Need an ID on this coral. Good luck!!

[SillyBeast67]

My LFS has had this coral in one of his tanks for over a year now. He won't sell it and has no idea what it is. Any ideas? Looks to be encrusting on a coral skeleton but I'm not sure....

 

[BMW540]

Looks like an encrusting pavona to me...

 

[SillyBeast67]

Looks like an encrusting pavona to me...

I'm not too sure. The polyp structure on this thing is weird. Like the whole coral is just one fuzz ball with blue on it.

 

[Highgrade]

Psammacora

 

[SillyBeast67]

Psammacora

I can't find any psammacora that resembles this one... Idk

 

[AcroNem]

Leptastraea sp.

 

[Quah]

Looks like a Mr. Freeze Lepto - tentacles are a little big for that though.

 

[AcroNem]

I don't think it's Leptoseris. Polyps are a little big.

 

[Quah]

Came back to say - definately a lepto.

 

[Highgrade]

I can't find any psammacora that resembles this one... Idk

I have one just like it. It's and encrusting/branching psammcora. I have several Leptastreas and leptos including mr freeze and the polyps/tissue isnt the same as pictured above. I'd still say Psammacora

 

[SillyBeast67]

I have one just like it. It's and encrusting/branching psammcora. I have several Leptastreas and leptos including mr freeze and the polyps/tissue isnt the same as pictured above. I'd still say Psammacora

Picture for reference? The owner of my Lfs is super experienced and can't tell what this is. So if you can find me a picture that resembles this, then I'll go with that lol

 

[SillyBeast67]

Came back to say - definately a lepto.

And the winner is you!!! Found this on cherry corals. Looks very very similar!!! Thanks!

 

[Myka]

Here is a macro photo of a Leptoseris where you can see the skeletal ridges really well. It is a fairly easy coral to ID because of the ridges.

Here is Psammacora, lacks ridges and tends to look "fuzzier" than Lepto:

 

[Myka]

This photo looks VERY similar to the colors in your photo. Honestly though, I don't think your photo is clear enough to differentiate between Lepto or Psamma. Plus, lots of pics you see on the internets are mis-ID'ed!

A uniquely colored mint leptoseris.

 

[SillyBeast67]

This photo looks VERY similar to the colors in your photo. Honestly though, I don't think your photo is clear enough to differentiate between Lepto or Psamma. Plus, lots of pics you see on the internets are mis-ID'ed!

Looks just like it! Thanks for the info! I'll pass this on to my LFS. How much do you think this would be worth? It's like the size of an apple... Maybe larger.

 

[Myka]

Looks just like it! Thanks for the info! I'll pass this on to my LFS. How much do you think this would be worth? It's like the size of an apple... Maybe larger.

Depends who's selling it.

Without naming names, if one of the "expensive coral vendors" was selling it, it would probably be $60-100 a square inch. If it was a mom n pop shop, maybe $80-150 for the whole colony. It's all about marketing, and I don't mean marketing one single coral - it's marketing of the "brand name" of the coral shop.