How to identify SPS

[xiongsy]

I'm new to sps. I only have a 24 gallon nano and want to 2-3 featured milleporas with the limited space that the tank has. I'm looking at the selling thread for awhile now and the sps are mostly listed with a name, e.g. JF XXXX.

How do I know or how can I tell if they are milleporas? I've tried looking up the name with "colony" but it hardly comes up with a colony picture.

While you're here, if you only get to select 2-3 milleporas, what would you get?

 

[docforestal]

may not be exactly what you need, but this can be a great site for reference: http://www.coralsoftheworld.org/page/home/
Eric Borneman's book on corals is a good/informative read (although some corals have changed classification) and may give you more general classifications

 

[Gtinnel]

I’m far from a acro expert but with millepora each corallite will have one tentacle that is longer than the rest. There may be others that do that as well but most of the ones you see in the hobby will have the same length tentacles besides millepora.
Here is a picture I found on google where you can see the longer tentacles pretty easily.

 

[xiongsy]

may not be exactly what you need, but this can be a great site for reference: http://www.coralsoftheworld.org/page/home/
Eric Borneman's book on corals is a good/informative read (although some corals have changed classification) and may give you more general classifications

I tried looking up Poto Boomerang and nothing came up

 

[Gtinnel]

I tried looking up Poto Boomerang and nothing came up

You could also reach out to the company and ask. They would obviously know what it was.

 

[xiongsy]

I’m far from a acro expert but with millipora each corallite will have one tentacle that is longer than the rest. There may be others that do that as well but most of the ones you see in the hobby will have the same length tentacles besides millipora.
Here is a picture I found on google where you can see the longer tentacles pretty easily.

So, correct me if I am wrong. A PC rainbow a mille? The photo attached (currently listed in the selling thread va dr. Jim) is a mille? I don't think a oregon tort is a mille? Sorry, still trying to figure it out.

 

[xiongsy]

You could also reach out to the company and ask. They would obviously know what it was.

It's a hobbyist selling that piece here that I'm using as an example. So there's no way to tell unless you see the mother colony?

 

[dedragon]

It's a hobbyist selling that piece here that I'm using as an example. So there's no way to tell unless you see the mother colony?

For the most part it is how you buy it either from a reputed store or directly from a store that labels their pieces. For the example above, POTO boomerang, that is from pieces of the ocean in staten island. They have pics of their mother colonies (most of them) on their site.
You really need to know lineage before trying to sell a piece for a higher price (or similar priced to what the named coral is sold for). If the coral is really nice and wild caught you can either describe it by color (ie. red and green millepora) or give it a name of your own (example xiongsy insane millepora). There are some acros that are very easy to identify though like an oregon tort

 

[Gtinnel]

So, correct me if I am wrong. A PC rainbow a mille? The photo attached (currently listed in the selling thread va dr. Jim) is a mille? I don't think an oregon tort is a mille? Sorry, still trying to figure it out.

I don’t believe a pc rainbow is a millepora, an Oregon tort is an acropora tortuosa I believe.
The picture of boomerang on POTO website looks like a millepora to me, but the picture you attached does not. I’m not so sure the picture you attached is actually a POTO boomerang, but again I’m no expert.

 

[Gtinnel]

Here is a picture of a boomerang from POTO website. It’s clearly red with a longer yellow tentacle in each corallite. The picture you attached doesn’t seem to have that.

 

[Poseidon03]

All millipora are acropora, but not all acropora are millipora. Millie's are known for their long polyps and fuzzy like texture.

 

[docforestal]

i think part of the problem is a lot of the names are color/brands rather than taxonomic and as above, many by hobbyists may be misidentified
i think the coral id site lets you go down by growth form/polyp form to narrow down (been a while since i have done)

 

[thamnasteroid]

For corals that have been grown in captivity for a long time, it can be hard to identify them down to the species, as the growth form of captive grown corals differs greatly from their wild counterparts due to the conditions in our tanks being very different than on wild reefs. One example of this is Acropora millepora encrusting more and growing in a arborescent shape in captivity while its wild counterpart grows in a more corymbose shape. Another example is captive Stylocoeniella generally doesn't grow coenosteal spines in captivity while wild Stylocoeniella do.

 

[Dr. Jim]

I tried looking up Poto Boomerang and nothing came up

Here's a picture of it from POTO.... but I'm not sure if it is a mille.

POTO Boomerang

Picture depicts the mother colony or a good representation of the shape and color of the coral once grown out. You will receive a frag from the colony pictured.

www.piecesoftheocean.com

EDIT: Just saw someone already posted this picture.....sorry.

 

[Troylee]

Pick up a asd rainbow Millie if you can! It’s Been in the hobby for years and it’s tried and true! Not to mention a beautiful orange you don’t really see..

 

[Graffiti Spot]

The poto boomerang looks more like a hyanthicus to me. I would just buy corals that have Mille in their name/description.
I find most vendors/stores don’t know how to id acropora so don’t count on them unless you trust the sellers word. Fyi polyps are not looked at when identifying acropora. Just coralite structure and placement.

 

[xiongsy]

The poto boomerang looks more like a hyanthicus to me. I would just buy corals that have Mille in their name/description.
I find most vendors/stores don’t know how to id acropora so don’t count on them unless you trust the sellers word. Fyi polyps are not looked at when identifying acropora. Just coralite structure and placement.

Thank you. If the vendors and stores don't even know then I definitely won't lol. Look for mille, got it!

 

[xiongsy]

Pick up a asd rainbow Millie if you can! It’s Been in the hobby for years and it’s tried and true! Not to mention a beautiful orange you don’t really see..

Thanks!