ID Please.

[rjs5134]

This was a pic on the RL homepage. Can someone Id it please, it is beautiful.

http://www.reefland.com/gallery/show...=230&catid=510

Thanks

Rob

[CSeaSee]

That is Elegance coral, Catalaphyllia jardinei.

[Ninong]

It's very beautiful but unfortunately it seems to be very difficult to keep in captivity. I have seen some reef tanks with huge, obviously thriving specimens that have been kept for years but the vast majority of the elegance corals imported in the trade don't survive more than a few months in captivity. Why this is so is a mystery.

Robert Fenner attributes it to the fact that "this species does not live in sterile, nutrient-deprived settings... but in the wild in muddy, mucky areas semi-buried in the substrate... sometimes in the shallows of nearshore, other times at the base of reef slopes at depths of 20 meters or more."

I guess that would put it in the same category as Goniopora -- difficult to keep because our reef tanks are too "clean." With both species, you will find some hobbyists who do manage to get specimens to survive for at least a few years but probably more than 90% of the specimens purchased will be dead within a few months.

[Reefland]

It's ashame that some of the most beautiful corals aren't suitable for captive care.

[rjs5134]

Thanks guys, already learned that lesson with a goniopora that was recommended by the lfs.