Acropora Identifications — How the Heck Do You Do It?

[nickkohrn]

I often see threads where hobbyists are searching for help with identifying an Acropora species. When I look at the photos, I usually see an Acropora, nothing more than that. So, how can some hobbyists differentiate between a tenuis, a vermiculata, a horrida, and others? Does it just take practice, or are there specific features that stand out to those that know what to look for? I think that it's even more difficult for me when I'm trying to identify frags rather than colonies, but I want to understand so that I can get better at identifying species of Acropora.

 

[TDEcoral]

There are certain features and it takes practice. The only way to be 100% sure though is to look at the skeleton with a microscope.

 

[Dana Riddle]

I use Veron's 'Coral ID' software. Requires examination of (often) 20+ traits of a coral skeleton under a microscope. I'm not trying to denigrate IDs used by vendors = perhaps they have spent the hours required to get a positive ID. But I tend to think this isn't always the case.

 

[Big E]

This is my go to when I'm not sure................just click on the Acropora arrow and all the species are listed.

This is essentially Veron's 3 volume set of books in internet form.

http://www.coralsoftheworld.org/species_factsheets/

It's near impossible to identify frags if it's not a commonly known coral. Even still it can be tough unless the frag is a fresher cut with well formed coralites and not a dinky tip.

 

[Gareth elliott]

I sat my cat in front of a computer screen and trained him to see the differences. Its equally as incorrect as i am but i can say my cat did it.

 

[C. Eymann]

Like said above, microscope is the only way to get a conclusive/ 100% positive ID, that isn't the route vendors or hobbyists are going to take usually.
So any IDs given via photographs are just an educated guess.

I started keeping acropora in 2001/2002, back then, not many "comic book names" existed so genus/species was the only way to tell what you actually had.
I also was really involved with tarantula/ insect keeping at the time, and common names were generally frowned upon in that hobby, you really had to learn the latin names.
I owned Verons "bible of coral taxonomy" for years and went through it many many times, I still sometimes hop on the aims site when Im bored, just to browse and learn, I have also learned a great deal from fellow hobbyists as well as exporters- Gavin at PAF helped teach me a lot. I also have worked in the industry for many years, you can learn a lot unpacking big orders with species lists attached, however, those species lists weren't always accurate. I would always try to ID each one we got in referencing the AIMS site to help myself understand traits exhibited, variations within species etc etc.
Acropora can have crazy different growth forms within one species, its pretty mind boggling! which is why a scope is needed for a positive ID

That being said, Im certainly no "expert" and still learn new stuff everyday, not to mention the reclassifications that happen all the time.

 

[Tahoe61]

DD Sps section is a decent resource. Typically DD uses the scientific name.

 

[Gareth elliott]

I see room for an app @nickkohrn.

In My other hobby as a beekeeper I plant a lot flower seeds. Sometimes forgetting what I planted, some do not germinate till the following season. While pulling invasive plants I will sometimes double check myself.
And I use an app called garden answers.
While its not perfect the mechanics of the app allows its accuracy to get better as more users add photos and positively id their plants.
Example of it not knowing what i took a picture of.

That maybe with something like
And an app programmed with some mathematical equations might one day make this a far easier task. Especially as cameras cmos approach staggering resolutions.

 

[Softhammer]

Experience helps. Plus I have Verons books, and virtually every other book printed on the topic.

 

[nickkohrn]

I see room for an app @nickkohrn.

In My other hobby as a beekeeper I plant a lot flower seeds. Sometimes forgetting what I planted, some do not germinate till the following season. While pulling invasive plants I will sometimes double check myself.
And I use an app called garden answers.
While its not perfect the mechanics of the app allows its accuracy to get better as more users add photos and positively id their plants.
Example of it not knowing what i took a picture of.

That maybe with something like
And an app programmed with some mathematical equations might one day make this a far easier task. Especially as cameras cmos approach staggering resolutions.

Oh, man. I would love to use machine learning and build an app for this purpose. I just finished one for calculating lanthanum chloride doses, based on this online calculator, so I'm open to the challenge of my next project, which could be exploring this idea.

 

[Softhammer]

While that sounds amazing and I almost understand half of what you just said, lol. I’ll stick with stashing my Vernon books next to the toilet for my morning ,ahem, study sessions......

 

[DesertReefT4r]

We basically make our best education guess to ID acros at the hobby level. Experience and researching acropora online has help me to make good guesses. It also helps that only so many types of acropora are popular in the hobby.

 

[drawman]

I would say it is a mix of practice and looking at books like Veron's. Some are definitely easier to identify than others.

 

[Dlealrious]

Wild colonies are easier than 1st and 2nd generation frags. Once in out tanks there growth changes under artificial lights. Coralsoftheworld is the best site

 

[RCS82]

Great topic and one I'm really interested in as well. I've been more or less back in the hobby for 5 years now and really have the SPS bug obviously. When I was a teenager in the 90s working at the LFS we basically got in "Acropora" corals among softies and some LPS. No other names were involved pertaining to genus and no cartoon names were invented then really. Growing up with freshwater fish I probably knew hundreds, or more, Latin names for cichlids, it was quite easy. It was black and white what you had. But now with Acro's, everything is a color morph and funny made up name of, let's say, Tenuis. Kinda like how Tropheus Moori is to the cichlid world.
Sorry for the long analogy, just my way to relate lol.

 

[AlexandraDreadlocksPanda]

I sat my cat in front of a computer screen and trained him to see the differences. Its equally as incorrect as i am but i can say my cat did it.

There’s always someone that has to go one better, everyone talking about microscopes and you go get a cat scan.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Understanding this page and reading the descriptions in Vernon’s books is the best way to learn and begin making an educated guess. It will help explain each identifying feature and language used to describe them.

Handbook for the correct acropora ID - Blog Coral Wonders

Identify acroporas is a complicated task, tedious and error prone task. With this book you will learn to do it quickly, simple and reliable.

blog.coralwonders.com

But keeping up with with wild and mariculture acropora is helpful in learning as well because you can see what is imported and what they grow into in an aquarium. They can change shape once adapted to aquariums. There are many species that have not been collected before so studying the books first just to understand what each type of coral looks like in the ocean is helpful.
In my opinion the hobbiests keeping the acropora that are harder to keep or keeping large colonies healthy that represent the growth formations on the reef are who I pay attention to and try to learn from. A tank with odd growth formations, lanky long windy branches or oddly shaped coralites from stunted growth doesn’t really get me excited even if it’s all brightly colored with blue light.