montipora cap over growing other corals

Bruce Burnett

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How do you stop your monti from encrusting over other corals. I have a couple of monti caps that grow so fast they have become pest. What is the best way to stop them from encrusting over other corals. I break sections off but not that easy where they encrust on the rocks first and start growing onto and between Acros. Any suggestions.
 
Lol, yup... I am glad I have a large tank... six months after adding two different monti caps into my 220, they start springing up in multiple locations! At first, I thought it was charming...

Essentially, if you keep a healthy tank, they will grow extremely well... too well...

So, you need to regularly 'frag' them... When they break off and start growing elsewhere in the tank, you essentially would need to snuff it out. You can do this with reef epoxy, probably super glue, or smother it with a rock.

I am curious to see what techniques others use to mitigate the, almost, weed-like growth of monti caps!
 
Lol, yup... I am glad I have a large tank... six months after adding two different monti caps into my 220, they start springing up in multiple locations! At first, I thought it was charming...

Essentially, if you keep a healthy tank, they will grow extremely well... too well...

So, you need to regularly 'frag' them... When they break off and start growing elsewhere in the tank, you essentially would need to snuff it out. You can do this with reef epoxy, probably super glue, or smother it with a rock.

I am curious to see what techniques others use to mitigate the, almost, weed-like growth of monti caps!
I am to as there are spots I can not reach in the tank and they will just end up encrusting over the epoxy. I thought about squirting them with peroxide or using the manjano wand. My tank is 72x30x27 tall never will I ever go over 24" again. They are a weed I swear I can see new growth every day. I broke of some big chunks like 3-4 inch pieces and in a week or two you will never know it.
 
While I'm just letting it happen here (survival of the fittest) here, you could always use kalkwasser paste...

1507693330079162747549.jpg
 
While I'm just letting it happen here (survival of the fittest) here, you could always use kalkwasser paste...

1507693330079162747549.jpg
May be enough warfare where it just grows around it and not over it.
 
Fight! Fight!

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I left a little piece of monti on a rock. I'll get it tomorrow. I'll get it tomorrow. I'll get it tomorrow. Uh oh, it's stuck. Hello 8" encrusting monti, started from a thumbnail sized oopsie frag.

So now, the story is -- I'll kill it tomorrow. I'll kill it tomorrow. I'll kill it tomorrow....
 
I just keep chipping away at them until the across can get big enough.
 
maxresdefault.jpg



I left a little piece of monti on a rock. I'll get it tomorrow. I'll get it tomorrow. I'll get it tomorrow. Uh oh, it's stuck. Hello 8" encrusting monti, started from a thumbnail sized oopsie frag.

So now, the story is -- I'll kill it tomorrow. I'll kill it tomorrow. I'll kill it tomorrow....
So how do you kill it is my question? yea it was kind of like that but no had lots of room but now that they are about a foot or more across and grow so fast.
 
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I just keep chipping away at them until the across can get big enough.
That is what I am currently attempting to do but there are places I can not really reach. One of my clowns thinks my hand and arm is food, if he starts biting harder he will draw blood, he already bites harder than he use to. Maybe he is looking for food as he already eats out of my fingers.
 
How do you stop your monti from encrusting over other corals. I have a couple of monti caps that grow so fast they have become pest. What is the best way to stop them from encrusting over other corals. I break sections off but not that easy where they encrust on the rocks first and start growing onto and between Acros. Any suggestions.
What about keeping something more aggressive , like a galaxea ,,,
or making a natural barrier .. like a shaded zone ... encrusting coral wont cross a dark zone
 
That is what I am currently attempting to do but there are places I can not really reach. One of my clowns thinks my hand and arm is food, if he starts biting harder he will draw blood, he already bites harder than he use to. Maybe he is looking for food as he already eats out of my fingers.
Nothing is permanent, but kalk paste does seem like it's your best option. You can use a long tool like a turkey baster to get to those hard-to-reach areas.
 
I use a chisel in tight spots and a baster to siphon up the small bits. I'm still debating whether or not I'll move my cap to my 90g when it's ready to go? If I do, it will be on it's own rock, away from others. I also find the caps are alk pigs, so when I frag mine and I have to watch for a slight alk increase.
 
What about keeping something more aggressive , like a galaxea ,,,
or making a natural barrier .. like a shaded zone ... encrusting coral wont cross a dark zone
Mine will grow in a shaded zone just a little slower growing and harder to reach.
 
I use a chisel in tight spots and a baster to siphon up the small bits. I'm still debating whether or not I'll move my cap to my 90g when it's ready to go? If I do, it will be on it's own rock, away from others. I also find the caps are alk pigs, so when I frag mine and I have to watch for a slight alk increase.
I have thought about pulling mine apart removing most if not all of the of these monti caps they are worse than just the encrusting type. I have one that looks like yours it is bad but I have purple one that is even worse.
 

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