Khemul's 40B

[Khemul]

Soooo...any thoughts? I'm thinkin Trumpet Coral, since the rock it is growing on was once a Trumpet colony. But I thought they were generally stoney, and this one looks fleshy. Is it just too young to have a skeleton? It looks exactly like the skeletons around it, just entirely fleshy.

Picked up a leather for $6. Some type of finger leather, hard to tell at its current size but for the price couldn't complain. It came on the rock above. Seperated it from the rock, then found that little hitchhiker above. Also came with a few Stomatella snails, but the shrimp probably made a meal of them by now.

 

[greech]

Hard to see but it kinda looks like a fungia to me. Is it extended out from the rock from or is it flat against it?

 

[SubRosa]

Almost certainly a Fungia. For a while I was getting in pieces of rock completely covered with them. They ranged fron the size of a pencil eraser up to almost the size of a quarter. Once they get that big it's pretty easy to break them off and put them in the sand. In the wild wave action would cause this to happen when they got big enough but I doubt you have the motive force in your tank to accomplish it "naturally".

 

[greech]

And if/when you take it off, leave the rock in the tank. You might have more babies pop out.

 

[Khemul]

These might show it a little better. Hard to get details since it is very tiny and I'm using a cell phone camera. In the first picture there may be another small one next to it, but it is difficult to see any detail at this size.

If it is a Fungia, will it survive on that rock for a while longer? I'm thinking it won't make it too long on the sandbed in this tank at that size. Anything light and small tends to get thrown around, buried or turned into a door. :laugh: Its about the size of a small zoanthid. I'm thinking of setting up a small tank for frags next to this one (can fit a 5g) so guess it can go there.

 

[greech]

It will be fine on the rock. Not quite sure its a fungia now based on that second pic. They do have a little "stem" that keeps them connected until they break off but that one looks a little bigger than most I have seen. So many fungias though, each one could grow a little different. In any case, I would leave it be and see how it develops.

 

[Khemul]

In any case, I would leave it be and see how it develops.

Well short of any other options, guess that plan will work. :thumbsup:

From looking up Fungia, I can see the resemblance. Will just have to let it grow more and see. At least if it is a Fungia I didn't get a high-light coral as a hitchhiker. I mean, none of the softies are complaining but it is a low-light tank by most standards. :laugh:

Showing the Clownfish how it should be done... :laugh:

 

[SubRosa]

Definitely no rush to remove it. How big in diameter is the head? That is indeed a very stout base, but they start out that way, very large base/head ratio. Then as they get bigger the base stops growing perhaps because it's shaded by the head. I would definitely not be surprised to see more appear, especially since your lone one is in such an early stage.

 

[Khemul]

I'd say about 1/4".

 

[Khemul]

Guess this about due for an update.

Some upgrades. Swapped the Koralia 425 for a Tunze 6015. Same rating, but the Tunze hits hard enough to knock both the Xenia and the GSP around, whereas the Koralia puttered out about halfway across the tank. The Koralia 425 replaced the Evo-Mag 300 in the nursery. The HOB was replaced too. The Fusion is going to be a pain maintenance-wise (since it is clear plastic all around) but the media bays are well worth it over the Penguin.

Sympodium, I think. It is growing, but a bit differently then when I originally got it. The polyps seem to be getting smaller and darker as the colony spreads out.

The leathers.

The jungle. :laugh:

Currently the only hermit crab in the tank. There was a rather interesting Blue-Leg, but when I gave the Thin-Stripe this new shell the Blue-Leg decided to try out the old shell (about 5 sizes too big) and somehow vanished during the transfer (the Lantern Bass looked rather suspiciously interested in the whole situation). So now it is just the little Thin-Stripe. But it has a lot of personality too.

The babies are about another month from being ready for the main tank. Thought they were ready, but when I came home one night to a tail sticking out of the Flame Cardinal's mouth, decided they need a little more growing (the little Molly was half as long as the Cardinal and he still managed to choke it down, after a few hours of trying). There are 19 more in a breeder box in the main tank that are too small for the nursery.