Coral Id?

[sandfire]

Hi I picked this beautiful coral up at the weekend, but don't know what its name is? I thought it was some sort of mushroom anemone, but I am not to sure.

I appears to sit on a stoney tube and has a visable mouth in the centre, in the daytime it looks like this and at night it contracts into small fleshly balls.

Can anyone tell me the name and best way to keep it, feeding, lighting, water movement etc.

Photo 1

By sandfire at 2008-01-01

Photo 2

By sandfire, shot with <Digimax S700 / Kenox S700 / Digimax Cyber 730> at 2008-01-01

Tank.

By sandfire, shot with <Digimax S700 / Kenox S700 / Digimax Cyber 730> at 2008-01-01

Thanks everyone and happy new year!

 

[Lynden]

I do not claim to be any good with stony corals, but could it be a Galaxea?

If so, I think where you have it will suit it fine. Moderate water movement, high light. Try feeding it with bits of plankton. Beware that they can grow quickly, and they have long sweeper tentacles (sometimes longer than 6'') that pack quite a punch.

 

[sandfire]

I do not claim to be any good with stony corals, but could it be a Galaxea?

If so, I think where you have it will suit it fine. Moderate water movement, high light. Try feeding it with bits of plankton. Beware that they can grow quickly, and they have long sweeper tentacles (sometimes longer than 6'') that pack quite a punch.

Thank you.

That looks simular in the daytime, but totally different at night. These are three seperate corals, which when 'out' are fleshy flat discs with the simular looking 'tenticles' although only about 5mm long some are slightly branching. It folds in on itself at night and all you can see is the underside in a fleshy blob, I look at them at night with a torch and no sweepers appear.

I just came across some very simular anemone called Stichodactyla mertensii, but I was told these look like anemones but are not.

If you scroll down to Stichodactyla mertensii on this link, its very simular.

http/images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h...DN%26ie%3DUTF-8

 

[sandfire]

More photos... three gueses what I got for xmas!

Photo taken at night, at 9.00pm and then 10pm.

By sandfire, shot with <Digimax S700 / Kenox S700 / Digimax Cyber 730> at 2008-01-01

By sandfire at 2008-01-01

You can see from the image they have a white mouth at the centre and contract into themselves.

Does this help identify them?

Are they an anemone?

Thanks everyone

 

[SkiFletch]

Rhodactus mushroom?

 

[sandfire]

Rhodactus mushroom?

Excellent!

I just found this and its spot on! Rhodactis indosinensis... Bingo!

http/images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h...en%26ie%3DUTF-8

http/www.reefforum.net/photopost/data/2/..._BLKPercula.JPG

 

[chrissaysyes]

Good call Ski

 

[Lynden]

Seeing them move I would have called them a mini carpet anemone or furry mushroom... sad thing is I'm still confused on the genera of mushroom corals. I seem to have heard the same one being called several different names. So on this topic Ski I concede to you.

 

[SkiFletch]

Well Lynden, you've got more taxonomy stored up in your head, I really only follow genus and species, class, order and family tend to slip my memory. But from what I know most of what we call "mushrooms" are corallimorph anemones (pretty sure thats either Class or Order). These include the Actinodiscus and Rhodactis mushrooms are of the Discosomatidae family, and Ricordea mushrooms are of the Ricordea family and genus. All 3 genera are similar to anemones in that they have a mouth and a foot, and if so inclined, will use their nematocysts in their skin to go after prey. Like anemones they are capable of moving that foothold slowly. However their usual form of significant locomotion is to simply release their foothold, float away, and re-attach where they deem suitable. And in the home aquarium that is almoast always where the aquarist does not want them to go

 

[Lynden]

Class - Anthozoa
Subclass - Hexacorallia/Zoantharia
Order - Corallimorpharia

Thanks or the info. As you can plainly see, one of my biggest problems is that when species within a genus or family are very similar to each other, that's when my memory/interest begins to fail. Which is why I struggle with such topics as fairy wrasses, Pseudochromis, Acropora... I can name the genus and give care details but cannot remember the exact species.

 

[sandfire]

Is a furry mushroom related to a carpet anemone? I am now stuck at which one it is, they are very much like the furry mushroom when open, but look like the carpet anemone when closed, they def seem to be moving about a little. My emerald crab and 2 red legs have the entire tank to hide in (only occupants) and they insist on living at the foot of these guys. Don't seem to be doing any damage, even walk over them and they don't really react.

I tried giving it a tiny tiny bit of prawn, it 'grabbed it' moved it back and forth over the 'disk' towards the mouth and then away and then decided it did not want it and let it go. Could see its little tentacles grabbing it and passing it about, but must have decided it was either not that hungry or is a diva and didn't want that sort of junk! lol

Its few inches under 2 x 55 watt T5's and 2 x 18 watt marine blue T8s, near a rotating powerhead and seems to adore the gentle rocking wave action.

Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate less than 5ppm
Phosphate 0ppm
PH 8.7
Temp 76F
Sg 1.024

I have ran out of SW test kits for GH and KH so used my FW (which said it be ok for SW), but the reading was off the scale, so I don’t think the test kits does work.

 

[Lynden]

They are distantly related, nems are order Actinaria, mushrooms order Corallimorpharia.