do scolys split?

[SURForDIE]

Not too sure on how these grow and reproduce.

Do they split? Does it grow on a column? Can they move?

 

[Tweaked]

Splitting is rare I believe and those catch high dollar. They probably spit eggs like other corals and are still pretty illusive to us in aquariums. In fact, long term success is at a minimal as well from what I read.

 

[SaltyWalter]

I'm pretty sure scolys reproduce sexually. They call it spawning, and coral with release sperm or eggs into the water column. There's cool videos of spawning in nature out there, amazing how a species will just all do so simultaneously, I think they say its dependent on water temperature...

 

[Tweaked]

Yep happens simultaneously across reefs and is related to the moon. The eggs will float across the ocean hoping to attach and start new reefs.

 

[SURForDIE]

What if you split one? Cut the skeleton right down the mouth? I don't plan on spending the money to try this, just curious

 

[listen2bob]

Some shops have done this, fragging a scoly

 

[SURForDIE]

Any idea on how long it takes to grow back into a round shape?

 

[Tweaked]

Someone in our club cut one, but think it took almost a year to look like two again.

 

[SURForDIE]

That actually seems like less time than I would think it would take

 

[SURForDIE]

Did he feed it a lot to speed up the process

 

[Tweaked]

Really not sure to be honest, just know he did it and it took some time to recoup both halves. At the price of one worth doing, it really isn't worth risking I would think.

BTW, type cornbred in the search bar of ebay. He has some amazing ones including a multiple mouthed one currently for sale. One is going for $1500!!! :eek2:

 

[rogersb]

I had a crab tear one apart after feeding it. No mouth left. It took about a year for several pieces to regrow mouths. It had 3 separate mini scolys growing but I didn't pay attention and one got covered with sand and died. Now I have 2 warpaints that are about the size of a quarter.

 

[SaltyWalter]

There is a lot of really cool information on fragging scolys out there at people have been experimenting with. I have yet to try but defiantly in my list to try out, hopefully this year.

A scoly can be fragged in half, or even in 1/4's or 1/3s, etc. You are looking at a long recovery time as they are slow growers. The slow growth, however, is the skeletal growth. The flesh heals quite quickly. Supplying that removed skeleton for the flesh to heal onto should speed up the process, and this can be done with large frag discs. You basically cut your scoly in half or wedges or whatever you choose. Even if its just one 'pizza slice' taken out of your scoly. Then you cut a large 1/4 thick frag disc into the opposite shape of your frag (and also the colony) and put them together. This gives the flesh somewhere to heal onto, and the flesh should heal over quite quickly and begin calcifying upon that frag disk sooner than it would have taken to build an entire new skeleton to replace what was removed.

I haven't tried this with a scoly yet, only from what I have read and talked with some others about. I have done similar growing strategies with chalice when fragged, basically rather than letting a chalice encrust down its own skeleton, a recessed frag plug alows for encrusting to start quicker.

 

[SloppyJ]

A member of our local club has successfully fragged a scoly. The only scoly I have was given to me by a friend. His died but he left the skeleton in the tank. Two regrew from the dead skeleton and he gave me one.