoffroyi, but in my experience these are usually more figure-eight shaped and not quite so convoluted as this specimen...though this could well be a geographic/environmental variant of the species or simply an "abhorrent" growth pattern. My next guess would be Lobophyllia hataii. And my last guess; though I feel it is also the least likely due to its more meandroid structure, would be Symphyllia radians>> Also attaching a picture of my Angel (Well Behaved so far) had him for about 4 years now. <<Very nice>> Regards,
Jorell
<<Cheers, EricR>>

Re: Open Brain ID? - 04/11/07 Dear Eric, <<Jorell>> Thanks very much, I hope Bob can ID the Coral for me. <<Unfortunately no, as stated in his reply posted in the dailies...>> The reason I would like to know, because of compatibility, I would like to buy a few more Open Brains and lay them besides/close to this one. Regards, Jorell <<Well Jorell, I can say with confidence that 'compatibility' for this coral would be much as it would be for any Trachyphyllia or Lobophyllia species...aka "open brain coral." But even so, positioning them 'next' to each other is not wise. These corals should never touch one another, and should be placed far enough apart to prevent the possibility of sweeper tentacles or mesenterial filaments from these corals reaching each other (4'-6' usually), though opinions seem to vary whether these corals actually "possess" these weapons. Still, some physical separation is recommended...otherwise 'mixing' the different 'open brain' species in the same tank should be fine. Eric Russell>>

Can you ID this coral? Fungia 4/9/07 It was a hitchhiker <A nice gift.> and looks to be a young Fungia, <I would agree. More here for your edification: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fungiidae.htm > When I first found it growing on a the side of a zoo rock it was smaller then a dime, <Tiny!> I glued it to its own rock so it would get better lighting. <OK.> It is now the size of a quarter <It's happy!> and if it's a Fungia I don't think gluing it was such a good idea. <Mmm, no probably not.> Can you help ID it <Your ID is correct.> and what should I do, try to unglue it? <No, I would leave well enough alone. It is growing/thriving. The Fungia's ability to move serves it well in its natural environment, but is less essential in an aquarium setting.> Thanks, Diane
<Welcome, Mich>

Coral Identification: Hydnophora 2/24/07 Hi, <Hello Iain, Mich with you tonight.> First of all many thanks for your website - it's a real oracle of useful information. <Glad you think so!> My reason for writing is for a Coral ID (see attached photo and film). <Got the photo, but was unable to open the movie.> I bought the coral in one of my local shops (in the UK) and they said that someone has brought it in as it had become too large. They suggested that it is a Pocillopora but after consulting several books, websites etc I'm not so sure as I haven't found anything that seems similar. <Mmm, don't think it's a Pocillopora.> It's skeleton, is white, branching and very fragile but most of the time the polyps are out so it's hard to see. The polyps extend 8 to 10mm during the day and come out to the point of making the coral look like it's been veiled in a light velvet cloth. It looks great and is growing well but I've never seen an example of it before or since. Any ideas ? <I believe it is a Hydnophora, also known as a velvet horn coral. More here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/merulinidae.htm > Many thanks,
Iain

Terminological confusion ... A-hermatypic...al 2/22/07 Hello Crew, <John> I'm curious to have a precise and accurate understanding of the term 'ahermatypic', if for no reason other than to impress and amaze the less-knowledgeable. <Heeee!> The term is used in differing ways by differing people, all apparent experts. <Love that term... Ex= "previous", Spurts?> On the WWM site, the term seems to be consistently used to refer to those corals that possess no zooxanthellae. <Mmm, yes... a common "understanding"...> But, for example, fishbase.org explicitly defines 'ahermatypic' as "non reef-building" (this at http://www.fishbase.org/ Glossary/Glossary.cfm?TermEnglish=ahermatypic). <This is the more formal... correct meaning of the word> Even more confusingly, on the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) website (specifically at http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/reef/reind4.htm) Tubastraea is called ahermatypic in virtue of its having "no zooxanthellae algae in tissues and [being] non- reefbuilding". I sure hope my tax dollars aren't financing the spread of ignorance... <Heeeee! Too late... D'oh!> I can tolerate a lot of confusion, but this is really getting to me! Now, I'm sure the WWM crew is correct, but could you say a bit about what makes your usage correct (by reference to etymology, perhaps, or terminological history). <Careful here... I am a huge fan of "word origin" discussions, games...> Thanks for any information, and thank you very much for maintaining WWM -- it has been a valuable source of information on all aspects of the hobby. -John from Minneapolis <Well... I'll give this query a stab... A= ablative, Lingua Latina, meaning "away from"... hermatypic corals! Okay, am cheating... (means "like stone"... see here, young man: http://phoenixandturtle.net/excerptmill/Gasper.htm) these are the Scleractinia that don't produce much of (yes, with/in conjunction with those endosymbiotic (Shades of Lynn Margulis!) algae... those large, clunky carbonate skeletons... giving them (as it turns out, falsely) the big credit for "reef building" (a few algae, mostly rhodophytes deserve the props here)... Enough already? BobF>

ID acropora, nee... Pocilloporid... Cat's Paw, Meow! Or a Merulinid? - 1/22/07 Hi! I need your help with an id. I have this acropora (the blue/green one), the seller told me it was a kind found in deep water, but I would really like to have it's scientific name to make some research thanks !! Marie-H. <Mmm... this looks to me to be a Pocilloporid... maybe a Stylophora... S. pistillata? Perhaps a Hydnophora... Bob Fenner>

To Bob Fenner please (micro-organism ID) 8/27/06 Hi Mr. Fenner, <Dom> Hope you're well. I recently got a new Montipora capricornis and it seems to do doing very fine overall. I already see some growth and the already nice colors are improving. But, in a specific area it started to bleach slowly. It's still progressing and I saw some 1-2mm pure white threads on the bleached areas. I cant see them moving. I took a sample and made a picture under microscope (please see attached file, magnification 40X). It doesn't move much under the microscope, only what I presume to be the head (top right corner on the picture) was doing a slow searching motion from side to side. Obviously its a worm and it looks a bit like a lamprey (the mouth for example) and it looks like it has a bunch of eggs attached on two points along the body. Can you ID it and can you give an advice on how to deal with it? Can it parasite a fish as well? <Highly unlikely> Many thanks! Dominique <Mmm, might be a trematode... maybe an "intermediate" form of a polychaete species. Predaceous, not parasitic if so. There are quite a few possibilities: http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:9XOLiCgqBC4J:www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/apr2002/appendix. htm+worm+predators,+parasites+of+montipora&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=5 Based on its apparent morphology... The "basic" or S.O.P. for removal and prevention of such predators is best outlined here: http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/general.cfm?general_pagesid=351 Bob Fenner>

Re: To Bob Fenner please (micro-organism ID) 8/27/06 Hi Mr. Fenner, I did a Lugol's dip and discovered the real culprits: Nudibranchs (the worm I sampled probably has nothing to do with my problems after all, coincidental...(?)). They look exactly the same as those on the link you sent me. <Ah, yes... what you had thought were "eggs" were actually "naked gills"> I did a search on the net and found quite a few info but not very encouraging. In a forum Eric Borneman said there is no solution at all to that problem and that even Levamisole or Tetra Oomed doesn't really work. Some say they do work so I was willing to try anyway but they are both impossible to find. If you have a different opinion or hints please let me know. Thanks again ! Dominique <Physical removal and the search for a designated predator... Bob Fenner>

Hello! Could you please help me identify this picture? 7/11/06 <Yes> Is it Aiptasia? <Mmm, nope... can you make out the skeleton of the individual corallites underneath the azooxanthellate tissue? I can. These are Rhizangiids... stony corals... Gorgeous and nice pic> Your help is greatly appreciated! Dan Mack. <Use your search tool with the family name... Thank you for sending this along. Bob Fenner>

Coral ID 6/27/06 Hi crew hope you are all fine, Been a few months since I last spoke to you. I have set up a 120G (UK) tank with a 65G sump to have as a reef. Tank has been cycled and has been officially running for 4 months. I added 100lbs of new Fiji liverock and left the tank free of fish for 3 months to build on the pod population and various algaes to grow. Of which I have an abundance of scroll algae (beautiful) and alot of Caulerpa racemosa and a tiny amount of Halimeda. My parameters have never been so steady, sg 1.024, temp 78F, ammonia 0, nitrate 0, nitrite 0, calcium 390, pH 8.2 (reverse photo period), alk 9.6. Anyway to the point, I have attached an image to the email, it was a piece of live rock which I could see was an old coral skeleton, I looked and guessed it may have been a Stylophora but I am no expert yet! The rock has a lot of tiny holes which I guessed would be where the polyps would come out from when it was alive. Since being in the tank now for 4 months it appears that there is some orange growth of I guess flesh although firm to the touch and as you will see from the picture tiny white dots which I know are polyps as they come out during day and night, these are small about an eight of an inch across. Could you shed some light and tell me what it is? It's located 12" from the top of the water surface, in medium flow water with 2 x 250W MH. <Do not see any photo attachment, Dave. James (Salty Dog)> Many thanks
Dave G (UK)

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