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hitchiker coral id, Ok Now its getting weird. BIG UPDATE READ MY LAST POST!


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Ok Well I was on board with the idea this was a plate coral until recently, they aren't growing beyond the size of pencil eraser and they are continuing to colonize across the rock they are on, now there are 7 total head of this and they don't quite look like the plate corals they used to... heres an updated shot...

 

I'm feeding this thing like crazy to get it to grow and see what it does I'm thinking of starting a thread about it

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anyone or do you still think its a plate coral??? does it sound right? they keep spreading but not growing

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anyone or do you still think its a plate coral??? does it sound right? they keep spreading but not growing

 

 

It is a mystery! Have you ever seen it with tentacles out, say, at night? Does it respond to food?

 

I got some help ID'ing my plate at Borneman's coral forum at Marine Depot, I think it was...

 

How about another close-up as it looks now?

 

Good luck!

 

--Diane

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the first pic looked like a plate colony, but it looks alot different in the last pic. Can you get a close up? It might be something else. Galaxia?? How bid are the heads?

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RayWhisperer

Looks alot like a blasto to me. Even the heads look like baby wellsi. Everything about it screams wellsi to me, except the growth rate. Blasto's are fairly slow growers IME. Though, they do tend to shoot off 4 or 5 tiny heads, grow them out to half size, then begin to sprout more.

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It is a mystery! Have you ever seen it with tentacles out, say, at night? Does it respond to food?

-what you see is what you get that is it with its tenitcles out it respondes to everything i feed it brine, plankton if it can grab it, it will eat it...

I got some help ID'ing my plate at Borneman's coral forum at Marine Depot, I think it was...

 

How about another close-up as it looks now?

 

- working on it... very hard going with my 5 year old camera but im trying

 

- thanks for the info on Borneman's coral forum ill give it a try tomorrow

 

the first pic looked like a plate colony, but it looks alot different in the last pic. Can you get a close up? It might be something else. Galaxia?? How bid are the heads?

 

-I know its not galaxia the skeleton is never exposed, the heads never get much bigger then a pencil eraser... it honestly looks like a zoo colony except its a stoney

Looks alot like a blasto to me. Even the heads look like baby wellsi. Everything about it screams wellsi to me, except the growth rate. Blasto's are fairly slow growers IME. Though, they do tend to shoot off 4 or 5 tiny heads, grow them out to half size, then begin to sprout more.

 

- This was my original suspicion, the only issue with that was how they are spreading at the base like i said before its growing like welsi but its the size of merletti, the growth rate could be caused by 2 things, 1) its 4 inches below the water surface under a 250DE 14K, and im feeding it all the time i wan to see what it will do and the more i feed it the faster it grows... and the tank is so low bio load that i can feed daily and never have any issues.

I will keep the pics comming as it developes, but for now i think its a mystery, and if it is merletti it is bar NONE the best looking merleti I've ever seen... and i hope it keeps its colour as it grows, but again the first head has never grown in 2 months all its done is multiply

 

 

What are the odds that this is just something that wasnt suposed to make it into our tanks? i mean how many species of corals are there out there that have never been collected for use in the aquarium trade???

 

once again if thats the case when i can frag this thing my friends here at NR.com get first dibs... however i think unlike the Buzz Bombs this might take some time before i can frag... its grown 4 new heads in about 2 months...

 

Oh and one more thing comparitivly speaking the green that is in this coral is unlike ANY green i have seen it is a deep forest green almost looks more like a plant in colour then a coral...

 

Check out the custom made frag basket its in I'm so freeking proud of it

 

i cut the hole so i can always get a clear shot without coraline growing all over the frag basket, and i gave it a sand bed just in case it was plate corals

 

 

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What are the odds that this is just something that wasnt suposed to make it into our tanks? i mean how many species of corals are there out there that have never been collected for use in the aquarium trade???

 

once again if thats the case when i can frag this thing my friends here at NR.com get first dibs... however i think unlike the Buzz Bombs this might take some time before i can frag... its grown 4 new heads in about 2 months

 

I think the odds might be very good! I'm not even sure that all the ones that ARE "supposed to make it into our tanks" are properly identified...And I suspect there are tons of other spp that never show up for one reason or another...Except, perhaps, by accident! :D

 

There are no doubt spp in the oceans that haven't even been described yet.

 

It sure looks like something that would have greater tentacle extension at some point, though...have you tried varying the light intensity?

 

I have to say it doesn't really resemble my merletti very much...

 

--Diane

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i know and its so confusing it almost looks like short duncans, this might be one of the key's to Iding it. It was attached to the base of a pagoda cup, so im assuming it must be from the same region... this is not the first time that i got unidentified corals from the same shipper... also since i am from Canada there is a distinct posibility that this coral comes from regions embargoed by the U.S.A. but not Canada (mainly Cuba, as i do have cuban livestock in my tanks)

 

I will begin varying light levels however I will only be able to do so by blocking light as i do not want to disturb its frag basket because it allows me to check up close daily its progress.

 

I guess the best thing i can say is I'm D^MN Lucky to have it... I suppose it should also be said that to date my 2 favorite corals are ones i didnt buy, The Buzz Bumb zoo's (see avatar) which came on a 1LB peice of cured LR for $10, and whatever teh heck these things are which came on the base of a free pagoda cup that only had 1 live polyp left (R.I.P. Pagoda at least i tried) im very happy i resuced it becuase they were about to toss it in the trash...

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I agree, this sort of find is SO COOL! I look forward to updates on yours.

 

BTW, at the Borneman site, I got more help from some of the people who hang out there than Mr. B. himself, though he did eventually chime in...

 

I've got 4 hitchhiker corals and I love them...my plate-growing site couldn't be cooler!

 

Oh, and those ARE very sweet zoas! :)

 

--Diane

 

 

 

Hey Diane where abouts it SW michigan are you??? how far are you from the macinaw bridge?

 

Between Kalamazoo & Battle Creek. Approx. 356.23 miles-- :D --according to MapQuest.

 

Are you near the bridge?

 

--Diane

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im from sault ste marie ON 1 hour from macinaw, but me and the GF love to drive and never know where we might end up some weekeend lol

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ok folks not too much to report i think it might be sprouting a new head which would make it 8 heads, so its growing fast (again its getting tonnes of light and food)... will keep everyone posted on this as it developes more and i will try to take weekly photo's... is anyone else as interested in this as me or am i just this excited because i have it?

 

Oh, and those ARE very sweet zoas! smile.gif

 

thank you very much I will make sure if we do a frag swap ill give you some.

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ok cool well i dont know when but we'll have to plan a frag swap somehwere 1/2 way some weekend...

 

by any chance do you know of any good reef stores in the top 1/2 of the lower peninsula

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ok folks update time...

 

They cant give me an ID at Marine Depot, so im just gunna let the thing grow and keep posting pics when new ones are taken

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I hope so I think every reefer has about the same predictable life cycle

 

1) I want a clown and an anemone

2) I think I might need more light

3) Ok I cant have an anemone in a 10 gallon I guess ill get corals

4) I think i need more light

5) fish are kinda boring

6) I think i need more light

7) oooohhhhh I think i want a clam

8) I need to upgrade my tank

9) well i might as well use my old light i better have 2 tanks

10) I wonder if anyone else would buy this coral

11) they will buy this coral

12) ok i know i have 2 tanks but if i set-up a prop tank it wont cost me $$$ it will make me $$$

13) ok well it wont make money but i can break even

14) ok i cant break even but its fun

15) I have accepted that I have a reef addiciton and i need help... wheres the 12 step program

 

LOL

 

ROFL

 

I'm at step 9 and 12, but instead of a prop tank I'm doing a pico. Since I thought I wouldn't spend as much for it (ya right!). I also have a problem where I buy pieces of live rock that I don't need, but I don't want anyone else to get it before me... :o

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ROFL

 

I'm at step 9 and 12, but instead of a prop tank I'm doing a pico. Since I thought I wouldn't spend as much for it (ya right!). I also have a problem where I buy pieces of live rock that I don't need, but I don't want anyone else to get it before me... :o

 

the live rock obsession is an after effect of stage 8 you know you cant use right now, but maybe i can fit it in the tank im gunna end up with at stage 9...

 

Wait until you have to setup a LR only tank cuz an amazing box comes into your LFS and he will give it to you at cost cuz he doesnt have the space... now that was an adventure

 

 

 

I am truely starting to beleive it is something that should not have been collected its also VERY strange that it could live thru what it went thru i mean it was on the bottom of the base on the turban coral so for the 3 months it was at the LFS is was crushed and got no light.

 

 

I'm still tagging along.

If we are placing bets, put me down for $10 on it being some type of Blasto.

 

I think we should start a bet on this what do you guys think? here's my idea I will frag this bad boy when i have over 20 heads I will make a 2 or 3 polyp frag (just one) and ship it to the winner for cost of shipping and bridge fare... Works out to about $30 for overnight shipping, box price, and bridge fare or lots less if we go 2 day shipping. I dont want to make any money off this bet all i want is to get a year's membership to the site which is $24 so if i can get 24 people who are willing to pay $1 each for a chance to win this frag i will gladly do it. tell me what you guys think... it wouldnt be that hard to do im sure i would end up with alot of ppl thinking its the same thing and if that happens i will just put everyones name in a hat and draw the winner... of course everyone name will go in the hat if i cant find an id at all.

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Ok Well I was on board with the idea this was a plate coral until recently, they aren't growing beyond the size of pencil eraser and they are continuing to colonize across the rock they are on, now there are 7 total head of this and they don't quite look like the plate corals they used to... heres an updated shot...

 

I'm feeding this thing like crazy to get it to grow and see what it does I'm thinking of starting a thread about it

This picture makes me think acan or blasto. It looks like new acan heads do when they sprout.

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i would love it to be acan... they do sprout up like acan (just from me reading as i dont have any...)

 

so folks basicly i am looking for a forum rules stand point on my idea for the free frag raffle if its allowed on this forum i would love to start it up

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RayWhisperer

I'd chip in a buck. What do I have to lose....

 

 

 

Then again, as I was first to suggest betting and first to FIRMLY stick to blasto.... Maybe I get my name in the hat at a higher percentage... Say 50 people bet blasto, I get my name in the hat 5 times. Maybe I'm just selfish though.... LOL.

 

What would you do with the extra money? A membership is $24, what happens if you get $300? People need to know where their money is going, given the likely outcome they won't win.

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I'd chip in a buck. What do I have to lose....

Then again, as I was first to suggest betting and first to FIRMLY stick to blasto.... Maybe I get my name in the hat at a higher percentage... Say 50 people bet blasto, I get my name in the hat 5 times. Maybe I'm just selfish though.... LOL.

 

What would you do with the extra money? A membership is $24, what happens if you get $300? People need to know where their money is going, given the likely outcome they won't win.

 

hes not going to get 300 dollars. it's a blasto i'm sure of it. why do you want to make a raffle out of your hitchiker? why do people have to profit from things all the time, cant you just i.d. it without people having to give you money. if no one has been interested in your raffle after two threads, one of which is 3 pages stop begging and start earning money if you want something.

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This is my two cents:

 

Notice the new growth around my acan colony......Looks VERY similar, sorry about the picture, I have a shotty camera.

100_1298.jpg

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hes not going to get 300 dollars. it's a blasto i'm sure of it. why do you want to make a raffle out of your hitchiker? why do people have to profit from things all the time, cant you just i.d. it without people having to give you money. if no one has been interested in your raffle after two threads, one of which is 3 pages stop begging and start earning money if you want something.

What the big deal. He will be giving the money back to the N-R community. I think you are just bent b/c you didn't think of it.

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