Exactly! When it was one 'node' it looked like a candy cane. Then it started to pinch and grew a new mouth and I thought ok this is how they split... A few weeks later after a tank move I pick it up off the sand and it has ~5 mouths now
Can you post under white lighting? First glance said lobo but then can be bowerbanki or blasto as examplesI've had this coral for a while now. Thought it was a trumpet all along and starting to split a few weeks back. Just mounted it in new tank and I'm not thinking so any more. Lobophyllia perhaps?
too small and flesh texture is not right to be Lobophyllia
Platygyra is meandroid to subcerioid, while this coral is flabello-meandroid
too small to be Trachyphyllia, and the flesh texture is not right
Homophyllia bowerbanki has larger, cerioid (not flabello-meandroid) corallites, and has a more "velvety" flesh texture. It's not a Blastomussa either, as Blastomussa does not become flabello-meandroid.
www.inaturalist.org
Looks like your ID is here hahatoo small and flesh texture is not right to be Lobophyllia
Platygyra is meandroid to subcerioid, while this coral is flabello-meandroid
too small to be Trachyphyllia, and the flesh texture is not right
Homophyllia bowerbanki has larger, cerioid (not flabello-meandroid) corallites, and has a more "velvety" flesh texture. It's not a Blastomussa either, as Blastomussa does not become flabello-meandroid.
Where did you get your coral? If it was from a piece of maricultured live rock, my best guess would be Manicina areolata, although I doubt it, as your coral seems to be attatched to the rock.. Otherwise, my best guess would be Caulastraea or Astraeosmilia that is splitting. I've seen a few trumpets/candy cane colonies with a flabello-meandroid head or two; it seems to be more common in Astraeosmilia:
Family Merulinidae
Merulinidae from Boheydulang Island, Sabah, Malaysia on September 11, 2022 at 11:46 AM by tracc. Extremely shallow. In the lagoon
Very detailed reply. Much appreciated. Everyone else as well. I think you're right and it is a caulastrea after all. At least it looks the most like the ones I've seen online with an abnormal (flabello-meandroid?) head maybe still splitting. Very informative. Thank youtoo small and flesh texture is not right to be Lobophyllia
Platygyra is meandroid to subcerioid, while this coral is flabello-meandroid
too small to be Trachyphyllia, and the flesh texture is not right
Homophyllia bowerbanki has larger, cerioid (not flabello-meandroid) corallites, and has a more "velvety" flesh texture. It's not a Blastomussa either, as Blastomussa does not become flabello-meandroid.
Where did you get your coral? If it was from a piece of maricultured live rock, my best guess would be Manicina areolata, although I doubt it, as your coral seems to be attatched to the rock.. Otherwise, my best guess would be Caulastraea or Astraeosmilia that is splitting. I've seen a few trumpets/candy cane colonies with a flabello-meandroid head or two; it seems to be more common in Astraeosmilia:
Family Merulinidae
Merulinidae from Boheydulang Island, Sabah, Malaysia on September 11, 2022 at 11:46 AM by tracc. Extremely shallow. In the lagoon
Thanks! I hate to do it because it likes this spot but I gotta move it to get the magnet cleaner by that area. Not sure where yet. Tbh Im no good at that part of the hobby lol
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Really interesting. Thanks for the read!Astraeosmilia, the new candy cane species.
RAstraeosmilia is a new Genus that Splits up the Candy Corals | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog
Astraeosmilia is a new genus of stony coral that is about to change up our understanding of the candy or trumpet corals, formerly limited to the Caulastraea genus. This new group of stony corals pulls…reefbuilders.com
