Coral growth

[Optionman]

Just curious, assuming normal and stable water parameters & lighting, do corals grow at a linear rate, in growth cycles, or some combination?




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[EdgeN]

Magic? IMO putting a number, a date etc on it is impossible... Nature will take it's course, one way or the other... (fast/slow)

 

[mcgyvr]

Its a consistent rate..

 

[nereefpat]

I think you could argue that it's exponential.

As a coral adds more mass, the more places it has to add more mass. Example: 1 candycane becomes two heads, which become 4->8, etc.

Caveat: I'm not an sps guy, so it is probably different there

 

[mcgyvr]

yes as the coral is getting large its growth "seems" to be faster because its growing the same rate from more spots..

 

[Ron Reefman]

So you are both right and just explaining it differently.

The growth rate is linear.

But the bigger the coral is, the more new coral will be created.

A small Hollywood stunner will add new skeleton at the same rate as a big Hollywood stunner. But the small one only has a few inches of edge that is growing. While the big one has way more growing edge and 'SEEMS' to grow faster. It's actually at the same rate, but there is more of it to grow, so it volume increases faster.

To the OP, different corals grow at very different rates and the conditions in the tank can change those rates dramatically. I have a small green/blue encrusting coral that barely shows any growth at all, while 99% of the other corals in my tank (over 100 different species) grow somewhere between good and too fast!