Tyree Purple Monster or not?

[tdb320reef]

The seller claims that it is from the original. What do you think?

[bluwc]

Looks like it,pm is a smooth skinned acro. I personally don't have it but would like a piece. Slow grower and it still holds pretty good value even if it was one of the most popular back in the day

[CUNAReefer]

Hi Tom,

Could you or the seller provide lineage? From the pic, it does look like the true purple monster.

Warmest Regards,
James

[tdb320reef]

What he said is that he received the colony from a reefer whom said he received it from Tyree and that he trusted him. That is the only proof thus why I am posting.

[rmalone]

I would say probably PM. I have had it, yes I killed it, but at least 3 frags made it out of my tank to other tanks. That certainly looks like it, but when small it's hard to id sps. It looks a little like a small granulosa but I really think you have the real thing. That coral will not tolerate fluctuations (alk, calc, nitrate, phos, etc, etc) and when it grows out a bit the shaded parts will likely stn on you. I dont know why but that coral is a bugger, very cool when nice, hard to keep that way. Do not let it get shaded by other coral and make sure your params stay consistent.
Good luck nice frag, super high light makes it more lavender than purple though I personally think lower light, for the dark purple, puts you on the knife edge to even maintain life. JMO, and again I don't have it in my tank anymore, so I don't know how much my opinion matters at this point. It's just one of those corals that "giveth and taketh away". Well thats all I got take it or leave it.

[NewBostonConst]

looks just like the one I have......and yes very slow grower...

[jamey1010]

When I first seen it I thought it looked similar to what was sold to me as a tri color valida but your ends are much rounder and not so pointed I just looked at online pictures of a tri color valida and perhaps I have something different because mine isn't as pointed as the online pics but not as round as yours although the colors are exactly the same or at least as far as a picture goes... Maybe I will post a pic tomorrow to compare.

[dknuckles]

Yes
1st indicator is it grows like a Chrismas Tree (until cut)
2nd prominent white polyp @ tip when happy

Very nice!

[jamey1010]

Here's my Tri color Valida for comparison (or at least what I believe it to be)

Seem very similar but much different.

[rmalone]

Keep in mind that many people (including Tyree) consider PM to be a valida. If it is it's the only one I have seen that has such rounded off bracnches. Most of the validas have quite pointed branches. Not that I'm an expert in sps though just what I have seen and heard. That last pic looks like a typical valida, but dang are small sps tough to make a positive genus id on. Even over on the real big forum with a huge dedicated sps forum, the guys with 20yrs experience and incredible tanks are never too sure about frag/small colony sps. And those guys eat, live and breath sps.

[jamey1010]

Interesting and thanks for the info I did not know that and I bought my coral as an unknown (just laying on the bottom of a $10 frag tank no plug nothing) and later they told me what they believed it was.

I've had it a few weeks so it's grown quite a bit and seems to have a combination of rounded and pointed tips.

[rmalone]

Jamey I think you will find that as that frag grows up it will have quite a few thin tips, but then again perhaps not.

[jamey1010]

This one seems to be growing at a fairly good rate contrary to what was said of the pm.

So we will see I guess

[rmalone]

Jamie I dont think yours is PM, more of a standard valida. The op's pic for sure looks like pm to me though. I wish you were closer I would give you a hunk of another valida and few other sps. Real PM shows very little if any polyp extension during the day, a little early in the light cycle and quite a bit at night. Most of the other valida show some polyps all day, not like they do at night but theyre visible.

[jamey1010]

No i didn't think it was either and I didn't know pm was in the valida family, I just wasn't sure to exactly which one I had either when I looked at pics of other valida's they looked different than mine with most having more pointed tips and your right it is hardest to tell when they are small. Thanks for the info !