Help identifying SPS that came on cured live rock.

[Sammydog]

I set my tank up a week ago, partly by transferring all of my old tank (25 gallon) into the 100 gallon tank (I will set up a tank journal eventually), but also added 30kg of cured live rock from the LFS to supplement the 20kg I had in the old tank.

Anyway, moving forward a week. while I was lost staring at the tank tonight, I noticed what liked like polyps in an area that had looked like dead skeleton last week (its a piece of cured rock from the LFS that had been in a large tank with very little light for a few months) on one of the bits I got from the LFS.

Anyway, can anyone shed some light (no pun intended) on what it is, as this piece of rock has a lot of it, and what I should be doing to try and resurrect it if it is at all likely that I can resurrect it.

In the photo you can see the polyps in the right hand side of the angled rock. This piece of rock has a few sections of this size with the polyps appearing tonight.

If it helps my water as of tonight reads;

Salinity: 1.025
Ph: 8
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 0.5

Carbonate Hardness: 90kH (started the process of slowly raising it)
Phosphates: 0
Calcium: 400 (also raising this as it has dropped from 450 in the last few days)

The coral is about 300mm deep under a set of Illumagic Blaze LED's.

 

[kbuser92]

Are you sure its actually a coral? It kinda looks just like rock to me...

 

[grumpy]

Looks like it could be star polyps to me

 

[Sammydog]

Looks like it could be star polyps to me

I was thinking its possibly Montipora. Looks like a hard structure that the polyps are coming out of and at this point the polyps only just come to the edge of the hard structure.

Are you sure its actually a coral? It kinda looks just like rock to me...

Its definitely not rock, there is areas of dead skeleton on the rock, but then a few patches 2 inches long that have polyps within the skelton and while bleached the skelton doesn't look dead like on other parts of the rock. On the other parts of the rock, there is just empty holes where a polyp should be.Could be wishful thinking driving my imagination, but I think the white areas have developed a light lime green tinge and the polyps look to be getting slightly bigger.

 

[the guy]

Looks like green star polyps, early growth possibly to me.

 

[kbuser92]

Well, I started thinking and it could be blue sympodium.

 

[Aquarian]

Can you get a pic of the polyps?

 

[Sammydog]

I'll grab one tonight, just back from a few days NYE camping in the middle of Sydney Harbour.

 

[Sammydog]

Here is a pic I got this morning before the lights came on, I will try one tonight after work while the lights are running.Ignore the small bits of algae, tank has only been running about 10 days. While the rock had been curing at the LFS, it wasn't quiet done. Snails will clean that up.

 

[Aquarian]

I can't zoom in enough to get a clear pic of the skeleton and polyps. But I think its a Pavona
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=597+1492+2294+2544&pcatid=2544

 

[Sammydog]

The polyps don't seem to be extending beyond the skelton that I can make out at the moment. There is certainly more colour to it, pink (or browny red) where is was white.I will play with the camera tomorrow and see if I can get a shot of the polyps up close. People who have seen it have suggested Montipora or a Porite, but no one has been sure.

 

[Sammydog]

A few weeks on and its starting to look like this. There is about 4 patches this size on the rock.

The polyps have a greenish tinge when the blue comes into the lights, the rest of the skeleton is red/brown (purple under the blue lights).

 

[Aquarian]

That's is a encrusting Pavona

 

[bronson]

green star polyps is out the window then!:ROFLMAO:

 

[ErinCahir]

Oooo it's PRETTY!

 

[Aquarian]

They are a awesome coral. I had one a few years back that was peach and green I've been on the lookout for another one but they don't turn up often.

 

[Kelz88]

awesome hitch hiker!

 

[Sammydog]

I'll keep posting pics as it develops. I've had people who have seen it suggest it could be Cyphastrea.

 

[Aquarian]

The polyp is very similar between the two but on the Pavona the polyps are closer together than on the Cyphastera.