I purchased this coral on the bus tour. LFS said it came in as a Montipora but they could not id it. It was a brown ugly lump with large cream polyps. It is starting to turn green with polyps turning green/blue and seems very happy with the other high light montis and acros.
When stressed, the polyps close into deep cones. M. foveolata fits the closest within the Montipora, but the coenosteum matches Astreopora. Does anyone have an Astreopora in their system?
Astreopora - Rare coral rarely seen in aquarium trade. Members of this genus mostly form dome-shaped or rounded heads but sometimes have leaf like extensions, be encrusting or form plates, vases and branches. Have corallites that are usually in a blunt conical shape with a small circular opening. They are much larger than members of the genus Montipora. They have a wide range of colours including yellow, brown, green, pink and blue but the most common are whitish-blue. The corallites are distinct and separate, sometimes raised on cones and sometimes depressed, up to four millimetres across and round in cross-section. The skeleton is porous with the coenosteum having a net-like appearance. The coral appears rough-textured because of tiny spines that cover the surface between the corallites. The septa are poorly developed giving corals of this genus the appearance of being filled with holes. The blue/purple coloration appears to require moderate light levels. To develop more pinkish color expose the coral to strong to intense light levels. Water current is moderate to strong.
When stressed, the polyps close into deep cones. M. foveolata fits the closest within the Montipora, but the coenosteum matches Astreopora. Does anyone have an Astreopora in their system?
Astreopora - Rare coral rarely seen in aquarium trade. Members of this genus mostly form dome-shaped or rounded heads but sometimes have leaf like extensions, be encrusting or form plates, vases and branches. Have corallites that are usually in a blunt conical shape with a small circular opening. They are much larger than members of the genus Montipora. They have a wide range of colours including yellow, brown, green, pink and blue but the most common are whitish-blue. The corallites are distinct and separate, sometimes raised on cones and sometimes depressed, up to four millimetres across and round in cross-section. The skeleton is porous with the coenosteum having a net-like appearance. The coral appears rough-textured because of tiny spines that cover the surface between the corallites. The septa are poorly developed giving corals of this genus the appearance of being filled with holes. The blue/purple coloration appears to require moderate light levels. To develop more pinkish color expose the coral to strong to intense light levels. Water current is moderate to strong.