Pocillopora damicornis spawns

StrategicReef

StrategicReef

New member
If all SPS reproduce itself so easily I would be rich.

I have this yellow procillopora, and it's one happy camper. In the couple of months i have found 3 frags raising up, and is the same color as it's parent so I know. I did nothing special, could it be I bumped with something and fragmented some pieces?

I also have a pink P. damicornis, and a P.verrucosa in the tank. The tank is 24 gallons.

Any idea why this guy is spawning so much? I don't mind letting it grow a bit and then cut it off as a little frag, but is there anything to worry about in the long term, such as the one growing on my clam's shell will be a pain to remove later.
 
hey strategic reef...if you can google "project dibs" it is a guy name brian plankis or something like that that is working on ways hobbiest can culture snails and some corals...one of which is pocillooporas. i think that he also has eric bornemann as a back up so you know that they can probably help.
 
Things may have changes since I visited but 3 years ago when I went to the Shedd Aquarium they had a tank full of SPS. The crazy part was that the pocillopora had spawned and they ended up with it growing everywhere, on the tank all over the rocks. It was kinda funny, like xenia taking over the tank but instead it was pocillopora.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9463540#post9463540 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Minhle100
hey strategic reef...if you can google "project dibs" it is a guy name brian plankis or something like that that is working on ways hobbiest can culture snails and some corals...one of which is pocillooporas. i think that he also has eric bornemann as a back up so you know that they can probably help.
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On my goodness! I just looked up this projectdibs.com
I am accidently breeding Pocillopora Damicornis it seems... and people have special breeding tank for this.

It's cool and all but it might actually be a problem for me.
 
I've had mine pocilli spawn in my tank and they grow everywhere on my live rock. When it happened it looked like small white spheres taking over the tank. The spheres were the size of BBs about a month later I saw these small colonies of pocillopora growing on my rock. I am trying to sell them now. You got lucky. I with my torts would do the same thing.
 
From what I've read polyp bailout is a questionable theory, and Pocillopra Damicornis are known to often spawn in tanks.

That's is great you should look in to www.projectdibs.com , and join. This web site is trying to activily breed Pocillopora along with other animals to reduce the need for wild caught animals, and maybe you could make a little money out of it.
 
I am about to kill all my little polyps, I will remove each rock and nuke them. I have multiple poylp bailouts and they have grown and started stinging some caps and other acros.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9468936#post9468936 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dpearly88
From what I've read polyp bailout is a questionable theory, and Pocillopra Damicornis are known to often spawn in tanks.
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But I don't recall hearing about this with any associated egg/sperm release from the corals ... and given settlement of such is difficult [planktonic stage and all] - I'd lean far more towards polyp-bailout.

It's actually fairly common for Poci, quite a few folks won't/don't keep them in their SPS tanks for this exact reason.

But IMO, if you keep one for a few years it's almost to be expected. Figuring it's the only SPS to do this pretty much at all in tanks, it raises my skepticism about it being spawning [sexual reproduction].
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9474084#post9474084 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MiddletonMark
But I don't recall hearing about this with any associated egg/sperm release from the corals ... and given settlement of such is difficult [planktonic stage and all] - I'd lean far more towards polyp-bailout.
But IMO, if you keep one for a few years it's almost to be expected. Figuring it's the only SPS to do this pretty much at all in tanks, it raises my skepticism about it being spawning [sexual reproduction].
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It usually is a release of planulae larvae, which can either be a sexual or asexual event. Pocillopora damicornis (and a few other Pocillopora) are brooders, so they use sperm to fertilize the eggs, develop a larvae internally, and then eject the free swimming larvae. This larvae then swims around for a bit and then settles out on whatever they find appropriate (which in most cases, is anything in the tank). I've worked w/ them for years and have collected over a thousand larvae and settled out almost a thousand colonies. Though polyp bail out can occur, most cases of reproduction of healthy Pocillopora is related to their brooding nature.

Mitch
 
Thanks for the info and correction, Mitch. :)

Learning more makes this hobby fun, I appreciate being able to get it right next time.

I'll have to quit cursing at all the little babies springing up, feel proud instead.
 
Kill da wabbit, kill da wabbit!!!Oh sorry wrong thing....Kill da pocillopawa, kill da pocillopawa!!! I will be taking out every rock in my 210 this week and phsically removing every piece and burning every piece with a heat gun. I will never put any pocillipora in my tank again. I have 60-70 pieces to remove. It has already stung my caps and tenuis.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9475968#post9475968 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MiddletonMark
I'll have to quit cursing at all the little babies springing up, feel proud instead.
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I am still for the cursing... if/when they start spreading they can kill or othewise negatively impact other corals... so that basically is the definition of a weed :).
 
I will never put any pocillipora in my tank again.
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... along with any specie of Xenia and star polyps - no matter how beautiful or rare; either on an isolated rock or in a remote (connected) system.

I recently had to replace about 90 #s of premium Lalo rock because after about 3 spawnings I had a forest of small Pocillopora Damicornis colonies that kept popping up all over the tank's glass, power heads and even on heaters. The more I plucked the more of them appeared. At one point enough was enough.

Has anyone had a colony of Stylophora spawn in their tank? It seems that it's only Pocillopora species that spawn successfully in closed systems (but I am no expert).
 
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