My favorite coral and it's story...

The coral that is the focus of this post is a type of mushroom coral. I have no idea what species it is, where it can be found in nature, or anything else about it for that matter. The only thing I know, is what it looks like.

About 9 months ago I saw this tiny little white ball of flesh in the farthest corner of the coral display tank at my local fish store. I said "I'll give you a dollar for that thing in the corner". The employee looked at me like I was crazy. I told myself that I would just give it a shot, just to see what happens. It didn't seem big enough to affect my tank parameters significantly, if it started to decay. Frankly, at that point, it was decaying.

Ever since that day this coral has been in the same spot in my tank, and 9 months later it is by far my favorite coral. It is not the most beautiful, or the most rare. It is not the hardest to care for, and it is not the coral that everyone asks about when they look at my tank. It's even causing my green star polyps to recede where they come into contact with each other, but I don't care.

The reason this coral is my favorite should seem pretty obvious by now. It is the coral that wasn't going to live. It is the coral that had no chance, that was re-born from basically nothing. It represents and reflects all of my effort in keeping a reef. I love this coral.

There isn't much more to say, so I leave you with the obligatory photos. Neither are particularly good because I took them moments ago, right after I stirred up the substrate a bit. One is without flash, and is a more accurate depiction. The other is with flash in order to showcase the green underlying it's... tentacles?

If anyone knows the exact species, that would be a plus.

Thanks for taking a look, and have a great weekend!

 

I believe it's a Rhodactis.

Easy to see why it appeals to you. A lot of times it's the tiny nub that grew and became a recognizable coral that means the most to me.

 

That is an awesome story. I haven't seen a mushroom like that before though. Really cool.

 

Wow, very pretty. I'm one of those weird people, so it would probably be the one I'd look at & ask about LOL.

 

I believe it's a St. Thomas Mushroom.

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, and thank you.