I got an Organ Pipe coral... LFS said it was Clove Polyp

[Abarnswell]

I bought a lovely coral from my LFS out of their Nano display cube, and they told me it was Clove Polyp. But when I got it home and installed in my tank, I looked at it and didn't think it was Clove Polyp at all. So I did some looking and found it: Organ Pipe Coral.

It looks exactly like Organ Pipe, and even has that striking red tube-like
structure, which is clearly visible on the side of it. Here's a page I found on the web showing the tube-like structure:

http://www.arkive.org/coral/Coral/COR000191_l.html

I read on this same site that collecting Organ Pipe coral may be against the law, as it might be endangered?? Does anyone know about this? Apparently, it's on a list of Endangered Species??

http://www.arkive.org/coral/Coral/tubiopora_intro.html

He does seem happy in my tank. His polyps are fully extended all day. I paid $14.98 for it, and it's a little bigger than my fist. It's one of my bigger "frags".

 

[hooterhead]

nice find but i haven't heard many success stories with this coral. maybe you will be one of the few! good luck!

 

[reefman23]

They are a somewhat fragile coral, but I kept a organ pipe frag for about a year until it died along with many others in an air conditioning accident. (I forgot to tunr on the a/c while i was on vacation and i lost alomst everything) It had good growth and it is an attractive coral. Just put it in a place with good lighting and a moderate to strong current. It should occasionally be fed, too.

 

[skipm]

Nice find. I have always thought of them as being one of my favorite LPS corals but for some reason I have never tried to keep one. Good luck.

 

[incysor]

They're very pretty, but I've tried a couple small pieces and I can't keep them alive. I've only met one person since I started into the hobby that's managed to keep one alive for over a year. I think they're simply more difficult to keep than most people realize.

 

[dragon79]

my frag of organ pipe is doing just fine. I'll be stoked if it lives after a year. Then Incysor will know 2 people who have kept it alive for so long

 

[incysor]

How long have you had it Steven?

It would certainly be interesting.

The funny thing is there are corals that seem difficult, then suddenly nobody has a problem keeping them, then there are others, like elegance, that used to be known as a good beginner coral because they were so hardy, but now nobody can keep them alive.

B

 

[dragon79]

I've had the organ pipe and doing well since February this year. 4 months more and I complete a year I dont know if you remember, but it was in my pico tank when I first started one, before I tore it down and made my 6 gallon jbj tank.

 

[mikeguerrero]

My organ pipe has been going since March of this year when I set up my second cube.

It's doing very well, it's been attacked twice by hair algae and managed to when the battle.

It's in my big tank now and it's huge, it really expands....

Here is a picture of it when I first placed it in my nano cube.... It's about four times that size now....

Mike