kaybee
01-16-2009, 11:51 PM
In a reef aquarium most LPS corals increase either by budding (new heads develop but are still connected to the main colony), or by splitting (one head becomes two).
In other cases, however, the LPS coral will drop 'daughters' (smaller replicants), possibly as an attempt to create a new colony rather than expand the size of a current one.
Here are two examples of coral 'daughters' in my tank:
Blastomussa 'daughter' (blue mushrooms in the background)
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This one apparently formed following the development of a calcium skeleton which developed inside coral tissue rather than from the main skeleton. Basically the skeleton of this daughter was not skeletally attached to the mother colony. As it grew in in size it just dropped off the main colony (for a while it was just hanging on by a thin strand of coral tissue. This daughter is currently the size of a fingernail.
Calaustrea (trumpet/candy cane) 'daughter'
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At one point the main colony (currently equivalent in size to a full grown human brain) developed and subsequently dropped a what appeared to be a bare 'calcium shard' which must have had a tiny fragment of coral tissue on it, because it has since become a tiny trumpet coral polyp, smaller than a pea (significantly smaller from the new head formed by splitting which are usually near-bottle cap sized in diameter. I've never seen a trumpet coral this small before. Note how the zoanthids have a larger diameter than it does.
It will be interesting to see how it develops. But then again trumpet coral is becoming a near nuisance in my tank (grow fairly fast and take up a lot of 'real estate').
In other cases, however, the LPS coral will drop 'daughters' (smaller replicants), possibly as an attempt to create a new colony rather than expand the size of a current one.
Here are two examples of coral 'daughters' in my tank:
Blastomussa 'daughter' (blue mushrooms in the background)
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
This one apparently formed following the development of a calcium skeleton which developed inside coral tissue rather than from the main skeleton. Basically the skeleton of this daughter was not skeletally attached to the mother colony. As it grew in in size it just dropped off the main colony (for a while it was just hanging on by a thin strand of coral tissue. This daughter is currently the size of a fingernail.
Calaustrea (trumpet/candy cane) 'daughter'
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
At one point the main colony (currently equivalent in size to a full grown human brain) developed and subsequently dropped a what appeared to be a bare 'calcium shard' which must have had a tiny fragment of coral tissue on it, because it has since become a tiny trumpet coral polyp, smaller than a pea (significantly smaller from the new head formed by splitting which are usually near-bottle cap sized in diameter. I've never seen a trumpet coral this small before. Note how the zoanthids have a larger diameter than it does.
It will be interesting to see how it develops. But then again trumpet coral is becoming a near nuisance in my tank (grow fairly fast and take up a lot of 'real estate').