SPS Question

[ReefGod]

I'm starting to learn more about the SPS world, can anybody explain to me what is the difference between acropora and staghorn sps, I know milipora has long hairlike polyps, but I could never tell the difference between the other two.

I tried looking throught the internet but found no fact sheet about their difference.

Also do the differenet kinds of staghorns or arcoporas have different names or do people just make up names based on their color like a "blue tip stag" for example.

 

[Servo]

SPS coral are the reef building stony corals. Taxonomy is the a biologic classification system in which all living organisms can be classified.

Milliporas (the ones that you are thinking of are short uniform brancing cluster growth patterns with prominent polyps) True Milliporas are actually a separate genus and are also known as stinging "fire corals" that are very abundant in the caribbean.

Anyway, to simplify things; environments will determine different growth forms. Corals grow in various locations; Lower and upper reef slope, the reef flat, the reef back and the lagoon (comming from the ocean onto land). A staghorn coral is a description of the type of growth form of the type of coral. Other growth forms include tables, bushy, bottlebrush, column, ginger and cluster. Staghorn corals are actually branching growth forms. Common branching staghorn corasl are A. Yongei *the popular green slimer*, A. Formosa, A. Nobilis, A. exquisita, A. pulchara, Acropora cervicornis and A abrolhoseensis. The first three corals are the most common in our hobby. The latter, rare or in the case of Acropora cervicornis illegal.