I'm pretty sure this is an lps

[NHreefguy]

I was thinking this is a flower pot coral. Am I right?

 

[pugcrush]

alveopora; look slightly the same, but polyps are different

 

[NHreefguy]

Thanks. I've had it about 8 months now. It's grown but not a whole lot, I don't use additives though

 

[Tab28]

Yes avleopora 12 tentacles. Slightly more hardy than 24 tentacle gonipora. The trade off is avleopora prefer a few degrees cooler. It will start to stress much faster in water temps that gonipora have no problems with.

 

[NHreefguy]

So another question about this coral. What the check is it doing? It was one piece a few days ago

 

[Tab28]

It actually looks a bit bleached. It is either melting or dividing. I never saw the later happen in avleapora before. What does the piece on the left look like? Is it just fleshy, or is there some skeleton with it?

It looks like it is bleaching so it very well may be stressed. If melting it is not good. If dividing it is a survival thing. Dividing is a normal process for soft corals and a few LPS when growing never saw it in this species. What the separated part looks like will better tell what to do. Either way it is not a happy coral.

 

[NHreefguy]

The picture does not do colors justice. There is a healthy skeleton on the separating piece and the polyps are still out. The base is still a healthy looking pink.

 

[Tab28]

If that is case. It may be just dividing. Dividing is not common in LPS it is similar to polyp bailout. It is a ditch effort to survive. Hoping the divided piece can move away and survive. What are your water perimeters like and lighting conditions?

Are you sure it was one piece and not two pieces that started to fuse together. Because of where it is gravity took over.

 

[NHreefguy]

I've had it for about 4 months. I just cleaned my filter and haven't tested my water yet. Its about in the middle of my tank. I'm almost thinking of just pulling that piece off and putting it somewhere. Its only hanging by a thread

 

[Tab28]

It will separate. But you need to remedy the cause. Mid level in what size tank and under what lighting? Cleaned filter? What type of filter do you have? How often do you check water perimeters?

 

[NHreefguy]

20 gallon. I have a current orbit. I'm running a marineland c-220 canister. Gets cleaned every week. Along with water tests usually once a week. I've been busy remodeling so I haven't gotten time. About to right now.

 

[Tab28]

Not familiar with how canisters and marine tanks work. So can't answer that that. What wattage is your led's? How often do you do water changes?

 

[NHreefguy]

Well I do a 2.5 gallon water chAnge every week when I clean the filter. That's the water volume of the filter. The light is 43 watts and I have a 6 watt accent light to cover the front better