monti cap?

I got this from a guy of c-list and he said it was a monti cap. I can't say I disagree, but I've never seen a blue one like this before and it won't put out mouths like my orange crush will. what do you guys think? seen one before? oh ya, I'm aware of the flat worms

 

Very interesting not sure about its ID though.

 

Oxypora... Not monti.

I have the same one in my tank.

 

all my other chalice (Oxypora) coral have a lot more flesh to them and expand when I spot feed them. Also the mouths on this don't look anything like the ones on my other chalices, not that I'm an expert on chalice.

 

This is similar to other chalices... not nearly as fleshy like you mentioned.

 

I was thinking a type of chalice too due to the growth pattern, doesn't look like a montipora.

 

I would say oxypora too. They're a kind of chalice, for the record.

 

so, how many of you guys know your kingdom, species order thing like that? Is it really that important to treat individual chalices as coral different? Do I have 4 completely different coral because I have 4 "chalice" coral that behave very differently?

 

Unless you use latin/scientific names routinely most people are going to forget them, I certainly know I have.

And yes in my opinion it is important to treat different corals within the same genus differently if it applies. Regional distribution may contribute to differences in temperature, current, lighting and available food and in turn may influence a specific corals placement and care.

 

I know some of it, and use wetwebmedia extensively for what I don't know offhand (that's pretty much the species name in lots of cases; I'm pretty good with the genus names). Bob has quite a few pictures, all in one spot, labeled, with a brief description as to what makes it different from other corals. It makes IDing very easy.

Yes, it is important. A few species do well in very high lighting, some don't. Some can eat bigger foods than others. Some are more aggressive than others. Many will have at least slightly different growth forms, which is kinda important for aquascaping reasons. All of this information can usually be figured out very easily if you know what species it is, but the common name doesn't usually help you find that information whatsoever.

Just because they're all called "chalice" doesn't negate the fact that different species have different needs. Corals as a whole are separated by species, genus, family, and order because there's differences between them. That's literally the entire reason for species classification - different organisms are different, and each needs a unique name.