SPS Identification Help

wickedxreef · Aug 30, 2026

Hello Fellow Reefers-

I’m hoping someone can help me identify what the name of this sps is. I think it’s a Oompa Loompa Splice, but want to make sure that I’m not ID’ing it wrong.

TIA

tzabor10 · Sep 1, 2026

Looks amazing. Great work. SPS can be tricky. They often change when placed in a new environment.

A. grandis · Sunday at 5:46 PM

That coral is so deformed by the LEDs that it's basically impossible to identify. This is what I'm talking about.. The light is most times ignored to figure out what's going on with the corals, but it's the main problem today under LEDs!

Baldyreef · Sunday at 7:20 PM

I think your right about it being an Oompa Loompa, if not that it’s still some kind of splice, very cool!

Danjoethepirate · Sunday at 8:27 PM

A. grandis said:
That coral is so deformed by the LEDs that it's basically impossible to identify. This is what I'm talking about.. The light is most times ignored to figure out what's going on with the corals, but it's the main problem today under LEDs!

Every coral Id issue or what is wrong with x coral can't be LED based. Plenty of people have grown some extremely natural looking and healthy reefs with LEDs. Even to the point of reproduction in captivity. Most animal experts would agree an animal that is healthy enough to reproduce is having atleast the bare minimum of it's needs met.

I agree some of the spectrum is missing from LEDs because of the single wavelength emission from the individual diodes, mostly UV and infrared, but dang man. We get it, you don't like LEDs.....

A. grandis · 2026-09-07T02:14:20-0400

Danjoethepirate said:
Every coral Id issue or what is wrong with x coral can't be LED based. Plenty of people have grown some extremely natural looking and healthy reefs with LEDs. Even to the point of reproduction in captivity. Most animal experts would agree an animal that is healthy enough to reproduce is having atleast the bare minimum of it's needs met.

I agree some of the spectrum is missing from LEDs because of the single wavelength emission from the individual diodes, mostly UV and infrared, but dang man. We get it, you don't like LEDs.....

I will be following this thread until you can find the real reason why that coral is looking like that, then. Compare that coral to any Acropora species from the wild and let me know which one do you think it is.

Danjoethepirate · 2026-09-07T15:38:49-0400

A. grandis said:
Danjoethepirate said:

Every coral Id issue or what is wrong with x coral can't be LED based. Plenty of people have grown some extremely natural looking and healthy reefs with LEDs. Even to the point of reproduction in captivity. Most animal experts would agree an animal that is healthy enough to reproduce is having atleast the bare minimum of it's needs met.

I agree some of the spectrum is missing from LEDs because of the single wavelength emission from the individual diodes, mostly UV and infrared, but dang man. We get it, you don't like LEDs.....

Click to expand...

I will be following this thread until you can find the real reason why that coral is looking like that, then. Compare that coral to any Acropora species from the wild and let me know which one do you think it is.

No one was looking for a reason why it looks like that. OP was looking for an ID. Still, my point remains valid. LEDs can grow corals just fine and look natural.

A. grandis · 2026-09-07T19:38:37-0400

Danjoethepirate said:
No one was looking for a reason why it looks like that. OP was looking for an ID. Still, my point remains valid. LEDs can grow corals just fine and look natural.

You will not be able to find an "ID" if the corals is all distorted and also look like it's in Avatar.
Can you? Can anyone? That is the point.
The coral is so distorted that it is impossible to find out what species it is.
That is true to the majority of the pictures in this forum. It's a shame and no one says anything?!!? That is the truth, not what beginners can think of, or fight against thinking what the stores online tells them the truth i$$$..
Anyways.. it is what it is.
And it is hard to find anyone that will tell the truth or even want to think it could be the truth in the first place.
This new generation think they know more... that's ok.. continue play forum the way it is played. LOL!
I am the wrong one here. If the majority is right, I am wrong.
Continue to get the illusion that LEDs can "grow corals just fine". Maybe that is what the majority here wants anyway, right. Then that's fine, I'm sorry for interrupting the thread.
Get what you want then.
All good.
Have fun.

A. grandis · 2026-09-08T00:14:56-0400

I'll leave this video from the past. This is a 734 day time laps of Acropora cervicornis in a tank under metal halides. It was filmed back in the day by someone that had permission to collect this species. Probably a scientist. This is what the normal growth of that coral should be based on! Notice that the coral touches the glass and continue to grow. Metal halides offer the best SPECTRUM compared to any technology out there. The best bulbs to grow corals in captivity, hands down. There is absolutely NO comparison to other technologies using the right application. Notice that back in the day we didn't even had any powerhead that could nearly compare to what we have today. The water flow in this tank was a shame in comparison to what we can do today! Light was driving the growth at it's best.

If you get metal halides you won't be in the fluorescent wagon Avatar type of tank anymore. You will pay that much money for a 1/2" frag, but it will look normal after a year or 2, not with those excess fluorescent pigments, growing all distorted.
But you will get a growth close to what happens in nature. The coral will have the proper energy offered to it to be as healthy as it can be. If you, or anyone in this world don't want that, then continue with LEDs, because you won't get the same results you get from LEDs. That's for sure.

So then, please know you can't complain that the coral look like that and it's impossible to even know what it is. That is what we see here all the time.
Only older guys that have the experience and think like me will tell you that I'm right.
Have fun!

Baldyreef · 2026-09-08T00:22:06-0400

OP Needs hobby name I believe, not species, that’s all OP asked for not a lecture about halides vs LEDS, I’m having trouble seeing how this simple identification got so off topic

A. grandis · 2026-09-08T00:54:57-0400

Baldyreef said:
OP Needs hobby name I believe, not species, that’s all OP asked for not a lecture about halides vs LEDS, I’m having trouble seeing how this simple identification got so off topic

I'm sorry. I got a little too excited to use this as an example. Never mind.
You could use the space you wrote to identify it using your favorite "hobby name" for that specimen. Why not? Can you? Or anyone? Why not? Hobby name.. go ahead and give it a shot. I know that is what most people are waiting for... so the forum can continue to the same old. Does that help in general?

Baldyreef · 2026-09-08T00:59:08-0400

Sorry if came of aggressive In any way I was genuinely just wondering how it got off topic so fast, I already stated my opinion on its name or strain earlier of it most likely being an oomph loompa splice, again didn’t mean to cause any further grievances, happy reefing!

Marco_99 · 2026-09-08T01:30:19-0400

A. grandis said:
I'm sorry. I got a little too excited to use this as an example. Never mind.
You could use the space you wrote to identify it using your favorite "hobby name" for that specimen. Why not? Can you? Or anyone? Why not? Hobby name.. go ahead and give it a shot. I know that is what most people are waiting for... so the forum can continue to the same old. Does that help in general?

I mean, I say we name it….

‘Grandis Green Goblin Tip’

What do you think? I like it. Op you have a 1 of 1 Grandis Green Goblin Tip. Pour the heavy blues to it 10-12 hrs a day, minimum.