Hello, can anyone help me ID these 2 Corals Please!
- Thread starter Pisquini
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ritter6788
Coral Fraud Private Eye
I'm on my phone and the pic is small for me so I could be way off here but the first one looks like an Encrusting Gorgonian. Are the polyps long or short like the green star polyps?
ritter6788
Coral Fraud Private Eye
Most likely anthelia then, like already stated. I just like to make things more complicated. 
OP
OP
Pisquini
Active Member
After reading up on Encrusting Gorgonian, the discription open and closed seem right. The way it grows seems right. And since Anthelia is hard to grow and what I have grows faster then anything else in my tank, I am thinking Encrusting Gorgonian. Thanks guys!
lakeviewink
Well-Known Member
I don't think I have ever encountered the first but the second is definately GSP as stated already by everyone.
Pkunk35
Valuable Member
The first set of pics look a LOT like Clavularia to me. Look at how the "body" of the coral attaches itself to the substrate with those "feeler" like extensions. It looks as if there isn't a continuous matting as in an encrusting gorgonian or star polyps. This could be Anthelia also I suppose.
I think a pic with the coral closed would provide better clues.
I think a pic with the coral closed would provide better clues.
Pkunk35
Valuable Member
Seems like a clove polyp, but probably not Anthelia or clavularia (due to the polyp frond shape). Very nice colonies!
I looked this up:
"
The Clavularia corals can sometimes be confused with the Waving Hand Corals Anthelia sp., such as A. glauca, which has very similar polyps. You can tell the difference between the two by looking at them when the polyps are retracted. Clavularia can completely retract its polyps until only the closed heads of each calyx can be seen. Anthelliacan deflate its polyps too, but one can still see the tentacles as they cannot be withdrawn completely into the calyx."
Palm Tree Polyps, Clavularia viridis, Clove Polyps Coral Information, Coral Care and Coral Pictures of Glove Polyps, Fern Polyps, Waving Hand Polyps
I looked this up:
"
Most Clavularia species have tentacles with long feathery pinnules, or side branches, that can be very lush. They can also look like a solid "feather" with stiffer "plumes". All species have tentacles of varying length and some species have a more tubular or thick tentacle. With the wide variety of texture and color, the Clavularia corals can make a wonderful collection worth pursuing for an attractive reef aquarium.
The Clavularia corals can sometimes be confused with the Waving Hand Corals Anthelia sp., such as A. glauca, which has very similar polyps. You can tell the difference between the two by looking at them when the polyps are retracted. Clavularia can completely retract its polyps until only the closed heads of each calyx can be seen. Anthelliacan deflate its polyps too, but one can still see the tentacles as they cannot be withdrawn completely into the calyx."
Palm Tree Polyps, Clavularia viridis, Clove Polyps Coral Information, Coral Care and Coral Pictures of Glove Polyps, Fern Polyps, Waving Hand Polyps
