Pocclipora Popping Up Everywhere

Heabel7 · May 13, 2020

Wish I never put it in my tank. Starter sps they said CHECK, natuarally multiplies COOL, WAIT WHAAAT!!!!it grows on everything, kills other sps, can’t be killed off....... NO THANK YOU!!! Get it out now. I put a mini colony in a cryptic fuge just to see if it would die. 6 months later I put it in my main display and it opened up in less than 24hrs like it never left.

PapaDragon · May 14, 2020

Heabel7 said:
Wish I never put it in my tank. Starter sps they said CHECK, natuarally multiplies COOL, WAIT WHAAAT!!!!it grows on everything, kills other sps, can’t be killed off....... NO THANK YOU!!! Get it out now. I put a mini colony in a cryptic fuge just to see if it would die. 6 months later I put it in my main display and it opened up in less than 24hrs like it never left.

I was told to start with it too. If it wasn’t so prolific it would be cool, but I actually found it growing under a toadstool where it is completely shaded. I guess I can start removing it.

Sipec · May 14, 2020

I don't see why people have a problem with them if it's stress induced
If it's only going to bail if stressed, why worry?

tehmadreefer · May 14, 2020

Joey Bekius said:
I don't see why people have a problem with them if it's stress induced
If it's only going to bail if stressed, why worry?

it doesn’t “bail” when stressed, it’s a natural to reproduce and can/will do at anytime.

Sipec · May 14, 2020

tehmadreefer said:
it doesn’t “bail” when stressed, it’s a natural to reproduce and can/will do at anytime.

Well corals in general will sexually reproduce under the right conditions and dump all their gametes into the water, causing babies to pop up everywhere

tehmadreefer · May 14, 2020

Joey Bekius said:
Well corals in general will sexually reproduce under the right conditions and dump all their gametes into the water, causing babies to pop up everywhere

true, however poci is different. I would suggest doing some research into it.

vetteguy53081 · May 14, 2020

That is Pocci. You either love it or regret it

MadCityReefer · May 14, 2020

This coral should come with a warning label

Graffiti Spot · May 14, 2020

The link and green variant is the only one I haven’t seen throw polyps everywhere. But that doesn’t mean it won’t. Also verrucosa I believe won’t throw polyps if I remember right. Also grows nicer looking.

EMeyer · May 14, 2020

Its not polyp bailout, its asexual production of planulae larvae. It occurs in many but not all types of P. damicornis.

BUT more importantly, regardless of the mechanism, I have never seen P. damicornis colonies kill other corals. They grow, they reproduce, but I havent seen them stinging and killing other corals.

Has someone actually had this happen? Maybe I've just gotten lucky with damicornis that have weak stings. I dont consider them a nuisance at all.

Heabel7 · May 14, 2020

EMeyer said:
Its not polyp bailout, its asexual production of planulae larvae. It occurs in many but not all types of P. damicornis.

BUT more importantly, regardless of the mechanism, I have never seen P. damicornis colonies kill other corals. They grow, they reproduce, but I havent seen them stinging and killing other corals.

Has someone actually had this happen? Maybe I've just gotten lucky with damicornis that have weak stings. I dont consider them a nuisance at all.

Absolutely, it is a weaker sting but has taken out some smooth acros in addition it grows so fast it out competes them for space without receding.

Cell · May 14, 2020

Dang this was a good PSA for someone who has zero experience with pocillopora...and now never will!

Shredded · May 14, 2020

Absolutely will sting and kill other corals. Have hundreds of colonies In my 300 gallon that I periodically attempt to destroy those that are causing an issue. I have kept them at bay at this point. Mushrooms and zoas will cover them and kill them. I am getting ready to attempt a new approach and add a small Chaetodon Trifaciatus to my tank as that particular coral is their food of choice and hopefully will keep their growth in check. I would never have added one to my rank had I known.

Rython · May 15, 2020

Yeah I had P. Damacornis pop up all over my tank. It stung and killed nearly everything it touched. I don't think it lost a single fight in my mixed reef. I had to frag everything and reboot the tank.

Ben Pedersen · May 15, 2020

I have kept pocillopora for over 20 years and have never had an issue. I have several varieties and none have ever spread. I also keep many varieties of other SPS and LPS corals with no issues.

I especially like the large varieties and wish I could afford the following:

BIG Pocillopora – Australia

Beautiful Pocillopora Colony that's full of color! We have had this colony in our care for over 45 days, improving its color and health! Please note that it is normal for sps to lose some of their color during shipping. Given proper care and tank parameters, they will color back up over time. We do

www.corals.com

l would never dissuade any reefer new or old from from owning this coral. I don't know what causes them to reproduce so prolifically, but it has never happened in my tank.

dbowman5 · May 15, 2020

thanks everyone for contributing your thoughts on this subject, informative and passionate. a good combination.

Cell · May 15, 2020

Ben Pedersen said:
I have kept pocillopora for over 20 years and have never had an issue. I have several varieties and none have ever spread. I also keep many varieties of other SPS and LPS corals with no issues.

I especially like the large varieties and wish I could afford the following:

BIG Pocillopora – Australia

Beautiful Pocillopora Colony that's full of color! We have had this colony in our care for over 45 days, improving its color and health! Please note that it is normal for sps to lose some of their color during shipping. Given proper care and tank parameters, they will color back up over time. We do

www.corals.com

l would never dissuade any reefer new or old from from owning this coral. I don't know what causes them to reproduce so prolifically, but it has never happened in my tank.

LOL there is nowhere for them to spread in this pic!

EMeyer · May 15, 2020

Ben Pedersen said:
l would never dissuade any reefer new or old from from owning this coral. I don't know what causes them to reproduce so prolifically, but it has never happened in my tank.

In my old lab we used to induce them to spawn with lunar lighting cycles. Which is to say, simulating natural lunar cycles, *not* leaving blue lights on all night long. We had them reproducing like clockwork the morning after the full moon (around 8 AM).

Another source of variation is the type of Pocillopora. Hobbyists sometimes claim its about color, but studies on the subject have found that some strains of Pocillopora damicornis do this and others dont (genetics, not color). Pocillopora verrucosa, like the picture you linked, appears to lack this ability.

I'd guess some combination of lighting schedules and types explains the variation in peoples' experiences with Pocillopora reproduction.

What I find most interesting is the variation in stinging. I had several tanks where Pocillopora spawned and literally never saw it win a stinging battle. It lost to Acropora, Zoanthids, and Psammocora. It lost to Hollywood stunner, but everything loses to Hollywood stunner.

Sounds like some people have found Pocillopora with much more powerful stings than I have!

Sallstrom · May 15, 2020

EMeyer said:
In my old lab we used to induce them to spawn with lunar lighting cycles. Which is to say, simulating natural lunar cycles, *not* leaving blue lights on all night long. We had them reproducing like clockwork the morning after the full moon (around 8 AM).

Another source of variation is the type of Pocillopora. Hobbyists sometimes claim its about color, but studies on the subject have found that some strains of Pocillopora damicornis do this and others dont (genetics, not color). Pocillopora verrucosa, like the picture you linked, appears to lack this ability.

I'd guess some combination of lighting schedules and types explains the variation in peoples' experiences with Pocillopora reproduction.

What I find most interesting is the variation in stinging. I had several tanks where Pocillopora spawned and literally never saw it win a stinging battle. It lost to Acropora, Zoanthids, and Psammocora. It lost to Hollywood stunner, but everything loses to Hollywood stunner.

Sounds like some people have found Pocillopora with much more powerful stings than I have!

Cool! Do you know if they reproduced sexually or by selfing? And if they released the larvae from selfing at that time too(after full moon)?

Setting up an experiment at work with natural variations for light, temp and moon cycles. Trying to get our “old” tank corals to get into spawning cycles, so I put three Pocilloporas in there. Never had them to settle before what I’ve seen. Or spawn. Will be interesting to see if we can get some predicable results.

Our Seriatopora caliendrium have reproduced asexually. Popping up small colonies here and there in our regular tanks. Absolutely not a problem

PapaDragon · May 15, 2020

This is a good thread. I haven’t seen any new colonies pop up since I got my temperature under control. I didn’t really change anything with the lights except I have added diffusers to my radions in about 9 months ago. Could these charges have affected the spread of them?