Help identifying soft coral

[40west]

I have a nano FOWLR setup, but this coral showed itself as a live rock hitchhiker after about 6 months. It's beautiful, extremely hardy and really opens ups and sways back and forth when the tank conditions are optimal. I'm in the process of setting up a nano reef and would like to actually buy another one of these guys on purpose if I knew what it was. It's a single coral with several branches. I showed a photo to a worker at my LFS, and he had no idea. Thanks.

 

[shadow_k]

They look like an LPS coral … but I’m sure

 

[shwareefer]

Are you sure that's a softy? No skeleton under that?

 

[dedragon]

yep lps, but idk what. Is it one polyp or multiple? Looks like a brain or acan hard to tell. Where is the rock from? florida, australia , etc?

 

[Not an IT guy]

Acan

 

[Soren]

+1 looks like an Acan to me.

 

[40west]

It came from a piece of live rock of unknown origin I bought at the LFS about 5 years ago and selected the rock because it had a mostly closed clam shell attached. Months later, this coral appeared from inside the shell. The shell eventually broke away from the rock, so I'm able to move the coral (growing from inside the shell) whenever needed or if one of my clowns pushes it off the rocks. When stressed, it compresses into a single ball, but expands as shown in the photo when happy.

 

[Manny D. Mandarin]

It looks like to might be a lobo maybe?

 

[40west]

Another photo just for perspective...

(PS - I've been battling the brown flaky stuff on the rocks (cyano?) for months, which is why I'm creating a new 10 gallon nano setup from scratch, but that would be another thread.)

 

[dedragon]

either open brain (trachy) or lobo, im terrible with telling apart.

 

[Pistondog]

With size perspective, Lobo or trachy

 

[shwareefer]

Awesome hitchhiker no matter what it is.

 

[BlennyTime]

Looks like a lobo to me from the second pic

 

[Reefing102]

To me or looks like a Trachy but an open brain none the less.

 

[FIN&BONEZ]

lobo no doubt... weird but healthy

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Not sure if it’s an acan or an open brain (like a lobo) but it’s definitely not a softy

 

[40west]

I appreciate all the replies. At first, an acan seemed a possibility, but the fact that this guy is a single polyp (if that's the correct term in this case) that, when happy, expands into wavy lobes makes me think that it is a lobo or trachy.

 

[40west]

lobo no doubt... weird but healthy

amazing that this thing is so healthy in a tank with lighting meant for fowlr systems, but I am in the process of setting up a new reef-friendly system and will move him to a new home in a few months.