Coral ID

[OctaviousMonk]

I got this as a hitchhiker on another colony rock. It extends best with med indirect flow and indirect lighting. I have had it for a while but no real growth because of trying to find a happy spot for it. when fully retracted it lays completely flat and is hard to the touch.

 

[prattreef]

Looks like Turbinaria?

 

[aaron23]

pagoda type? yea what randy said

 

[KathyC]

You think T. Patula specifically RD?
Book says it like good flow, but it need not be stong. Also not picky about lighting, can take MH and will grow slowly under lesser lighting. Like to eat at night..blackworms &/or brine shrimp.

Nice find!

 

[prattreef]

You're already further along the ID path than me.

 

[OctaviousMonk]

maybe if any a Turbinaria peltata, but the skeletal structure lays flat/slightly recessed at the polyps not raised up and it is completely encrusting over and around the edge of the rock and not plating up at all

 

[OctaviousMonk]

Turbinaria patula Dana 1846. Colonies are generally irregularly folded, upright, one-faced fronds. Corallites of about 5mm diameter with elliptical, leaning-over openings. Aquarium image.

 

[prattreef]

It is a little odd looking. LPS guys where are you ?:screama:

 

[KathyC]

T. peltata..The polyps may expand over 1" in diameter, completely obscuring the skeleton in a carpet of tentacles.

I figured that alone knocked peltata off the possibilities list as your polyps are short compared to the also hairy looking coral in the book I'm looking at.
Plus it looks just like the pic of T. Patula...lol


Going upstairs to grab the other book.

 

[OctaviousMonk]

hmm seems like T. peltata is wrong too, I was going on a pic I saw on wetwebmedia as well instead of the description, lol
Turbinaria patula pic from wetwebmedia where I got the description posted above:

 

[KathyC]

According to Borneman..both types can be either upright branching/columnar ...or...form a horizonal plate. Swell.
If you had an ocean handy to drop it into and it extended it's polyps only during the day, you'd have a T. Peltata..but in captivity, that gets throw out the window.

Colorwise- T. patula can be gray, brownish or greenish.
T. peltata gray, cream or occasionally brownish.

Your piece looks just like the one in Sprungs Volume 1 - The Reef Aquarium page 468
oops - left this off..it looks like the pic of T. patula

 

[DevIouS]

Well we know for sure it's Turbinaria.

 

[OctaviousMonk]

Here is a pic of it when I first got it with the colony of cabbage. When I moved the cabbage up high this didn't do well and after it started to die back I cut the piece of rock off and started trying to find it a new home.

 

[prattreef]

It is without doubt a Turbinaria sp.

 

[Deanos]

Any photos of the skeleton? That would be a dead give-away.

T. peltata

T. patula

 

[KathyC]

Any photos of the skeleton? That would be a dead give-away.

:biglaugh:

Sure Dean..add the pics of the skeleton after I laugh at your post...
I still think it's a patula.

 

[OctaviousMonk]

the skeletal structure looks more like the T. peltata, but the holes are smaller, closer together and much more shallow. I guess I will just watch it grow and see what happens and until then it shall be known as Laverne

 

[Deanos]

the skeletal structure looks more like the T. peltata, but the holes are smaller, closer together and much more shallow

Are you certain they're smaller and closer? The corallites in that macro photo are at most, 5 mm across and even less apart (from 1mm to 3mm)

 

[OctaviousMonk]

going on what is exposed from old die back they look to be smaller then 5mm across; now the growth may have been stunted or it may have been adapting to available space or something which would explain the size and growth pattern. They do seem to be around 2mm and less apart from each other as well. Also the die back portion looks older then when I have had the coral so that also may have been distorted, who knows.
Will we ever know the mysterious origins of T. Laverne? Time will tell...

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

:lol2: T. Laverne

Too funny! You are killing me :lol2: