Help me ID this coral please!

[brooksbest]

So i purchased a few corals the other day. Im very new to reefing and i have a 13.5g nano set up for my room. The shop i got them from was very informative although I seem to have forgotten what he said the name of this coral was can you guys help me please? So i remember him telling me about the obvious zoa the one all by itself is supposed to be galxea i believe they call it. Can anyone give some clarity to if this is correct and what the one im unsure about is exactly please??

 

[brooksbest]

The one in question is in the last photo ‍

 

[Glenner’sreef]

Possibly Cup Coral. I see a stoney base above the frag plug. Yes?

 

[Sharkbait19]

Welcome to the forum!
Could be galaxea - I would need to see it open to tell for sure.
I see an aptasia on the zoas - you are going to want to kill that.

 

[beehive124]

Looks like some kind of LPS due to the skeletal structure on it.

Also Welcome!

 

[Glenner’sreef]

A Pagoda Cup Coral. Very common.

 

[brooksbest]

Possibly Cup Coral. I see a stoney base above the frag plug. Yes?

Yes it has some stoney or skeletal type structure above the frag plug

 

[brooksbest]

Possibly Cup Coral. I see a stoney base above the frag plug. Yes?

Yes in fact there is some sort of structure above the frag but unlike the zoas that look that they are stuck to a clam of some sort this structure is possibly skeleton like? heres a closer look

 

[brooksbest]

Welcome to the forum!
Could be galaxea - I would need to see it open to tell for sure.
I see an aptasia on the zoas - you are going to want to kill that.

Is the aptasia that stringy looking thing?! I was wondering what that was i had a feeling it mighta been another type of coral or something! What should i do to kill it? Just cut it or pull it off?? Heres a closer look at the one I was asking about.

 

[brooksbest]

Heres another picture of it under the other light if it helps at all!

 

[jfoahs04]

Is the aptasia that stringy looking thing?! I was wondering what that was i had a feeling it mighta been another type of coral or something! What should i do to kill it? Just cut it or pull it off?? Heres a closer look at the one I was asking about.

The aiptasia is circled in red below. You have a few options, but if it were me, I'd pull the whole frag out and superglue over the aiptasia. If you try to scrub it or scrape it off, it'll just come back - they can regrow from even the tiniest pieces left behind.

The coral you're asking about is a pagoda cup coral (sometimes just called, "cup coral.").

 

[brooksbest]

The aiptasia is circled in red below. You have a few options, but if it were me, I'd pull the whole frag out and superglue over the aiptasia. If you try to scrub it or scrape it off, it'll just come back - they can regrow from even the tiniest pieces left behind.

The coral you're asking about is a pagoda cup coral (sometimes just called, "cup coral.").

Yikes that sounds scary. So pull it out and superglue it down? I wont effect any of the zoa around it?

 

[brooksbest]

Could i scrap or pull it out then superglue that spot? Seems like it would be difficult to glue that entire thing down as long as it is now between all the zoa no?

 

[brooksbest]

I went back to my shop today and they said they have had great success with peppermint shrimps. I purchased one earlier and have got him going in there hopefully he will fix the issue if not they said i could bring the coral in and they will do it for me which is really cool. Im just a bit nervous at the moment being so new to the hobby im scared ill kill the zoas so im hoping and praying the little shrimp helps me out here. If not ill be bringing it back to the shop to see if they can assist me.

 

[fishguy242]

hi,welcome to the reef ...
pretty sure galexia is the coral in question.
pic in post #8 shows sweeper tentacle...

 

[JaimeAdams]

First pic is a hairy mushroom
Second is Zoathids with an Aptasia
Third is indeed Galaxia

 

[Sharkbait19]

I went back to my shop today and they said they have had great success with peppermint shrimps. I purchased one earlier and have got him going in there hopefully he will fix the issue if not they said i could bring the coral in and they will do it for me which is really cool. Im just a bit nervous at the moment being so new to the hobby im scared ill kill the zoas so im hoping and praying the little shrimp helps me out here. If not ill be bringing it back to the shop to see if they can assist me.

True peppermint shrimps do indeed eat aptasia. Just keep an eye on it because many are known to eat corals down the line as well.

 

[brooksbest]

Hey all! Thanks so much for all the advice so i purchased some aipstasia x today and used it i dont know how successful it will be but im trying to stay on top of this as after you guys pointing it out to me being new to the hobby ive been very worried every since it was mentioned and i dont want to loose control of it spreading. So i made a very interesting discovery earlier. Could someone tell me what im looking at here on my zoas now?! Is this a smaller aiptasia?! I hit it with the aiptasia x just to be safe it looked like a premature aiptasia growing in. Did i over do it with the aptasia x?? Will my zoas bounce back? They all curled up after applying the solution.

 

[brooksbest]

hi,welcome to the reef ...
pretty sure galexia is the coral in question.
pic in post #8 shows sweeper tentacle...

Thanks so much! Im still learning not only is this my first saltwater tank but its really my first fish tank period. And im falling in love with corals so thank you so much for the knowledge!

 

[brooksbest]

First pic is a hairy mushroom
Second is Zoathids with an Aptasia
Third is indeed Galaxia

Thanks so much for the feedback!