Help with coral ID

[cvrle1]

Hello everyone, went to my LFS and they had a rock with several small corals on them that they think could be bubble tips, but I dont think they are. They got this rock from someone that shut their tank down, so thats why they are not sure. I think they may be a torch and something else (there are 2 different kinds I think) They are sitting under a single fluorescent light bulb with some other random rocks and snails, so they are not expanding fully.

Here are few pics I was able to take

Thanks for the help!

 

[maroonclown65]

Octospawn, hammer, frammer, frogspawn? probably not torch cause the polyps are longer and thinner typically, but all euphylia pretty much look the same when the polyps are so shriveled up honestly they look like they're on their way out sorry

 

[maroonclown65]

The first one looks alright but you shouldn't really see any skeleton on them

 

[AlyciaMarie]

They definitely don't look like bubble tips to me. Looks like some kind Euphyllia. I think your guess of a torch is a good one. Possibly also a hammer. Maybe some more pics if it decides to open up would help confirm an ID. :)

 

[damsels are not mean]

Might be euphyllia baliensis or e. cristata

both fairly rare to the hobby but in the same genus as the common torch coral we've all seen

https://www.coralsoftheworld.org/species_factsheets/species_factsheet_images/euphyllia-baliensis/

https://www.coralsoftheworld.org/species_factsheets/species_factsheet_images/euphyllia-cristata/

 

[cvrle1]

Thanks for quick reply. I didnt buy it, as I wasnt sure what it was, and wanted to figure that out before I did anything else. He laso wanted to charge price for bubble tip, which is way too high, so thats another reason I wanted to verify what we are actually looking at (he was fine with that) Once I figured out what they were then I was going to see if they were even in descent shape, cause they are under poor light, and SG is actually low in the tank. Owner found out only after I asked him what parameter were, since I got some hermit crabs from him, so that I know how long to acclimate.

 

[damsels are not mean]

Definitely not a bubble tip and it's concering that an LFS wouldn't be able to tell the difference

 

[cvrle1]

Definitely not a bubble tip and it's concering that an LFS wouldn't be able to tell the difference

Yeah, he is mainly fresh water person, and store is huge with all kinds of fresh water fish. He has been shutting down his salt water section, which was quite big for these parts for last few years. He mainly had fish, inverts and few corals here and there. Now he has 1 tank with 3 small fish inside, and bunch of tanks with live rock, some snails and 3 sexy shrimp.

 

[theunderwaterarchives]

My guess is a cristata but I could be wrong!

 

[cvrle1]

I called store back, and spoke to a different person, who might be the owner. He knew that it was some sort of Euphyllia, so that was encouraging. He said he would want $100 (I am in Canada, so prices here are higher than US) for the whole rock. Dont think it's worth it since they look to be in rough shape, and may just whither and die. Please do correct me if I am wrong of course, and thanks again for all the help!

 

[damsels are not mean]

With coral prices the way they are these days I think that's a decent deal considering it comes with a solid chunk of live rock. But if you're not super interested in that coral specifically I would wait it out and hope they become healthier first.

 

[thamnasteroid]

Likely a hammer or some other sort of Fimbriaphyllia.

Might be euphyllia baliensis or e. cristata

both fairly rare to the hobby but in the same genus as the common torch coral we've all seen

https://www.coralsoftheworld.org/species_factsheets/species_factsheet_images/euphyllia-baliensis/

https://www.coralsoftheworld.org/species_factsheets/species_factsheet_images/euphyllia-cristata/

E. baliensis (likely should be placed in Fimbriaphyllia) are only found in mesophotic depths, so they wouldn't really be found in the hobby. They also have much smaller corallites.
E. cristata (goes for Euphyllia in general) usually don't have this green-and-purple coloration; this coloration is more of a Fimbriaphyllia thing. E. cristata also have more exert septa.