GSP Does it look okay?

[TheDon]

Hi guys,

I got a frag of GSP from a local seller, it’s growing quite quickly but I thought GSP was meant to be green Looks lovely under UV but during day it looks brown with green tips. Does it look okay?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

What kind of light do you have and what intensity? Either the spectrum is wrong, or the par not enough.

 

[alton]

There must be new types of GSP, mine pictured on the far right looks much different

 

[TheDon]

What kind of light do you have and what intensity? Either the spectrum is wrong, or the par not enough.

I have a TMC Reef Photon not sure on par but lights on from 9am then off at 21.30pm

 

[TheDon]

Also with the TMC app you can set light to mimic different reefs, so have it preset to one of these.

 

[jmcdona6]

Not GSP. Some variety of Clove Polyp Coral.

 

[JTP424]

Looks like gsp to me. The inner area of the little fronds is green. When it fills in more it should show better. How far is it from the light? Looks like it's stretching how zoas do when wanting light.

 

[Dragen Fiend]

These look more like green cloves then GSP but could be wrong. I'd guess they are under some higher flow which is causing them not to expand like normal.

Well depending on the light spectrum, corals tend to dull in color or pop more. Some people prefer a deep blue to see the colors pop while others like a mixture of white that tend take a way the color.

 

[jmcdona6]

The biggest thing that makes this a CPC is the large tubular extrusions from the base supporting the "flower." GSP usually keeps closer to the base. Also the "flowers" look different. Notice the hairs coming off the tentacles. You don't tend to see that with GSP.

I mean...I guess it could be a odd GSP and doesn't matter...but properly identifying the coral is step one before identifying what the expectations are for it...which is before you can make any conclusions about what may be wrong or not.

GSP:

CPC:

 

[JTP424]

Looks like these.. https://worldwidecorals.com/products/long-polyp-green-star-polyp-coral
Literally called Long polyp.

 

[TheDon]

Looks like these.. https://worldwidecorals.com/products/long-polyp-green-star-polyp-coral
Literally called Long polyp.

Definitely looks like this, I’ve put on top of a little cave. Definitely gets enough light, maybe the flow is too much as only 90L tank and have to wave makers but not on full blast!

 

[jmcdona6]

Looks like these.. https://worldwidecorals.com/products/long-polyp-green-star-polyp-coral
Literally called Long polyp.

You know...its worth noting that WWC is the only place I could find to reference the existence of a Long Polyp GSP? Not saying it doesn't exist but...as awesome as WWC and others are at growing coral they aren't unknown to misclassify.

GSP is actually Pachyclavularia Violacea. It is characterized by stolons that are connected forming a mesh-like structure with all the polyps being housed in tubular calyces. There are 8 bold tentacles to a polyp that are thin and smooth.

CPC are in the same Clavularia family, but distinguished by a star-shaped polyp with eight feathery tentacles that come in various colors.

I have always been taught the length of the calyces (stalk) had something to do with it. In my experience every clove polyp I have owned or experienced had longer tubular stalks. But upon researching myself it seems that would be an inconsistent descriptor...but then again I only spent 30 minutes. The only reliable one from journals I could find are the tentacles, feathery vs smooth.

 

[exnisstech]

Not GSP. Some variety of Clove Polyp Coral.

I'm agreeing with ^this.^ I have gsp in three tanks and have never seen any extend like the OP's

 

[TheDon]

So if it is GCP I suppose it won’t cover the whole of that cave like GSP would? Maybe I should move it somewhere else or in sand.

 

[jmcdona6]

This is a page from the book The Marine Reef Aquarium by Dr. Philip Hunt. Confirms feathery tentacles generally = Clavularia (clove) while smooth tentacles fall within Pachyclavularia or GSP.

 

[jmcdona6]

So if it is GCP I suppose it won’t cover the whole of that cave like GSP would? Maybe I should move it somewhere else or in sand.

The growth pattern is usually similar. Carpeting. So if that was your intent it should be fine.

Cloves just tend to have different colorations (not a bad thing). It will also probably end up looking more like a thick 1" tall forest than a mat of grass as the stalks will stay longer based on what you have.

Cloves are great, they just look a little different.

 

[TheDon]

The growth pattern is usually similar. Carpeting. So if that was your intent it should be fine.

Cloves just tend to have different colorations (not a bad thing). It will also probably end up looking more like a thick 1" tall forest than a mat of grass as the stalks will stay longer based on what you have.

Cloves are great, they just look a little different.

It’s actually grown loads in a week! Someone who deals with corals on FB stated it was a Metallic Encrusting Xenia ?

 

[TheDon]

This is it closed up

 

[jmcdona6]

So if it is GCP I suppose it won’t cover the whole of that cave like GSP would? Maybe I should move it somewhere else or in sand.

Here is a good example of what it looks like once it spreads.

 

[jmcdona6]

It’s actually grown loads in a week! Someone who deals with corals on FB stated it was a Metallic Encrusting Xenia ?

Metallic Encrusting Xenia is a made up brand name as far as I can tell...so I can't disprove.

But I can say that Xenia generally refers to Xenia sp. which has a soft fleshy body with a branching pattern to its growth. It doesn't have a purple carpet base either...so for those reasons I wouldn't put a lot of stock into their suggestion.