Seeking advice on purple stylo pruning

[Trever]

1. I can see photos of purple stylos on the web, but it's still a bit unclear to me how this guy (photos attached) is going to grow out. Will more "sprouts" come out of the base?

If not I'm wondering if I should snip him now just below the first fork, before he encrusts on the rock (he's about to start), so he grows out bushy instead of a bush on the end of a little trunk (this is very top of tank, the later won't look nearly as good)?

That would leave me with the original frag plug and a little single branch on it, plus the branching peace sign that has another peace sign on the top end, a single piece that I could glue somewhere (another plug, rock, etc).


Also:

2. It's puzzling to me as well why the elbow/nipple half way up on the tall branch doesn't produce a growing tip. That purple polyp covered nub has been there since I bought the frag. I realize these aren't house plants, but somehow, I expect it to form a growing tip there.


3. This thing has grown a fair amount in 3 months (it was just two white tips), seems to be doing ok. I'm not sure why my tips have become so big and white. Their diameters are greater than the stalks they are on, which is not how it was purchased and does not generally match with internet photos of colonies. The tips are almost bleachy I feel like saying, but the coral doesn't seem to be bleaching. Branches have increased in absolute thickness but proportionally, the coral is actually getting skinnier. It's getting hit with a kessil directly above it, and I am unable to detect nutrients (probably algae sucking out- meaning they are there). 9 Alk, all other parameters to spec and stable.

FWIW, my tank is young (6 months), and most of the hair and other algae are so far in retreat (need to do some hair manual removal). I don't know why this photo makes it look like the water is full of stuff, the photo is pretty bad.

 

[old salt reefer]

1.)Purple stylo is a super easy and forgiving coral(every tank I own has it in it). In time it will look like the colonies on the net. Leave it alone and see what it does you might be surprised.
2.) That nipple most likely will grow, it's just not doing it now.
3.) white tips are normal that's how it grows.

 

[ApoIsland]

Coral looks fine to me as well. I will just add that how strong the current is will have more effect on growth pattern than light. If you want it more balled up and dense then increase the flow. If you want it more branching then decrease the flow.

 

[Trever]

Sweet, thanks all. Yeah, I'll leave it alone, which has been my default course of action for corals so far, and generally works.

I did move a birdsnest type of coral because I got a better colony, moved it out of the way to see what would happen to it. That thing was so butt ugly I was ready to toss it. Low and behold, a month later, that thing is gorgeous! The entire thing glows and the tips are to die for. Colors just completely changed in about a months. Just thriving in it's new location but probably mostly just needed settle in time.

So I'm a learnin'.... leave 'em alone, you never know what's going to come. Haven't lost a coral yet, fingers crossed.

 

[homer1475]

Let me see if I can find some pics........

Mine started off as a "peace sign" also. it has since grown into a very nice colony, but the original single branch remains as it's base. It grows very similar to a tree(single "trunk" base with many branches).

My original frag:

And 2 years later, you can see the original "nub" single stalk that attached to the rockwork(the white stalk at the bottom, still has polyps, but it's stark white from shading):

I literally fragged 4 pounds off this coral about 2 weeks ago, and has been fragged many times over the last 2 years. They grow like weeds when conditions are favorable. You can see how it has uncrusted onto my overflow. Thinking I might rip out the colony, and letting it just encrust onto my overflow. An LFS I used to go to had something similar with a pocci that did the same. After they cut out the colony, the plating continued until it covered the entire back glass, and never did "branch out".

 

[old salt reefer]

^^^ And they are one mighty fine looking coral.

 

[dadnjesse]

I had one over grow in my tank. I purposely removed it and have been trying to kill the remnants of it. That thing will not die no matter how hard I try to rid it from my tank. Extremely hardy coral.

 

[Trever]

I purposely got this coral, good beginner SPS but even experienced reefers it seems... every great tank I've seen on YouTube and in LFS etc. has chunk o this coral, it can be seen across the room.

I'm more just concerned with whether mine will look funny sticking up on my rock, because often the base is hidden. Mine will be completely exposed.

Thus, my concern with "pruning" and how it will grow...

 

[tripdad]

I split my initial frag into 2, mounted them in different flow. Two totally different shapes so I will pick the one I like best and sell off the other. Another trick is to cut the frag into several pieces, glue them down on a large plug or tile arranged in a small group. As they grow you get a large colony faster. And your right, most great tanks have one or more in it.

 

[Trever]

Right now it's going branch crazy. The tips keep forming new tips. Split, split, split, etc.

 

[old salt reefer]

Right now it's going branch crazy. The tips keep forming new tips. Split, split, split, etc.

Exactly, that's how it becomes a colony. Here's one of mine. I've never done anything with this one , just glued the frag to the side of a rock and let it grow. Got a little frag at the beginning of Covid last year

 

[Trever]

@tnw50cal that's some impressive growth.

Does it grow at an increasing rate as the colony gets bigger?

My photos are after 3.75 months. I feel like I'm getting reasonable growth, but probably not as great as could be. I've been struggling with zero measurable nutrients and algae (probably sucking up the nutrients). Tank is 6 months old now, starting to improve quite a bit, but still ugly.

My other parameters are rock stable, I'm dosing carbo-calcium (one part). DKH has inched up slowly to 9 where I'm keeping it.

 

[bean2986]

Your frag will start thickening up at the base eventually especially once it starts to spread out and needs the support. The big white tips are normal and means it's happy. Just give it more time.

This colony is about two years old and I trim it constantly. It's about 10" across and deep. One thing to remember is that it will kill most things it touches physically. In this pic my mushroom leather is closed because it started bumping the Stylo again... Had to trim that day. Most of the trimming is to keep it away from the Green Slimer on the left which it will also bleach.

 

[old salt reefer]

Found some pictures of the frag when I first got it.

 

[Trever]

@tnw50cal thanks. Those photos kind of re-inforce my concern though, and the reason I posted. I'm going to let my colony grow out more before I mess with it, but I think it's going to need pruning and remounting so it's not a big colony at the end of a very visible trunk.

I have seen plenty of photos of colonies that have the typical purple stylo look but only from the end of an ugly trunk and bulb. It's a completely different look, compared to the colonies that appear to be bushy from the rock up- all you see is big purple fingers, no visually dominating bulb and trunk.

Based on how it grows so far though, I don't see how it's going to do anything other than what I have seen in undesirable growth pattern (the "ugly" look). But maybe the other posters above are right, it will work itself out. Time will tell.