Growth on new lobo coral base. Hitchhiker id

[vdubers]

Hello all. Today I purchased my first lobo coral from my lfs. I didn’t notice it in the shop but just got it home gone through acclimation and a coral rx dip and I see this on the base. It’s green and a different colour to the lobo. It shows fluorescence under a UV light and appears to be either growing out the base or encrusted on.

Not sure if this is the lobo growing a new head or a hitchhiker that I should remove?

Thanks

 

[KrisReef]

That appears to be a plate coral? Or if it is soft, a mushroom coral? Not bad for free, perhaps?

 

[vdubers]

That appears to be a plate coral? Or if it is soft, a mushroom coral? Not bad for free, perhaps?

My first thought was mushroom too but it doesn’t appear to be soft. I blew some water at it while it was in coral rx and it didn’t shrink down like my mushrooms do. They did have large green plate corals in the same tank so could be a baby. If it is a plate coral is it ok to leave it as it is?

 

[KrisReef]

My first thought was mushroom too but it doesn’t appear to be soft. I blew some water at it while it was in coral rx and it didn’t shrink down like my mushrooms do. They did have large green plate corals in the same tank so could be a baby. If it is a plate coral is it ok to leave it as it is?

If I liked the lobo I would almost certainly purchase it if I saw that it had a plate coral hitchhicker on it. I have seen something similar in the past, but not the size of this one attached. Morphology of the body screams plate coral. I would leave it be. It is not a pest in my book, but a find! Congratulations are in order!

 

[vdubers]

If I liked the lobo I would almost certainly purchase it if I saw that it had a plate coral hitchhicker on it. I have seen something similar in the past, but not the size of this one attached. Morphology of the body screams plate coral. I would leave it be. It is not a pest in my book, but a find! Congratulations are in order!

Funnily enough I actually nearly purchased one of their plate corals. They were around 8inch in diameter and looked super good I’ve just not had much luck with them in the past so said to myself next time I try again it should probably be with a smaller cheaper one so this might have worked out well!

My past plates didn’t do good because my wrasse dropped sand on them so the way this one is sitting it might just make it.

Thanks for the help and the congratulations