Is this a Fungia?

Discussion in 'ID This!' started by Gabby, Aug 30, 2013.

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  1. Gabby

    Gabby Spaghetti Worm

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    About a year ago, I lost one of my leather corals due to it's health mysteriously just dwindling away while the rest of my corals were doing great. After it died, I took the rock out of the tank and noticed a small coral (nem?) right near it's base that had probably been stinging it (it sticks when you touch it). It was pretty cool looking, so I kept it, and it has grown from dime sized to fifty-cent piece size in about a year. I can't tell if it has a skeleton or not, but I've never seen it close up, it's always open. And it's shape, mouth, and tentacles look very similar to my orange Fungia, but I'm just not sure. Any thoughts?

    [​IMG]
     
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  3. 2in10

    2in10 Super Moderator

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    I don't think it is a fungia, they have ridges running from the mouth to the edges.

    A larger photo would help.
     
  4. Gabby

    Gabby Spaghetti Worm

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    Bigger pic.
    And here's a closeup of the mouth.
    [​IMG]
     

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  5. Corailline

    Corailline Super Moderator

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    It is a dry heat, yeah right !
    Can not tell for sure it looks like it has a skeleton?

    Did you buy it or did it come in as a hitch hiker?
     
  6. 2in10

    2in10 Super Moderator

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    Definitely a possibility, it is so puffed up it is hard to tell. Growth rate seems about right. I think I see a skeleton in the picture. If the skeleton is ridged then I think it would be from the Fungia family.
     
  7. Gabby

    Gabby Spaghetti Worm

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    It came as a hitchhiker in a soft coral pack I purchased from live Aquaria when I first started the hobby. I have never seen this coral close up completely, even if I touch it or take it out of the water, so I'm thinking it must have some kind of skeleton. It does the same thing my Fungia does when eating, where each tentacle passes the food closer to the mouth, then it swallows it and has a lump for a few hours.
    It has also never moved from this spot, so I'm pretty sure it's not a nem, but didn't want to rule that out completely.
     
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  9. 2in10

    2in10 Super Moderator

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    Sounds like the way a fungia feeds.
     
  10. Annie3410

    Annie3410 Teardrop Maxima Clam

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    Irritate it slightly and see how it closes up. U should be able to tell if there's. skeleton when it gets irritated. Mine closes up slightly when the clumsy hermits stumble over it.
     
  11. Gabby

    Gabby Spaghetti Worm

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    Ok, well I tried to irritate it, and it still didn't close up at all, so I just started gently prodding it, and can definitely feel that there is a skeleton under there. So shall we drop the gavel that it's a Fungia?
     
  12. Corailline

    Corailline Super Moderator

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    It is a dry heat, yeah right !
    Hmmm it seems right, but you know what I have never quite seen a Fungia like that.

    There are a couple more LPS that looks similar but are not Fungia. Let me look around.

    The speckled look and the tentacles just do not quite fit, to me anyways.