3reef Mystery Coral Contest

...and if someone does get it by then, you'll still reveal it!

 

Here's another pic of the coral, they are really small.

 

Yes, sorry, I've been off the grid for the last day and a half. I'll add a description when I am on an actual computer.

 

That's what I figured it was if it wasn't echinata. This is also what my first picture is as well (rotundaflora). I'll let you cover the description.

Any last guesses on my third one? I'll have the answer in a few hours.

 

Alright, I'll reveal now.



Acanthastrea rotundoflora

Again, this is an easy LPS, albeit a bit hard to come by. It is placed on my sandbed under full lighting (no shade). I've never target fed it, nor have I ever seen any feeders present on it at any time of day. Surely I'm missing their hour, however. An extremely slow grower; it's developed 3-4 new polyps in about 8 months (started as 4 polyps). I have it placed in medium flow and maintain my tank as follows: Ca 425, Alk 9-9.5, Mg 1400-1450, Salinity: 35-35.5ppt (creeps up on me due to daily Mg dosing), Nitrates 0 (low res Salifert), Phosphates 0 (Hanna), Temp 78-80F.


And now for the stumper:


Echinopora mammiformis

Break down the Latin on the species name for a literal reference... Anyhow, I acquired this piece from a local reefer who was breaking down a 6 year old tank. I am not certain how/where it was originally acquired. As I said before, it's quite rare in closed systems. It's growth pattern is like no other Chalice; it plates and branches. Veron has some neat photos of it (Corals of the World Factsheet and images - Echinopora mammiformis). There is not much know about this species, as to what it prefers best. I have been treating it like my other chalices; therefore I have it placed near the sandbed on a small rock, under full lighting and medium flow. I do not target feed it, and again I have never seen its feeders out at any time of day. It is growing decently for me; about the speed of your average chalice (slow). It has purple highlights on the corallites which have increased in intensity for me and I suspect can be further developed. I'm tempted to move it up a bit and see if I can achieve such. Steve Tyree acquired a piece of this in 2003, but it was only fragged a handful of times. The seed was lost in 2008. (Limited Editions Echinopora mammiformis - There's a nice photo here). My water parameters are as posted above.

 

Very interesting evolved.

Do you believe it's so rare secondary to limited geographical collection area, compounded with slow growth?

Coral Farmers write ups are always so interesting.

 

I'd say that sounds about right, in regards to it's rarity. I imagine colonies are not super abundant, and there are other corals which are much prettier which get collected instead.

And yes, always entertaining. However, I've found the actually useful info there to be correct.

 

Oh and I would not have guessed the first one to be Acanthastrea at all.

I like reef farmers because sometimes you get some good history on the origins of corals and how they have been aquacultured and dispersed.

 

Acanthastrea rotundoflora is Large Polyp Stony (LPS) coral, very similar to Acanthastrea echinata, however is less common in both the ocean and in home aquariums. A. rotundoflora have sharp pointed teeth like A. echinata, but may have more widely spaced corallites. As is the case with Acanthastrea echinata, it is similar in appearance to Echinophyllia "chalice" corals, however, whereas A. echinata has more of a sharp ridge at the periphery, A. rorundoflora has a smother, more Echinophyllia like appearance at the perifery and as a result, is often confused with Echinophyllia.

A. rotundoflora is uncommon, but can be found in the Indo-West Pacific, and Indo-Pacific, Northern Australia, to South-east Asia as well as the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Adan. It does best with low to moderate flow and lighting. Ca should be kept high, in the roughly 380-450ppm, with alkalinity in the 7-12dkh range. Specific gravity of 1.024 to 1.027 is reasonable. Based on the geographic range, temperature from 75-82 should be acceptable and provide a reasonable buffer against high temperature stress. It is slow growing and will tend to be more colorful under lower illumination. It's diet can be supplemented with occasional feedings of small meaty foods such as mysis shrimp and various zooplankton.

 

Are these as aggressive as A. Enchinata?