goniopora or alveopora?

A

alti

Guest
i bought what i thought was a goniopora from the lfs yesterday. the sign said alveopora, but i normally dont trust their id's anyway. i counted 24 tentacles per polyp and just assumed from what i read somewhere that all goniopora have 24 tentacles and alveopora have 12(link to site below). when it was in the tank i did not see the base since all the polyps were extended, but when the employee waved his hand over the coral to get it to close i noticed it had a skeleton that was branching. all the goniopora ive seen have had a rounded base, so i started to think it may be alveopora. does anyone know what the correct way to tell them apart is? thanks
http://www.reefcorner.com/SpecimenSheets/alveopora.htm
 
tcreef

tcreef

Member
alti, your right alveopora have 12 tentacle tips and goniopora have 24. According to Borneman's Aquarium Corals, alveopora skeletons can be "round, massive or sometimes branching". Goniopora "rarely are encrusting or branching".
Mine is the branching variety. They like low current and low to med light. I've read that they enjoy a gentle current that moves them back and forth.
Hope this Helps
 
reefgirl

reefgirl

Member
Goniopora have 24 tentacles. Alveopora have 12. Skeleton shape has nothing to do with it. Goniopora can be commonly found with both globe and branching skeletons, but the Alveopora that make it into the hobby are usually of the branching variety.
HTH
RG :)
 
A

alti

Guest
oops, maybe i should learn how to count. i just took a pic and it seemsthat it actually has 20 tentacles per polyp. i found something similar on another site. they called it alveopora japonica. could this be it? heres a bad pic of mine.
 
spsfreak100

spsfreak100

Active Member
I'm seeing 20, although I saw 24 on one polyp. Either that or i'm seeing things.
I don't know what to say. Maybe you have an extremely rare multi million dollar coral?
Graham
 
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