HELP ....Identify this coral (or what.. im not sure)

[MahiMahi]

Can anyone help me identify this golden brown organism ..it came with the live rock from an well established tank .

 

[Anonymous]

Looks like a Rhodactis sp. (hairy mushroom disc coral) to me. A member of the Coralimorphian genus and will probably do better under moderate lighting. So, if you have metal halides you may have to ensure that they aren't directly in the light (e.g. under an overhang), but if you have fluorescents (e.g. T5s) they can be in more direct light (unless they are the super-powerful T5s like the ATI Powermodules which have MH grade brightness). They'll even grow under normal output fluorescents.

 

[MahiMahi]

Thanks for the info and advice, Tom. I have t5 lighting..no plans to upgrade to MH righ now.

 

[Anonymous]

Looks like a Rhodactis sp. (hairy mushroom disc coral) to me.

Agreed. Keep an eye on it, they can get big enough to eat small fish.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, you might want to compare yours with photos on the internet to see which Rhodactis species you have (by looking at size, shape of bumps on the disc etc). AFAIK, some can be fish eaters and some are safe.

 

[Saltlick]

I really like the various types of calcareous agae you have on those rocks...it looks like a half-dozen colors or more.
Pretty.
I am sure some of it is sponge, but it's nice all the same.