Need some help to ID this. Thanks!

[Kgmm]

Hi, been in freshwater many years and am new to the reef world. I had a chance pickup an assortment of small frags locally and learn about them. This one in particular though got my head scratching. I believe it is an acropora... but with a green mushroom attached to it? Or am I completely wrong? Should I be concerned with separating the two or just leave them alone?

 

[BranchingHammer]

It looks like stylophora (the pink branching frag). The green mushroom is a rhodactis mushroom. If you look around the edge of the mushroom, there is dead, white stylophora skeleton. You should separate them because the mushroom will grow and continue to sting the stylo. You can probably frag the stylo into two/three pieces, and leave the mushroom on the dead skeleton by itself.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Purple stylopora and very hardy. Needs Good light and water flow and I would elevate it to the upper 3rd of tank. The shroom is likely shading the stem of the stylo from light which is needs for Food generation utilizing zooxanthelle

 

[Kgmm]

Thanks for all the responses. Now onto the next obvious question. How do I separate the two? Just.... with my fingers and gently peel them apart? I read a lot on how to handle and glue frags before I started this project; but this I have not come across.

 

[Kgmm]

Ok I took the advice and started at the edge of the mushroom where the white is and slowly pull it back away from the branch - with a blade to assist the process. Hopefully I didnt kill anything. Thanks for the guidance.