Encrusting SPS bases

[Lavey29]

I was talking with my LFS about SPS corals and he explained to me that when you first get frags they will often spend months encrusting their bases first before vertical growth develops. He said it's like a small tree in a wind prone area that will develop its root structure first before it begins to grow..

This seems to be what most of my SPS have done over the past 4 months. Plugs are completely encrusted now and stocks have really fattened up. I am hoping to start seeing some branching out now and more rapid vertical growth.

Is this typical with your SPS also?

 

[reefah]

I was talking with my LFS about SPS corals and he explained to me that when you first get frags they will often spend months encrusting their bases first before vertical growth develops. He said it's like a small tree in a wind prone area that will develop its root structure first before it begins to grow..

This seems to be what most of my SPS have done over the past 4 months. Plugs are completely encrusted now and stocks have really fattened up. I am hoping to start seeing some branching out now and more rapid vertical growth.

Is this typical with your SPS also?

I think it depends on just different kinds... I have a WWC green slimer that never encrusted on the frag plug but grows vertically new branches and I have other acro frags like the vivid confetti acro that encrusted quite a bit for months and still no new growth in tips..

Hope this helps

 

[JMetaxas]

I've seen both. Some just grow up, others just encrust and spread flat and barely grow vertically.

 

[Lavey29]

I think it depends on just different kinds... I have a WWC green slimer that never encrusted on the frag plug but grows vertically new branches and I have other acro frags like the vivid confetti acro that encrusted quite a bit for months and still no new growth in tips..

Hope this helps

Interesting, my green slimer completely encrusted the base and got really fat but limited vertical growth thus far at 4 months. You can see some of my other SPS doing the same.

 

[Lavey29]

I've seen both. Some just grow up, others just encrust and spread flat and barely grow vertically.

True depending on the type of SPS right? Or are you saying that 2 of the same SPS may grow completely different?

I guess various tank factors could cause this to occur?

 

[Crustaceon]

It seems to depend on the coral and the tank's flow. I pushing quite a bit of flow through my tank and will usually see a 2-2 1/2" of encrusting before the acro frag takes off vertically, typically with multiple "sprouts" from the base.

 

[Lavey29]

It seems to depend on the coral and the tank's flow. I pushing quite a bit of flow through my tank and will usually see a 2-2 1/2" of encrusting before the acro frag takes off vertically, typically with multiple "sprouts" from the base.

Well this seems to support what my LFS said. The coral would be weak in high flow unless it developed a substantial encrusted base first. Obviously the ocean has tremendous flow so maybe that's why they do it in our tanks to before they actually grow out.

 

[Dburr1014]

I was talking with my LFS about SPS corals and he explained to me that when you first get frags they will often spend months encrusting their bases first before vertical growth develops. He said it's like a small tree in a wind prone area that will develop its root structure first before it begins to grow..

This seems to be what most of my SPS have done over the past 4 months. Plugs are completely encrusted now and stocks have really fattened up. I am hoping to start seeing some branching out now and more rapid vertical growth.

Is this typical with your SPS also?

Mine typically grow a base first. At least, this is what I've experienced.
This is my Walt Disney when I first got it March 9th and last week pic.

 

[shakacuz]

this is exactly how my SPS grow. from the base, up!

 

[Lavey29]

this is exactly how my SPS grow. from the base, up!

But aren't there SPS types that don't encrust?

 

[Sumo Reef]

Depends on the species! Some of my SPS and Acro just grow straight up without ever encrusting.

 

[Steven Garland]

I feel like staghorn & smooth skin and staghorn like corals don't encrust as much with the branch struck and being thinner and bushier.

Whereas acro's like tenuis,mille and almost everything else encrust to stop themselves from breaking under the weight of its thicker tighter branches,but I could be 110% wrong.

Then Efflo are one big encrust of mass lol.

 

[92Miata]

I feel like staghorn & smooth skin and staghorn like corals don't encrust as much with the branch struck and being thinner and bushier.

Whereas acro's like tenuis,mille and almost everything else encrust to stop themselves from breaking under the weight of its thicker tighter branches,but I could be 110% wrong.

Then Efflo are one big encrust of mass lol.

Efflos be crazy.

I have a piece I got maybe a year and a half ago - was about dime sized - it's now like a 5" encrusting circle. It literally has 2 axial corallites. It's kind of nice - if it was putting out tips or actually plating, it would be fighting with stuff, but right now its lower than anything else near it.