id please

[craig_will2513]

any one have any ideas as to what this may be. only just noticed it it wasnt there before so t must have grown. its quite hard to the touch

 

[Flreefer]

Looks like purple Montipora. If you got THAT as a hitchiker, you did really, really well. Congrats!!!

 

[Beengirl]

Montipora capricornis. Great plating coral!! woohoo!!

 

[craig_will2513]

the thing is guys that this rock and everything els in the tank has been in there 1 yr with nothing new added in this time. so it must have grown from nothing. is this possible.

 

[200 gallon reef]

Yes. It is most certainly possible. The montipora does not grow extremely fast.

 

[craig_will2513]

i know the water conditions in my tank recently have been poor as i lost my job i was unable to afford the salt to mix my water so i hadnt changed the water in 8weeks. slowly getting sorted now though.. so would this stuff form in poor water then as its slowly started to grow from nothing

 

[Flreefer]

Your water params were probably not as bad as you believe. As long as your Ca, Alk, and Mg levels were OK, and you had sufficient lighting on the tank, it would grow.
Sometimes the rock that we get at the LFS has been recycled from other peoples tanks that have been broken down. Or, has been used to display corals for sale. All it would take is a tiny little piece of the coral to be present on the rock, and over time, can sprout up, seemingly from nowhere.
Monti cap is one of the easiest SPS to care for, and it obviously likes where it is, so keep it up!
That's one of the best hitchikers I've ever seen anybody get. That piece, as it is right now, would be about $30 at a typical LFS. Good score!!