Psuedocorynactis hitch hiker

[FlyinAg]

Got one with a Tampa Bay Saltwater order as a hitch hiker. Super cool looking specimen! I have never had one before. I barely noticed it at first as it was closed. There was a faint neon yellow ring inside a calcium skeleton on a piece of rock that caught my eye with my blue lights on. Sure enough it was fully out last night and super hungry! Pic doesn't do it justice. Has a super cool pattern in the middle.

 

[jsker]

#reefsquad

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

There was a faint neon yellow ring inside a calcium skeleton

Corallimorphs, including Psuedocorynactis, do not have skeletons.

 

[FlyinAg]

Ok it sure look like it did, but maybe it was just how it is colored and the way its tentacle were retracted. I thought I had also read that they do in this article, but went back and yeah I think I misread it, so there was some cognitive bias there.

An Identification Guide to Corallimorphs in the Reef Aquarium

The morphological differences that serve to separate anemones, corals and corallimorphs (i.e. “mushrooms”) are not always obvious, and perhaps nowhere do th

reefs.com

Regardless, I think the ID correct, unless you have a different suggestion?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

It could be a cup coral polyp?

The white line in the center is confusing me... Maybe it's just the angle of the pic.

Regardless, very cool!

 

[FlyinAg]

Maybe... Looks like skeleton under there, but looks like all the pseudocorynactis pics...

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Actually leaning towards Caryophylliidae now

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Photos of Family Caryophylliidae · iNaturalist

www.inaturalist.org

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

My final answer: Caryophyllia smithii, aka Devonshire cup coral.

 

[FlyinAg]

Haha funny you mention that, just saw that in Google and thought ”that's it!”

 

[FlyinAg]

Mods is there a way to edit the title and/or move to a more appropriate sub forum?

 

[FlyinAg]

Btw this thing eats like a champ.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Btw this thing eats like a champ.

That's good since it appears it's probably non-photosynthetic

 

[FlyinAg]

Update:

Dinos "killed it". There was nothing left after it was smothered, or so it seems. Fast forward months and months later, and it rises like a phoenix, bigger and badder than ever, and in a very short amount of time. It also made a baby lol. The pic colors are bad, but it looks awesome and still eats like a champ.

 

[FlyinAg]

Posing with Harry and Lloyd

 

[crazyfishmom]

Very neat!