Coral ID

[Raphael Dalmeida]

Hi can you guys ID this coral?

Found on intertidal area/ rock pools Southeast QLD Australia.
As you can see some polyps open and some closed.

Looks brownish.

Thanks,

 

[SaltySam09]

Looks like a suncoral to me, if it is they are non photosynthetic and will need to be fed.

 

[Raphael Dalmeida]

Side photo of it

I looked sun coral up (tunastrea) though it doesn't look like it. Any thoughts ? Cheers.

 

[thamnasteroid]

Palythoa

 

[|Frank|]

Zoanthids maybe?? Awesome find. Do you have any pics with all the polyps open?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Hi can you guys ID this coral?

Found on intertidal area/ rock pools Southeast QLD Australia.
As you can see some polyps open and some closed.

Looks brownish.

Thanks,

Does it seem to be encrusting over the rock, or does the coral itself have a stony skeleton?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Hi can you guys ID this coral?

Found on intertidal area/ rock pools Southeast QLD Australia.
As you can see some polyps open and some closed.

Looks brownish.

Thanks,

Do you think it's an encrusting goniopora?

 

[Raphael Dalmeida]

It's soft, squishy feel all around it.
It seems attached in a similar way that a leather or a zoa would attach itself.

So far this is as much as I've seen them open up. Seem part of a colony.

 

[Raphael Dalmeida]

Does it seem to be encrusting over the rock, or does the coral itself have a stony skeleton?

I'm not sure, though as it doesn't seem to have a hard skeleton I don't think it would be. I'm a bit of a novice around 6 month reefer.

 

[Opus]

Appears to be Caribbean Sea mat

Palythoa caribaeotum​

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Appears to be Caribbean Sea mat

Palythoa caribaeotum​

Would this be found in Australia though?

Not sure if this is the same thing, but if so, might be a risky addition to the aquarium.
https://reefbuilders.com/2015/08/18/5-invasive-corals-that-border-on-being-aquarium-pests/"Encrusting species of Palythoa are probably the biggest offender on this list of invasive coral species. It is not uncommon to see huge mats of Palythoa growing over and suffocating everything in its path in the wild, and this coral can do the same in the home aquarium. The somewhat grey, greenish or brown large zoanthid polyps that is just a little patch today will eventually become an unmanageable mess that proves tricky to remove."

 

[Raphael Dalmeida]

A

Appears to be Caribbean Sea mat

Palythoa caribaeotum​

Awesome, I looked it up looks exactly like it !

Thanks heaps everyone for chipping in.

 

[Raphael Dalmeida]

Would this be found in Australia though?

Not sure if this is the same thing, but if so, might be a risky addition to the aquarium.
https://reefbuilders.com/2015/08/18/5-invasive-corals-that-border-on-being-aquarium-pests/"Encrusting species of Palythoa are probably the biggest offender on this list of invasive coral species. It is not uncommon to see huge mats of Palythoa growing over and suffocating everything in its path in the wild, and this coral can do the same in the home aquarium. The somewhat grey, greenish or brown large zoanthid polyps that is just a little patch today will eventually become an unmanageable mess that proves tricky to remove."

That's why I have it on a rock of its own on the sand.

Thanks for the advice though.