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Coral Vue Hydros

Live rock hitchiker coral - fiji maybe?


emoutz

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I've got a hitchhiker. It survived cycling. Looks like an LPS of some kind (the piece of rock it came on looks to be covered in coral skeletons that look like they could about the right size to have come from this coral)? - round, flat, pink and teal colored, the size of a quarter (has not grown beyond this size), smooth, with small tentacles around the edge and a second group on the surface of the polyp, has grown two small new polyps on either "side" of it by division - seems to be a slow grower - any thoughts? Doesnt appear to have any sweeper tentacles. Dont have a camera (sorry).

 

I put the little guy high up in my tank. Seemed to be happy there (it opened up completely - almost doubling in size (from little more than a pencil eraser to quarter sized).

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Yeah, no way to know without a photo.

 

Poke it, or look at it after lights-out, when it's contracted--does it have a skeleton? If so, some kind of LPS. (Still need a pic.) Otherwise, could be a mushroom or something.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok finally got a picture for all of you. The coral is about the size of a quarter now (doesnt seem to be getting larger). It retracts at night or if disturbed (basically closes up and looks more or less like some sort of polyp. It is on a rock that is covered in LPS skeletons and it seems to fit nicely into one of the niches in the rock (i.e. looks like it has a skeleton under it). There were several of these growing on the rock when it was in the store. 2 survived cycling. The one in the pic is sprouting a second polyp (you can barely see it under the main polyp). Also noticed some very small feeders the other night.

 

THoughts>?

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Pretty. Looks like Blasto merletti, but the photo is blurry.

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Yeah I was thinking some kind of blasto. It isnt "puffy" enough for many of the merlettis I've seen pics of (maybe it needs to be fed!). Doesnt really look like any of the blastos 've found pics of - but close to all of them. Anyway, tHe pic doesnt do it justice - the coral is really bright pink with teal highlights. Just hope it keeps growing!

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Well...Merletti tends to have a "tall" skeleton, so it could be a small wellsi. What size are the dead corallites next to it? They appear to be the same coral.

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The skeletons next to it are between dime and quarter sized and I agree - I think that the skeletons are the same coral that is growing on my rock. Too bad more polyps didnt make it!

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They may come back. If not, feed it meaty food like cyclop-eeze or frozen mysis, or even marine fish food--Blastos grow slowly, but they've always been hardy for me.

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