Identification

[jquest]

Trying to identify something that appeared and has grown fairly rapidly on a piece of live rock that we recently purchased. I have checked the books I have and I have checked on-line using multiple resources with no success. These things appear to be soft coral....(I am new to this so please they may not be soft corals at all). They are pink in color and they are in bunches of about 4 to 5 stalks. To put it in layman's terms...they look like miniature pink palm trees. The tips of the "palm tree frands" look like feathers. Would appreciate any help in identifying this. It is beautfiul! The picture is very poor quality but maybe it will give someone out there an idea of what I am talking about. Thanks again! http://home.rr.com/cameronalex

 

[teresaq]

its a soft coral, something like anthia
T

 

[teresaq]

its a soft coral, something like Anthelia
T

 

[fatcat]

Looks like xenia to me.

 

[pezenfuego]

Originally Posted by FaTcAt
http:///forum/post/2933253
Looks like xenia to me.
Yep. I like it. As you have probably already figured out, it spreads quickly. Don't let it overrun your tank. If I were you I'd put a little in the sump.

 

[spanko]

Here is a closer picture of Anthelia sp.. Do the "palm" leaves open and close like a fist on their own? If not probably just an Anthelia sp.. If they do maybe a pulsing Xenia umbellata
Anthelia sp.

Xenia umbellata

 

[jquest]

WOW! You guys really know your stuff. Thanks so much for your help! I up what you said in my invert book and that is exactly what it looks like. Thanks again! I am sure that I may have more questions in the future. Please be patient with me as I am brand new at this. Thanks again so much for your help!

 

[spanko]

Welcome JQuest to the boards. So which did you determine it is, Anthelia or Xenia?

 

[teresaq]

the stalks look more like Athelia then xenia. I have both and my Athelia has an individial stalk per head and Xenia has multi heads per stalk
T

 

[fatcat]

After looking and blowing up the pic i think your right Teresa.

 

[jquest]

Athelia. It does not pulse. OK....here is a question about the alkilinity test that I have been doing along with my calcium testing daily. These are kind of a mess. We bought both kits from a local reef farm and nothing has been consistent since day one. Forgive me for being so long winded but here goes:
The testing kit for Calcium is called a CA Profi Test Calcium and on the bottom of the box it says Salifert. I have gotten the Calcium levels within normal limits on multiple occasions. The alkilinity, however, is a completely different story. The test kit is KH/Alk Profi Test Carbonate Hardness/Alkalinity and then at the bottom of the box is Salifert (which I am now assuming is the brand/company). Anyway...I have never been able to get the alkilinity within the normal range since having the aquarium. One thing that I cannot figure out is this. In the Alkilinity box there is 2 syringes, one yellow tip for the one syringe, a green dripper bottle labeled KH-Ind and then a larger bottle labeled just KH. I am following the directions to the spot. There is a mystery bottle in this box that I think might be causing my problem. It is smaller than the KH bottle and is labeled Alkalinity Check Solution 8.1 dKH +/-0.3. There are no directions for this and I have no idea what I am suppose to do with it. Again....any help in any of these areas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Sarah