Scroll vs. Cup Turbinaria

[ReefSafari]

So...Sorry for the newb question..still learning here(naughty)

So I have this "Pagoda Cup Coral" that I believe is Turbinaria peltata, everywhere I read they are under the "LPS" catagory.

Now I recently added a "Scroll Coral" (Turbinaria reniformis?) to my tank and upon looking up info on it, I noticed some places list it as a "SPS"....

So are Some Turbinaria SPS and some are LPS?

I have one that looks like this:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=597+322+521&pcatid=521

And one that looks like this:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=597+321+475&pcatid=475

I just used LiveAquaria as that is what came up on my search...but the info I am reading confuses me...

For example...Quoted from the website...

The Turbinaria Corals are large polyp stony (LPS) corals

But they say on the first link.....

The Turbinaria Cup Coral is small polyp stony (SPS) coral

So...my question is...are there some Turbinaria that are SPS and some that are LPS?

I will get pictures this evening...so you guys can see them...

[kilmca]

I always thought they were LPS but I could be wrong.

[ReefSafari]

I always thought they were LPS but I could be wrong.

Barrier Reef Aquariums puts them in the SPS catagory....as do some other websites...I was just curious....seems some put them in the SPS and some put them in the LPS...I was just curious...as I thought it was wierd to see them listed in both.

http://www.barrierreefaquariums.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=38&idcategory=4

[ReefSafari]

Here is another website that calls them both...


The Turbinaria Corals can be considered small polyp stony (SPS) or large polyp stony (LPS), depending upon the variety

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=16+2157+2178&aid=2349

[dsoz]

LPS and SPS are NOT real classifications in terms of biology. Both are grouped together as stony corals. SPS and LPS are convienences for and by people in the aquarium hobby. There are some genera (plural of genus) of coral that contain BOTH SPS and LPS corals.

People put them into these categories because, in general, the smaller the polyp the more exact the water conditions need to be. Although this is a misnomer because there are more tolerant and less tolerant varieties of both SPS and LPS.

HTH
dsoz

[ReefSafari]

LPS and SPS are NOT real classifications in terms of biology. Both are grouped together as stony corals. SPS and LPS are convienences for and by people in the aquarium hobby. There are some genera (plural of genus) of coral that contain BOTH SPS and LPS corals.

People put them into these categories because, in general, the smaller the polyp the more exact the water conditions need to be. Although this is a misnomer because there are more tolerant and less tolerant varieties of both SPS and LPS.

HTH
dsoz

WOW...Learn something new everyday..Thanks! I didn't know the terms SPS and LPS where Aquarium hobby terms...interesting...

Thanks for the replies:D