Acan question

[squarebob]

I have an Acan with 3 heads. I just watched one of the heads consume a chunk of mysis that he got a hold of. I would assume that the whole 3 headed colony would benefit from this feeding. Is my assumption correct?

 

[Pet Detective]

Yes, colonial corals are individuals as well as a community, they also have zooxanthellae algae co-existing in them that produce sugars from photo synthesis, so to answer your question, yes 1 polyp eats, they all benefit.

 

[Relativity]

I have noticed if I don't feed all the heads the coral will eventually die.
First the heads that did not recieve stop putting out there tentcles then reciesion. THey are easy to maintain at firsst but become a problem when they get big
The Lords are the harder ones to keep

 

[MondoBongo]

I have an Acan with 3 heads. I just watched one of the heads consume a chunk of mysis that he got a hold of. I would assume that the whole 3 headed colony would benefit from this feeding. Is my assumption correct?

you assume correct. colonial corals like acans are able to share nutrients with other polyps in their colony via a tissue structure known as the coenosarc.

http://coralreef.noaa.gov/aboutcorals/coral101/anatomy/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coenosarc

In corals, the coenosarc is the living tissue overlying the stony skeletal material of the coral. It secretes the coenosteum, the layer of skeletal material lying between the corallites (the stony cups in which the polyps sit). The coensarc is composed of mesogloea between two thin layers of epidermis and is continuous with the body wall of the polyps.[1][2] The coenosarc contains the gastrovascular canal system that links the polyps and allow them to share nutrients and symbiotic zooxanthellae.[3]

I have noticed if I don't feed all the heads the coral will eventually die.
First the heads that did not recieve stop putting out there tentcles then reciesion. THey are easy to maintain at firsst but become a problem when they get big
The Lords are the harder ones to keep

i think you've got something else going on there. i actually don't bother feeding my corals at all.

 

[squarebob]

Thanks for the replys.

 

[outssider]

I don't feed mine either and if I had a problem it's that it's getting too large.