reefsrule Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 I know its a long shot, but can anyone identify this gorgonian? The yellow one. Link to comment
jenniebutterfly Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 i have the same one and i still do not know what kind it is Link to comment
reefsrule Posted January 25, 2005 Author Share Posted January 25, 2005 how long have you had it? Link to comment
jenniebutterfly Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 about 10 months Link to comment
jenniebutterfly Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 mine looks liek the day i got it, but not as nice as yours Link to comment
reefsrule Posted January 25, 2005 Author Share Posted January 25, 2005 thanks, do you feed yours? Link to comment
jenniebutterfly Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 it gets food when i feed the tank every 2-3 days. i feed cyclopeeze to it. Link to comment
MrAnderson Posted January 26, 2005 Share Posted January 26, 2005 Unfortunately that pic doesn't show the main identifying features of gorgonians (branch shape in cross-section, calyces, polyp apertures, etc). See if you can get a closer shot with the polyps in. Exposed polyps hide the branch morphology. My guess right now is Plexaura sp. Link to comment
reefsrule Posted January 26, 2005 Author Share Posted January 26, 2005 can't get a picture right now, when the polyps are in they are the same color and are little bumps that you can see. The gorgonian has a "stick-like" internal skeleton with the polyps building around it, which I can see because it started to recede in a lot of places. So the gorg looks pretty much the came with the polyps in. Link to comment
MrAnderson Posted January 26, 2005 Share Posted January 26, 2005 Are the branches round, or flattened, or shaped like a triangle? Is the mass of branches "flat" in relation to each other, i.e., if you were to lay it on the sand, could it lay flat with all of the branches on the same plane? Do the polyps come out of slits or holes? And I'm assuming that the polyps holes are built into bumps from what you said, or are they flat? These are the characteristics I was talking about. Color doesn't really help much with gorgonian identification. Link to comment
reefsrule Posted January 26, 2005 Author Share Posted January 26, 2005 The branches are round, but not that thick. Definently not flat. Here is another of the same gorgonian (I think) "Is the mass of branches "flat" in relation to each other, i.e., if you were to lay it on the sand, could it lay flat with all of the branches on the same plane?" Funny you should mention that, the purple one in the pic is exactly flat, but the yellow isn't. I'm pretty sure they are the same type though, because of their unique internal skeloton. The polyps come out of holes. When the polyps are closed, they are like a closed aiptasia anenome, they don't go inside. They aren't on bumps either. Link to comment
MrAnderson Posted January 27, 2005 Share Posted January 27, 2005 No those two are different genera. Notice that in the last pic with purple polyps, there is a single central "trunk" going up the middle, with long mostly singular branches growing off that trunk, and all these branches lie in a plane. These are some defining characteristics of Plexaura, and that's what I think this one is. The yellow one in the first pic has many branches coming off of the base (I think, but the base can't be seen), each branch is highly branched and the branches don't lie in a plane. Since I can't see it very well, I'm gonna have to pass on this one. Link to comment
reefsrule Posted January 27, 2005 Author Share Posted January 27, 2005 ok, thanks for all your help Link to comment
Mhills16 Posted January 27, 2005 Share Posted January 27, 2005 if you have a star poly for like 2 weeks and it still hasnt come out yet and it is very close to the light what does this mean? Link to comment
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