Cut off part of the base of a torch?

[Squidmotron]

Just curious about this because my torch has a super-long conical (hard) base. Is this part "alive"? I would like my torch to be shorter.

 

[Vgyoung]

I'm not an expert in this stuff but my thoughts would to be just leave it alone as much as possible picture would always help

 

[xanthurum]

Most likely its just old skeleton. The live tissue does not go too deep in the skeleton so you may be able to cut it. Look at fragging videos on youtube.

 

[rhdoug]

I do it all the time with my branching hammer coral when it gets too close to the surface. I just try to leave a couple of inches from the tissue area. You can feel on the skeleton where the fleshy part starts.

 

[discocarp]

The skeleton is not alive, and the flesh does not go deep. You can cut the skeleton however you'd like to.

 

[ThreeMoneyJ]

If you look at the skeleton the part that is "live" is a whitish color and only extends down a short distance. The rest of the skeleton that you can discard is a darker brown color.

 

[Jstn]

You should be fine; generally, any spot bellow a "y" in the coral usually is just skeleton.

 

[Moort82]

You do need to be careful though if chopping even the dead skeleton as it is very brittle and can shatter upwards and into the polyp. I think its better to leave it as it is, so it can fan out further and give each head more space, unless you are fragging it up.

 

[rhdoug]

You do need to be careful though if chopping even the dead skeleton as it is very brittle and can shatter upwards and into the polyp...

Yes good advice. This happens from time to time, make sure you use sharp coral fragging shears or something similar.