Space invader growth pattern

[Bayareareefer18]

Wondering what your guys experience is. Most photos I see it grows in more of a branching upward pattern. Since I've had this one it has pretty much just based out. I'm wondering if it has to do with its position on the rock

 

[Hersheyb]

with lower light they will grow upwards

 

[Bayareareefer18]

Its gotta be in low light. It's at the very bottom and I don't run high lighting.

 

[Troy V]

Mine did the same thing, it first grew out before it grew up. I think this is so it has stable base to grow from. I wish I could find a picture from 2013 when I got the thumbnail frag. For me the growth was in stages, where some periods it would grow up and others out. Here is a photo from 2016 and today to show the growth up and out. If you zoom in on the smaller colony in the bottom picture you can see how the base grew out like a disk before it grew up, like yours.
I can tell yours is starting to grow up. It looks a lot like a Trachyphyllia, which is really cool.

 

[Mono]

Wow looks fantastic. Just got a frag a few weeks ago. Any tips on parameters, placement, lighting or feeding?

 

[brawthy]

I keep mine low in the sand bed with plenty of direct light, flow, and space.

I feed it twice a week with reef roids and have noticed an irregular fanning style growth. I received it as a finger tip sized frag with two eyes that’s roughy palm sized now in about a year.

 

[Troy V]

Wow looks fantastic. Just got a frag a few weeks ago. Any tips on parameters, placement, lighting or feeding?

I run a skimmerless system so the tank has plenty of nutrients for coral growth so I don't target feed. I only feed the few fish in the tank. It gets plenty of food this way and poops it every week.
The tank is lit by 4 T5s and the colony is about 6" from the surface with a par range of 200-230. I've kept this colony in an adjacent tank at the bottom with a much lower par of 100 or less, and it did equally as well. For me it's been an amazingly resilient coral.

Current parameters:
NO3 undetectable
PO4 <.02
Salinity 35ppt
CA. 390
Alk. 9 dkh
PH. 7.9

Here is a picture of it doing its weekly waste removal.

 

[andrewkw]

It's been a slow grower for me. A good feeder who is puffy 95% of the time though. I target feed once a week everything from reef roids to lrs to pe mysis.

April 2018

October

Jan 2019

April 2019 (rare deflated time)

September 2019

 

[Camaro Show Corals]

for me its a fast grower and is very hardy.

 

[Bayareareefer18]

Wow looks fantastic. Just got a frag a few weeks ago. Any tips on parameters, placement, lighting or feeding?

That is about 6 months growth for me

 

[Bayareareefer18]

Mine did the same thing, it first grew out before it grew up. I think this is so it has stable base to grow from. I wish I could find a picture from 2013 when I got the thumbnail frag. For me the growth was in stages, where some periods it would grow up and others out. Here is a photo from 2016 and today to show the growth up and out. If you zoom in on the smaller colony in the bottom picture you can see how the base grew out like a disk before it grew up, like yours.
I can tell yours is starting to grow up. It looks a lot like a Trachyphyllia, which is really cool.

Wow that's an amazing piece. That baby must have some insane sweepers

 

[Bayareareefer18]

It's been a slow grower for me. A good feeder who is puffy 95% of the time though. I target feed once a week everything from reef roids to lrs to pe mysis.

April 2018

October

Jan 2019

April 2019 (rare deflated time)

September 2019

Mine gets really inflated like that also. Sometimes it's so inflated you hardly see any contour

 

[mattzang]

mine seems to be doing the same, it's more of a blob. still looks cool so whatever

 

[Hemmdog]

Mines still growing outwards.

 

[ReefHomieJon]

I run a skimmerless system so the tank has plenty of nutrients for coral growth so I don't target feed. I only feed the few fish in the tank. It gets plenty of food this way and poops it every week.
The tank is lit by 4 T5s and the colony is about 6" from the surface with a par range of 200-230. I've kept this colony in an adjacent tank at the bottom with a much lower par of 100 or less, and it did equally as well. For me it's been an amazingly resilient coral.

Current parameters:
NO3 undetectable
PO4 <.02
Salinity 35ppt
CA. 390
Alk. 9 dkh
PH. 7.9

Here is a picture of it doing its weekly waste removal.

.02 phosphates and undetectable nitrates in a skimmerless system. What you must have a bunch of big corals, run a refugium, and carbon dose so the corals can access the phosphates huh? I just learned a little more about carbon dosing. More than we typically hear

 

[Troy V]

Wow that's an amazing piece. That baby must have some insane sweepers

Thank you! You are right. The sweepers can extend 6"-8" and nuke anything they touch.

 

[Troy V]

.02 phosphates and undetectable nitrates in a skimmerless system. What you must have a bunch of big corals, run a refugium, and carbon dose so the corals can access the phosphates huh? I just learned a little more about carbon dosing. More than we typically hear

You are right. I do have a refugium, and some large coral, but the primary filter is a large Gigas clam. It strips all NO3 and PO4 from the water. I dose PONO3 for the health of the coral.

 

[Bayareareefer18]

Thank you! You are right. The sweepers can extend 6"-8" and nuke anything they touch.

Crazy how so many sweepers just come out of nowhere