What is this? Help me identify this thing growing.

[purplegorilla]

Help me identify this hard coral that is growing on one of my live rock. I am thinking it is a plate montipora. What baffles me is that I had it in the corner with hardly any light and it is growing. I finally move it to my new tank and placed it directly under the metal halide lighting.
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[FutureInterest]

Looks like its an encrusting green montipora. Nice hitchhiker!

 

[linda lee]

FutureInterest;61089 wrote: Looks like its an <span style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: red;">encrusting</span></span> green montipora. Nice hitchhiker!

I'd like to know what this means ... I see this a lot

 

[FutureInterest]

Montipora form branching (digitate), encrusting, plate-like (laminar), massive, convoluted (foliaceous), and even pillar-like (columnar) formations.

All SPS to some degree will encrust though which just means that it is growing by spreading on the surface of whatever its placed on.

 

[cameron]

Agreed with FI... I have TONS of this stuff in my tank. It plates up very nicely depending on the light you hit it with and mine grows like a weed.

 

[tanner86]

That's incredible! Certainly beats the unidentified crab that hitchiked in my LR, that I put back in my tank.
I didn't know monti's could grow in shaded areas, I thought they need full sun? What are the lighting specs you had it under and how shaded was it? Was it in a high flow area?

 

[FutureInterest]

In general, montis need less light than most other sps. Some of them require a ton, but others can be grown under PCs as well.