Coral ID

[dnott3]

If anyone could ID the orange coral that would be awesome! I bought it in a tank teardown the guy said it was a mushroom. Once I got a good look at it I don't believe it's a mushroom but I could be wrong. I appreciate anyone who can point me in the right direction!

 

[Mr_Knightley]

Looks like an acan echinata to me, definitely not a mushroom.

 

[dnott3]

Looks like an acan echinata to me, definitely not a mushroom.

Last night when I was thinking it was somewhere in the acan because I have a couple acan and it's similar but not the same

 

[Biokabe]

Easy way to tell if it's a mushroom... is there a rocky skeleton, or is the flesh free-floating?

I agree that it doesn't look like a mushroom, but we also can't see it in motion. Based solely off the picture, I'd agree that it's some type of LPS. Maybe an Afternoon Delight echinata? Not sure that I 100% agree that it's an echinata - could also be a favite/favia, hard to tell for sure from the picture.

 

[Mr_Knightley]

Last night when I was thinking it was somewhere in the acan because I have a couple acan and it's similar but not the same

Acanthastrea echinata is different from the Acan lord/micromussa lordhowensis. Lords have individual polyp walls, while echinatas have a shared polyp structure like this one.

 

[dnott3]

Easy way to tell if it's a mushroom... is there a rocky skeleton, or is the flesh free-floating?

I agree that it doesn't look like a mushroom, but we also can't see it in motion. Based solely off the picture, I'd agree that it's some type of LPS. Maybe an Afternoon Delight echinata? Not sure that I 100% agree that it's an echinata - could also be a favite/favia, hard to tell for sure from the picture.

Here's another picture not sure if it helps. It is on stony skeleton though

 

[Mr_Knightley]

Here's another picture not sure if it helps. It is on stony skeleton though

Lines up with the typical splatter paint echinata variety IMO.

 

[dnott3]

Lines up with the typical splatter paint echinata variety IMO.

I'll put it in similar area as my other acans and see what happens. I just read the echinata are more aggressive so i'll leave some space

 

[Biokabe]

Here's another picture not sure if it helps. It is on stony skeleton though

Ah, yes, definitely an A. echinata. Not sure on the exact color morph, but it does look somewhat like a UC Afternoon Delight - there aren't many morphs that I know of that have the orange and purple mix, but Afternoon Delight usually has some green on it.

Orange Crush (orange with green mouths) is the more common orange morph. A quick search didn't show too many others out there.

I'll put it in similar area as my other acans and see what happens. I just read the echinata are more aggressive so i'll leave some space

Echinata are a bit unpredictable when it comes to aggression, but definitely give it more space. They sometimes (but not always) release mesenterial filaments at night, which can get quite long - longest I've personally seen is about 4 inches, I've heard that they can go longer. These can be quite damaging to anything they touch.

I've had some echinata that will kill anything within a few inches of them, and I've had others that practically butted up against other corals with issue. That's why I say they're a bit unpredictable.

 

[dnott3]

Ah, yes, definitely an A. echinata. Not sure on the exact color morph, but it does look somewhat like a UC Afternoon Delight - there aren't many morphs that I know of that have the orange and purple mix, but Afternoon Delight usually has some green on it.

Orange Crush (orange with green mouths) is the more common orange morph. A quick search didn't show too many others out there.



Echinata are a bit unpredictable when it comes to aggression, but definitely give it more space. They sometimes (but not always) release mesenterial filaments at night, which can get quite long - longest I've personally seen is about 4 inches, I've heard that they can go longer. These can be quite damaging to anything they touch.

I've had some echinata that will kill anything within a few inches of them, and I've had others that practically butted up against other corals with issue. That's why I say they're a bit unpredictable.

The one polyp is like 3/4 green. Hopefully I can keep it happy and grow it out. Would you say they need the same lighting requirements as other acan species?

 

[encrustingacro]

Acanthastrea sp.; not necessarily echinata. There are multiple echinata-like species, most of them poorly delimited from each other