Circhipathes Spiralis - Strange Grow

[Johanus]

Hello everybody,

I have this spiral coral for about a year and it has this strange growing pattern. It grows only as the flexible part (thin) and not as a complete coral (both hard and soft part). Any ideas why? Do I have to supplement something?

Left in the first pic

Center right in the second

I was thinking to frag it but since it growing like that there is no point on doing so...

 

[username in use]

What do you mean it doesn't have "the hard part"

 

[Johanus]

It has the hard part, i bought it like 2 in (horizontal part, hard, spiral shape), it has grown like 5in more but verticaly towards the light and it is thin flexible not really spiral shape. The tip of the animal grown but not the rest of it.

 

[chgoblknazn]

That is a beautiful tank, in all it's simplicity.

 

[username in use]

They don't really get thicker, and they don't branch out, they just keep getting longer and longer.

 

[Johanus]

They don't really get thicker, and they don't branch out, they just keep getting longer and longer.

Have you seen the sceleton of a dead spiral coral? It's black and hard. In my case, it was 2in long, it is 2in and I guess it will be 2in if I don't find out why! On the other hand the tip of the coral was 1/4in and now is 5in! The base was like 1/4in thick (I'm not expecting to get thicker). I'm wondering why the grow tip doesn't get 1/4 thick but grow thin as 1/8in


Sent from my iPhone

 

[username in use]

ohhhhhh. So it is growing its skeleton but it is growing it thinner than the piece you got.

I would say that it is probably related to flow and possibly nutrition. It might be in a lower flow environment than before so it needn't grow as thick and robust as it was, or there may be less back and forth to the flow needing a thinner skeleton. They will generally only grow what they need to be most efficient in their energy consumption.

Disclaimer: I'm only spitballing here, just throwing some ideas out to see what you think.

 

[Johanus]

Thanks Joshua,

I think you have a point there! Then the experiment will be to point a turbelle at it and observe.

 

[username in use]

You could also just frag off a piece and place it somewhere in more direct heavy flow and see how that starts to grow while observing the original in its place.

 

[victor escobar]

do you feed the cyrripathes or not? I heard there are some that are fotosynthetic

 

[Johanus]

I do feed it but not in daily base, once or twice per week target and 2 more times, with the rest of the corals. I do think that it is photosynthetic.