Coral (LPS?) ID needed.

[loyalrogue]

This coral came with the tank and I haven't been able to find one at my LFS to ID it yet.
Does anyone here have one or know what it is?
Any help is appreciated.

Btw, my Maroon loves it... and hopefully isn't loving it to death... 8O

 

[Innovator]

Looks to be Goniopora. Goniopora has 24 tentacle tips while Alveopora has 12, which may be of help

 

[loyalrogue]

Thanks Innovator.
I'll go look them up now.
It's definitely got 24 tips.

Here's a pic I just snapped of it closed up.

 

[Innovator]

It is Goniopora then. I am not sure how long you have had this coral, but do realize they have horrid survival rates. Make sure you do your homework on this one

 

[loyalrogue]

Oh God... what a depressing read.
I just went thru several articles and scientific studies of both captive and wild colonies and right now I am not feeling the happy camper.

Most only last a year in captivity with 2 years being an exception.
No way to propagate.
And to top it off, I'm probably not keeping it under enough light, enough current, or enough phytoplankton... AND my maroon is probably stressing it to boot!

It's gotta be between 14-20 months in captivity so far... I'm the second owner of this 125gal reef tank and I've had it for over 6 mos now... the first owner had it for over a year.
Guess I'll just see how long I can keep it healthy with all the info I can gather on the net.
Thanks again for the ID.
You da man!

 

[Innovator]

You are quite welcome. High nutrient loads seem to help, but also may affect other scleractinians or soft corals negatively so it is kind of a double-edged sword at play.

 

[melosu58]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=466&N=0

Here is some info

 

[Devilishturtles]

There have been more advances with Goniopora lately, but I agree with the other guys, it's not got a great track record. Best you can do is get some MH (or really bright light, close to the water level if not) and lots and lots of food. Frozen Cyclopeeze, DT Oyster Eggs, and lots of Phyto.

If you do a search around the internet, there should be a lot of info regarding Justin Credebel and his work with Goniopora, which has been amazing to say the least.

 

[Innovator]

If you do a search around the internet, there should be a lot of info regarding Justin Credebel and his work with Goniopora, which has been amazing to say the least.

Thank you for mentioning this because I could not remember who's facility was having success. It was driving me nuts lol

 

[loyalrogue]

You guys (and gals) are great.
I'm soooo glad I found this place!

Thanks again for all the extra help and info.