Timfish Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 I have a Palau Green Finger for sale for $500. First photo shows it under normal lights, second under just actinics. Original colony was acquired in 1997. A parent colony was expanding to over 2' across when it was donated to Texas State Aquarium in 2003. I have larger ones available and price is negotiable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KeeperOfTheZoo Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 Is this Palau nepthea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dena Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 Do the polyps come out more? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonSequitur Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 The one above and to the right looks like palau nepthea, but the one in the center... hmm.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KeeperOfTheZoo Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 My nepthea looks like that when it doesnt have its polyps extended but its always neon green, even under non actinic lighting. Its extinct in the wild supposedly but seems plentiful enough amongst folks around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lamont Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 my nepthea is very neon green and the stalk is a little fatter than that. Is there a difference in appearance if it was tank raised compared to coming straight out of the ocean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KeeperOfTheZoo Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 Just depends on if it's happy and inflated or not. Does yours feed at night? Mine is always the prettiest and most extended when the lights are off. I got mine from a reefer who was moving up east. His mother colony was huge! My mini colony is about 6" x 4" , not super fast growing but I've seen noticeable growth since Dec. when I got it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lamont Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 Just depends on if it's happy and inflated or not. Does yours feed at night? Mine is always the prettiest and most extended when the lights are off. I got mine from a reefer who was moving up east. His mother colony was huge! My mini colony is about 6" x 4" , not super fast growing but I've seen noticeable growth since Dec. when I got it. Mine is usually always open unless it senses I have shut of the powerheads or my hand is in the tank. when i feed my acans and anemone it will shrivel up. other than that it has all the little polyps(i call them goose bumps) out and stands up straight. when my blue moon lights are on it looks awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmmze Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 I have a piece that came from J_G it has a lot of little polyps as well. I believe that all that is around here is from the same original colony. They are very nice looking coral. That must be some awesome lights or something to get that kinda spread on that piece very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 Is this Palau nepthea? I initially thought it was a Nephthia sp. when I first started to identify it. However none of the literature supports this conclusion. Sprung and Delbeck consider it a Sinularia sp. "The Reef Aquarium Vol. II pg 211. Sea Scope Vol. 16, Summer 1999, has two seperate references: Tom Frakes refering specifically to the Summer 1998 El Nino bleaching event and LeRoy and Sally Jo Headlee doing DNA mapping and having identified 9 differant strains of this Sinularia sp. In "A Practical Guide To Corals For The Reef Aquarium" on pages 75 and 76 Puterbaugh and Borneman have photos of both Nephthia sp. and Sinularia sp. Green Fingers showing the Nephthia sp. as "stalkless" and the Sinularia sp. as having stalks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 (edited) my nepthea is very neon green and the stalk is a little fatter than that. Is there a difference in appearance if it was tank raised compared to coming straight out of the ocean? Growth is HIGHLY variable and in my experience depends largely on water flow, chaotic flow causing a draping growth habit and in one extreme in another tank very "clubby" cacti like growth. Both of these pics are of sister colonies in the same tank. The 2nd pic also shows a typical brown Sinularia sp. finger coral to the left (front of tank). Edited April 21, 2010 by Timfish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 My nepthea looks like that when it doesnt have its polyps extended but its always neon green, even under non actinic lighting. Its extinct in the wild supposedly but seems plentiful enough amongst folks around here. Here's a pic with a different exposure that show's a little more green. I'm not sure why but I can't capture as green as it looks in person and you can see the amount of green does vary from colony to colony. This is a 110 tank with 6 54W T5's 3 actinic, 2 6500K 1 10,000K. I haven't tried this cultivar under MH but I do believe the more florescent green could be developed with a different spectrum and intensity although it is certainly thriving with the current lights. When I first heard about this coral being extinct in the wild in '07 I thought it was bogus and checked with a friend of mine works for a importer that has collectors in Palau. I was quite surprised when she got back with me and said their collectors hadn't seen it since the '98 El Nino. I think it's important to emphasize we still don't know what Sinularia species it is and it may turn out to be just a color variant of a more common species. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lamont Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 Your tank is amazing! With your new pics i can see a resemblance in the Palau. What kind of flow do you direct toward yours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KeeperOfTheZoo Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 Wow that's a gorgeous tank! I love the layout. Very well thought out and unique. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted April 22, 2010 Author Share Posted April 22, 2010 Your tank is amazing! With your new pics i can see a resemblance in the Palau. What kind of flow do you direct toward yours? Thank You! The supply (500 gph) is angled down on the left hand side next to the overflow and gives a mild laminar flow left to right across the front of the tank. A powerhead (300 GPH) behind the green bubble tip left of center gives movement behind the rockwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 This has been identified as Sinularia foliata (Ofwegan 2008). It is currently only known from Palau. The original colony pictured for sale has been sold. I'll be posting pictures soon of more colonies available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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