Blastomusa or Acanthstria

[rickjames]

Originally Posted by digital-audiophile

Rookie question that I've been trying to figure out. What exactly is the difference bewteen wellsi and merletti? When I look at examples of both they look exactly the same to me?


Greg

Good question, I don't know either, but I know where to find out:

http://whelk.aims.gov.au/coralsearch/coralsearch.php

Blastomussa merleti
http://whelk.aims.gov.au/coralsearch...0pages/107.htm

Blastomussa wellsi
http://whelk.aims.gov.au/coralsearch...0pages/108.htm

[AndyL]

Merletti have smaller polyps and have a branching type growth, each polyp grows its own little tube, and grows as a colony (think parachute/umbrella type growth, it spreads up and outwards).

Wellsi is a little closer to an acanstrea in overall shape/growth (they're quite different seen side by side).

If you were local I'd say swing on by and have a look, I've got a little corner of my reef with both blastos and two different species of acans.

Andy

[Funky_Fish14]

I'll try to sum it up quickly. Merleti tends to be less common, although still readily available. The skeletal structure is comprised of branches, one for each polyp.. Many color variations are available.

Wellsi skeletal structure is moreso one piece with the skeleton of each polyp attached together. These tend to be the more typically found blastos, and have many color variations available as well.

Hope this helps!

Chris

[Funky_Fish14]

Haha I see Andy got to it before me, and I just peeked at those articles.... very good and informative!

[digital-audiophile]

Thanks for all the info guys! I think I'm starting to understand a little bit better.

Andy- can you show a photo of the two blastos side by side? That will help me get a better understanding.

Thanks!

Greg

[Funky_Fish14]

If you look at the two articles, there is a clear difference in skeletal structure in the provided pictures. Just thought I'd let you know, so less hassle for Andy... hehe.

Chris

[AndyL]

I'll see if I can get a clear picture, my cameras suck so I'm not making any promises

[digital-audiophile]

Ah, the best pictures on that site are the ones that show just the skeleton, you can really see the difference between the structures. With the flesh on them they don't look that much different. I think thats where I am getting confused.

Greg

[AndyL]

Wellsi - Big red skirted, green centered thing dominating, merletti is the green/brown directly underneath (not in the bottom left corner)

If y'all wanna play name that acan - feel free, still trying to understand those myself, 3 different "acans" (as labeled by retailers) in that picture, all look radically different (the green one before anyone says - is recovering from serious lighting shock, pcs over a deep tank to being 6" under a hqi...)