Coral and Anemone ID

[swiss1939]

Wondering if people can confirm or correct some IDs on my recent coral and anemone purchases? Gonna include both White light and Slightly bluish light to show the different color patterns in each light.

First up is a rose bubble tip anemone. I feel like its more a rainbow than a rose. Green base up to pink tips. Not super saturated yet, but seems like it is getting more saturated and defined color striations on the tentacles after a week and a half to two weeks in the tank. These look very pale in the LFS tank I got it from.




Next up is some TBS hitchhiker corals that have been in my tank for over a year now... First one being hidden cup coral. this one Im positive is a correct ID as its pretty easy coral to ID. Two separate rocks with colonies on them.



And the other original coral hitchhiker from TBS rock, which I think I have self ID'ed correctly as Mountainous Star Coral (Orbicella faveolata). This colony is thriving. Started as a really small lump and has grown twice the size in a year... but is a very slow growing coral, so its still only like the size of a quarter, just more pronounced off the rock:

easier to see whats going on with them when the polyps retract:


Next is a frag I picked up at LFS labeled Bizzaro Cyphastrea, but to me looks like it is possibly a branching cyphastrea. I would love if it were a branching cyphastrea as I like the look of those more.



And the other recent frag from same LFS.. unlabeled, but assuming it is either a monti or a porites. This is the one I'm completely not sure about. Probably a monti. White/gray base color with pink polyps that are purple/red under actinics.


Probably basic IDs for most of you, but any confirmed consensus would be appreciated! Especially the cyphastrea and the monti?

 

[swiss1939]

The anemone under more actinic lighting.

 

[Grog]

Next up is some TBS hitchhiker corals that have been in my tank for over a year now... First one being hidden cup coral. this one Im positive is a correct ID as its pretty easy coral to ID. Two separate rocks with colonies on them.

And the other original coral hitchhiker from TBS rock, which I think I have self ID'ed correctly as Mountainous Star Coral (Orbicella faveolata). This colony is thriving. Started as a really small lump and has grown twice the size in a year... but is a very slow growing coral, so its still only like the size of a quarter, just more pronounced off the rock:

I agree on the hidden cup coral. The other could be Orbicella faveolata or Oculina robusta. We were trying to ID something similar in my tank today.

Link to Oculina robusta on their hitchhiker guide. https://tbsaltwater.com/blogs/news/coral-oculina-robusta

 

[swiss1939]

I agree on the hidden cup coral. The other could be Orbicella faveolata or Oculina robusta. We were trying to ID something similar in my tank today.

Link to Oculina robusta on their hitchhiker guide. https://tbsaltwater.com/blogs/news/coral-oculina-robusta

That is what I originally thought it was but after scouring pictures of both Im almost positive its mountainous star coral. There is no green in it and they do not exhibit the skeleton crown when polyps retracted like the oculina robusta. Those skeleton crowns look more similar to hidden cup corals. the mountainous star coral looks very different from the hidden cup coral. What did you decide on what is in your tank?

 

[Grog]

We decided it was Oculina robusta. Picture attached. Its a blue picture. My tank is in twilight mode. Super difficult to get a shot as it is directly under my center brace and I need to put the camera in the water to get a shot.

Whatever they are, they are HARDY. I thought they were dead. There was zero polyp extension for a year. The skeletons were covered in algae.

My water parameters were whacked in January and I've been working on getting the water into reasonable shape. Water is fixed now, and what do you know? These polyps reaappeared on about half the colony.

 

[Grog]

The polyps are what I call, 'ghostly'.

 

[Timfish]

Those IDs would be my guesses. :D I've seen plating cyphastrea sart too grow branches so my guess is with the right variables any cyphastria might grow that way - just don't ask me what those variables are. :/ Monti looks kinda bleached to me but pink polyps suggest a superman.

 

[swiss1939]

That monti looked like that from the lfs. I've placed it low in my tank so it should be getting less than 200 par. I'll wait to see how it changes and reacts over the next few months.

 

[swiss1939]

To me, the monti seems like it might end up being something like this Strawberry Patch Montipora https://share.google/pWkTR5Js5tevjegsh

But it's so small a frag is really hard to tell until it grows out bigger.

 

[Grog]

The last picture looks like meteor shower cyphastrea.

 

[BryanM]

My rainbow bubble tips have a ton more color and orange in them than your nem, so I don't think it is a rainbow.

 

[swiss1939]

My rainbow bubble tips have a ton more color and orange in them than your nem, so I don't think it is a rainbow.

You are probably right. I am gonna re-evaluate in a month because it is coloring up quite a bit, but it's not really any unique special colors.. just more saturated greens/pinks with a little bit of yellow/orange in the tentacles and blues on the pad. I've been feeding it every 3 days and its moved to the top of the rock right at the surface of the water in probably 300-600 par region right below the light. Just starting to get pronounced striations and speckling but still no bubbling up yet. In pure white its still just generic tan color for the most part but with a little more of these colors undertone of that normal color. Add the tiniest of blues/infrared and it glows.

This photo is in slightly bluish white light.. not as blue as the photo appears. But you can really see the colors getting neon.

Here is under 100% white, with a bit of light blue and red to try to replicate natural daylight as close as possible:

and under 100% deep blue and 100% UV. All using the Noopsyche K7 Pro III which is about 12" above the surface of water.. and this anemone is maybe an inch below the surface when tentacles lying flat like this.. when waves going the tentacles are basically touching surface of water.