growth rate on torch,hammer corals

Mstanker · Sep 16, 2014

I have had my torch coral since mid july and the hammer coral for about 1 month.
Lighing on this 40g breeder is reef radiance pro180. 180w of LED lighting. i have a 30%max white and 50% max blues. I also feed my corals every 2-4 days. Let me know whats everyone views on these two coral growth rate. Thanks:wink:

nitrates-0
nitrite-0
ammonia- 0
phosphate-0
cal-450
mag-1500
alk-8.4
p.h-8.2

Mstanker · Sep 18, 2014

Guessing no one knows the growth rate of torches. Is it because every coral is different/tanks. I have given this torch what i call perfect water lvl's and feeding. Anyone have a torch that just doesnt show signs of growth.??

swayd · Sep 18, 2014

I tend to say these are slow growers as they have a huge calcium skeleton they have to build in order to grow new "heads" or split. I may be wrong but thats what I have seen with my euphylias. Also, if it is a single head then it is always going to take longer to start reproducing/splitting.
I do know one reefer who actually gives her hammers and torches away because they grow so fast they are like a weed in her tank, but she does have an immaculate 120 though!

ahmed.boomer · Sep 18, 2014

They tend to grow faster as they settle in and get larger. I find for my system it takes about two months of settling in before I see the grow rates I expect

leptang · Sep 18, 2014

I got a frogspawn 6 years ago, with two heads. Now it has around 20 heads.

Mstanker · Sep 18, 2014

Alright so what if i got one from petco that 3 of the 4 heads died and 1 left. Would it hurt the growth rate???

Tab28 · Sep 18, 2014

I would be a bit cautious to buy it without knowing what caused 3/4 of it to die. If you do decide check the remaining head to see if flesh stops at edge of skeleton opening or if it extends down the sides. If stops at opening it is not a happy hammer head.

Unknown · Sep 18, 2014

When I first bought my frogspawn it had 2 heads, 1 died right at the start. A few weeks later it now has 1 large head and 5 new heads. Attached is a pic of it I took about 2 weeks ago.

The smaller heads have grown more since this pic.

I feed mine 2x a week and dose cal

GHill762 · Sep 18, 2014

really depends.. my frogspawn grows like a weed, my gold torch grows slow as heck.. some will grow faster than others and they'll grow faster/slower in different tanks and different amounts of feedings/light/flow/etc..

Mstanker · Sep 18, 2014

Well i have 180w on a 40g tank and feed my corals like every 3-5 days. What does everyone torch coral eat??

Tab28 · Sep 18, 2014

Mine eat like pigs. Frozen mysis and other stuff. All pumps off turkey baster at center it will open up at take it in. Mine puff out like balloons after a good meal. Feed 2x week. Also amino acids before feeding gets them primed up. Of the three common branching euphyllia hammer is probably the hardiest.

Mstanker · Sep 18, 2014

Yea my torch does not evevn try to eat. I spray mysis and brine skrimp over top of them but nothing happens. Any key points that i might do ?

Tab28 · Sep 18, 2014

Not sure if there is a trick. I had a frogspawn that never ate. It really never grew. All others torch, frogspawn and hammers never had issue with eating. Does it look full with flesh along outside of skeleton? Tentacles long and waving?

Mstanker · Sep 18, 2014

the skeleton look good, coraline algae going on it, and the tentacles are out also. In another post i posted a picture of a worm growing on the side of the torch. I dont know if it would help the coral growth. I think i should cut the worm off and see if it helps?