Interesting observation with my blastomussa wellsi... Corals moving by themselves.

[SeeCrabRun]

I had a single small colony of wellsi and then I bought 2 other pieces that had 3 polyps on one and 1 with 2 babies on the other.

After introducing them to the tank and deciding on their placement, I ended up putting the new pieces within a couple of inches of the original colony on the sandbed.

One day while cleaning the tank, I inadvertantly moved the pieces a little closer to each other, maybe an inch.

I noticed later that day they were pressed against each other and I assumed a snail or something did it, so I separated them again.

The next morning they were pressed together again, so I separated them. And then again, and again. I started to wonder if they were actually moving themselves.

So I started testing the idea, this was months ago. I came to the determination that they indeed were somehow moving closer to each other. I noticed it was always the smaller that moved closer to the larger, so I wondered if they were somehow dragging each other together.

I never could catch them doing it, but as long as they were within an inch they always moved. Any farther and they stayed in the same spot.

Now I've noticed they've actually grown together and can no longer be separated.

I find this behavior very interesting. I have a few other LPS pieces of a couple different species that are also spaced like these were, but they don't seem to notice the other is nearby.

These guys seemed to seek each other out and want to be close. It's really intriguing.

I wanted to see what others had to say and if they had any similar experience with a stony coral?

 

[Tweaked]

Lol, pretty much the only thing that common moves is anenomes which are inverts and not corals, and so called walking dendros which are moved by a peanut worm within the coral. The way that corals move is by inflating themselves with water and drifting in the current.

 

[Mark9]

Lol, pretty much the only thing that common moves is anenomes which are inverts and not corals, and so called walking dendros which are moved by a peanut worm within the coral.

Not exactly.
I've had many mushroom corals move to where they want to be.
Also had a couple colonies of xenia that over time went right up the back wall into the overflow.
Plate corals will move as well.
More will move than you think.

 

[SeeCrabRun]

Lots of them move, but not many walk. I think the rest use the current to move.

These blastos I think inflated and moved to be close so they could grow together. Maybe a safety in numbers type thing.

 

[Patwa]

Not exactly.
I've had many mushroom corals move to where they want to be.
Also had a couple colonies of xenia that over time went right up the back wall into the overflow.
Plate corals will move as well.
More will move than you think.

Not exactly.

Mushrooms are not corals...they're corallimorpharians, essentially anemones, so Tweaked is right. And I don't believe they're moving to where they want to be - it's more a reaction to a bad set of parameters where they are at that moment - they release their foot and float away in the hope of attaching to a spot that is more favourable

Plate corals do move, you're right....they inflate with water and then use the current to bounce around until they find a spot they like.

Sea Pens are somewhat similar, but they're an octocoral. They use their peduncle to move and anchor to a spot

Xeniids do not move (in the same way as a plate coral). They grow more polyps and in that way they extend their reach. Cespitularia grows by extending a stolon, or foot...that's about as close as I would say to a xeniid coral "moving" ...but again, once a polyp grows, it stays there.

 

[Tweaked]

The man the myth the legend... I was going to post something along these lines this weekend, just not as intelligent sounding :facepalm:

 

[organism]

Your blastos aren't moving, it's actually nassarius, cerith and other sand bed inverts that are moving them as they clean their way through the tank. Blastos lack the ability and desire to move themselves, plate corals do but that's about it for corals.

 

[Mark9]

Not exactly.

Mushrooms are not corals...they're corallimorpharians, essentially anemones, so Tweaked is right. And I don't believe they're moving to where they want to be - it's more a reaction to a bad set of parameters where they are at that moment - they release their foot and float away in the hope of attaching to a spot that is more favourable

Well, I bought a rock with 4-5 mushrooms on it, put it in the thank.
For some reason, one just didn't like where it was, and over a week or 2, moved off that rock, onto another. The rest stayed. It didn't float off.
And thanks for saying my tank had bad parameters.

Xeniids do not move (in the same way as a plate coral). They grow more polyps and in that way they extend their reach. Cespitularia grows by extending a stolon, or foot...that's about as close as I would say to a xeniid coral "moving" ...but again, once a polyp grows, it stays there.

And you are so wrong here.
I have pictures over months showing 2 colonies of Xeniids moving up the back wall of my tank straight toward the overflow, eventually reaching it.
Not getting larger, moving up.
They first moved off the frag plug, onto the back wall.
I guess they wanted more light and flow, who knows.
If you want pictures, I can provide.

Just because you didn't see it, it can still happen.
Maybe don't be so pompous.

 

[Tweaked]

:lolspin::uhoh3::lolspin:

He isn't saying your paramaters are wrong, just paramaters are not ideal in general for the animal. ie flow lighting etc, and thinks the grass might be greener on the other side.

And Patwa is in no way wrong, and definitely not pompous lol

 

[Patwa]

:lolspin::uhoh3::lolspin:

He isn't saying your paramaters are wrong, just paramaters are not ideal in general for the animal. ie flow lighting etc, and thinks the grass might be greener on the other side.

this^^^^

And Patwa is in no way wrong, and definitely not pompous lol

thanks man! my ex-girlfriend would disagree with you on the last one, tho :/


Mark9...chill out. No need for pictures.

Like I said, xeniids do not move, instead they grow, expand territory, encroach, advance ahead, whatever you want to call it. But, as a single polyp or even colony as a whole, they do not "move" ie. they grow more polyps in the direction they want; polyps in areas where it is not ideal recede or are otherwise re-incorporated back into the colonial mass.....hence, it will appear it moves.

anyway, seems i'm beating a dead horse here.....woah..there's an emoticon for that!

:deadhorse:

 

[Mark9]

Mark9...chill out.

Sorry, you can be as self-deprecating or as condescending as you like, but that does not give you a free pass to tell me or anyone else what to do.

And if it takes other people to decipher what you mean, then you may want to look on how you express your opinions, instead of focusing on how they are received.

And you may want to consider that not everything you say is correct and will be believed.

 

[Patwa]

I'm not telling you or anyone else what to do. I'm stating out loud that some of your assertions in your first post are wrong. What you do with that information is up to you. Do you see the difference?

Honestly, I think you're just peeved someone blew a hole in your ship and now you're trying to save face. Yes, I can be abrasive at times, but I sure as hell wasn't trying to be in this thread. If i hurt your feelings, im truly sorry......but please, don't wear your heart on your sleeve, it'll become a target.

It's just a hobby. Some have been in this hobby waay longer than they'd like to admit and obviously know a lot more than the next guy. Showing me pictures isn't going to prove your point, nor is it my prerogative to show you pictures to prove mine. Take it as it is.

 

[Tweaked]

Welllll...., you can't show pictures of coral walking, cause they can't. Just saying.. again :debi:

 

[organism]

And thanks for saying my tank had bad parameters.

Just because you didn't see it, it can still happen.
Maybe don't be so pompous.

First, regardless of how you feel or interpreted things people posted you are the only one in this thread being openly rude, which is bad form when you're asking people questions.

Second, yes mushrooms are technically anemones and they very much do walk leaving a trail of babies as they move. I'd say it's more common for them to walk than to hold still, but no one made fun of you or got attitude with you for thinking blastos move themselves so you're on pretty thin ice doing so to people who think mushrooms can't walk.

Let's just dial it down a notch and accept that no one knows everything and we're all still learning.