Surprising ASD Holy Grail Torch Spawn

[Junbug0024]

So I’ve had my ASD Holy Grail torch since I bought it from Will at ASD over five years ago. My single head has turned into a beautiful colony as seen from this picture.

This colony has spawned several times and I never got any babies to take. Last year she spawned again, but this time one baby took! Surprisingly though, she looks different from her mother. Makes me wonder if this is the reason we don’t see as many of these “Holy Grail” Torches.

My ASD Holy Grail is the only torch I have, so I know this is her baby. She has the same Blue/Purple tips as her mother, but is the color of the super fluorescent green that is in the base of her mother. Have any of you guys out there had your ASD Holy Grail Torches spawn and seen something like this? I’d be curious to know if this is common, or something totally out of the ordinary.

 

[Rose's_Reef]

I don't have one but I am looking to get one sometime. My bi-color frogspawn did this and I remember two babies took on one of my display rocks. They looked exactly like mom lol!!!
Also if you sell any I want to know. This is an amazing torch!

 

[Will Wohlers]

I wonder if the mothers colors will show up with time? Either way that's amazing

 

[wishntoboutside]

My Aussie gold torch spawned and I have some babies growing out.

 

[maugustine]

So I’ve had my ASD Holy Grail torch since I bought it from Will at ASD over five years ago. My single head has turned into a beautiful colony as seen from this picture.

This colony has spawned several times and I never got any babies to take. Last year she spawned again, but this time one baby took! Surprisingly though, she looks different from her mother. Makes me wonder if this is the reason we don’t see as many of these “Holy Grail” Torches.

My ASD Holy Grail is the only torch I have, so I know this is her baby. She has the same Blue/Purple tips as her mother, but is the color of the super fluorescent green that is in the base of her mother. Have any of you guys out there had your ASD Holy Grail Torches spawn and seen something like this? I’d be curious to know if this is common, or something totally out of the ordinary.

Wow you got some mutation or maybe it’s like eye color in humans.. no idea but thx for sharing she is incredible!!

 

[MERKEY]

Absolutely beautiful!

Spawns may take a while to catch up but they should end up the same as the mother.

Thats not 100% by any means lol

 

[saltwaterjunkie12]

Your mother colony is absolutely stunning, I sure hope the baby grows up just like the mom!

 

[Junbug0024]

My Aussie gold torch spawned and I have some babies growing out.

Do the babies look exactly like mom? I would think so, that’s why I’m so puzzled that my baby has similar features, just not the same.

 

[Junbug0024]

I wonder if the mothers colors will show up with time? Either way that's amazing

I was thinking the same thing, so I waited a while before posting this question. The baby is now getting pretty big, and it’s becoming obvious to me that she’s not going to get any of the gold that mama has. Thanks!

 

[rogersb]

I've seen my LPS spawn but the only one I ever got babies from is a hammer. I had to get ig in good light and it probably took 4 or 5 months to have the mother's color. Yours looks large, is it getting good light?

 

[polyppal]

Thats a -retirement- colony $$$

You could probably buy half a yellow tang if you sold it!

 

[elysics]

Spawning is not producing clones, it's sexual reproduction. And if you only have that one torch, then the baby is inbred on top of that, probably the reason why the mother spawned so often and you only have one baby to show for it, it's a miracle it made it at all.

 

[Junbug0024]

I've seen my LPS spawn but the only one I ever got babies from is a hammer. I had to get ig in good light and it probably took 4 or 5 months to have the mother's color. Yours looks large, is it getting good light?

Yes, it’s getting great light, same PAR as mom. She is quite large now, tentacles easily 2-3 inches long.

 

[Junbug0024]

Thats a -retirement- colony $$$

You could probably buy half a yellow tang if you sold it!

 

[Will Wohlers]

I was thinking the same thing, so I waited a while before posting this question. The baby is now getting pretty big, and it’s becoming obvious to me that she’s not going to get any of the gold that mama has. Thanks!

Is the baby in a spot that gets less par by chance?

 

[Junbug0024]

Is the baby in a spot that gets less par by chance?

Hi, I measured PAR for both and they are close. The colony probably averages 320-330 while the baby averages around 340-350. The funny thing about the colony, is that the areas that get more PAR have more gold in the tentacles. So you’d think that since the baby gets more PAR that she would have shown gold by now. The baby is not that much of a baby anymore too, she’s probably getting close to a year old by now and the head is starting to pinch, so I’ll be two heads in a few months.

 

[Will Wohlers]

Hi, I measured PAR for both and they are close. The colony probably averages 320-330 while the baby averages around 340-350. The funny thing about the colony, is that the areas that get more PAR have more gold in the tentacles. So you’d think that since the baby gets more PAR that she would have shown gold by now. The baby is not that much of a baby anymore too, she’s probably getting close to a year old by now and the head is starting to pinch, so I’ll be two heads in a few months.

Wow that's incredibly interesting. What I find amazing is she was able to deposit a fertile ovum without another torch releasing gametes to fertilize it. You would think even more so it would be an identical replica of momma. Is the picture in original post an updated picture of the baby? If you're ever willing to sell it and see what it turns into under a different set of conditions let me know. I'd love to watch it progress myself. How big inch wise is the head now and how long are it's tentacles? I would think based on your size description and being a year old most of its colors are already set but who really knows with a captive bred torch. Im assuming most of the heads we get in from the ocean are from very old colonies so maybe being a brand new start of a colony, could take years to fully develop colors? That's entirely just speculation on my part though.

 

[Camaro Show Corals]

Any idea on approximate how many heads your colony is?

 

[Junbug0024]

Wow that's incredibly interesting. What I find amazing is she was able to deposit a fertile ovum without another torch releasing gametes to fertilize it. You would think even more so it would be an identical replica of momma. Is the picture in original post an updated picture of the baby? If you're ever willing to sell it and see what it turns into under a different set of conditions let me know. I'd love to watch it progress myself. How big inch wise is the head now and how long are it's tentacles? I would think based on your size description and being a year old most of its colors are already set but who really knows with a captive bred torch. Im assuming most of the heads we get in from the ocean are from very old colonies so maybe being a brand new start of a colony, could take years to fully develop colors? That's entirely just speculation on my part though.

Yes, the picture is very recent. My plan is to grow the baby into a full colony, she is amazingly bright and beautiful in her own right. The head is probably .75” x .75” with tentacles 2-3” when fully extended. I‘ll update this post along the way so everyone can follow the baby into adulthood. Lol

 

[Junbug0024]

Any idea on approximate how many heads your colony is?

Hard to say, a ball park guess would be 30 - 40. I cut heads and sell them when they start to get too crowded towards the bottom, just to keep the colony as healthy as possible.