Pocillopora that won't spread uncontrollably

[penfold2]

I like the look of Pocillopora, but have seen several examples of it spreading tiny colonies throughout a tank. Is this limited to certain species, colors, etc, or is it a possibility with any Pocillopora? Any safe species/lineages?

And is the spreading problematic, or pretty easy to deal with?

 

[Allmost]

the reports you have read, are from the rare instances where the coral spawns in an aquarium, AND the eggs and ... settle somewhere and start a colony. instead of being removed by skimmer and ...

it does not happen often, and it does not happen to everyone.

 

[Wills612]

I've had two baby's that I've seen. One actually landed on a frag plug. And the other right next to a favia colony. It could potentially become a problem. Had the coral for maybe a year.

 

[penfold2]

the reports you have read, are from the rare instances where the coral spawns in an aquarium, AND the eggs and ... settle somewhere and start a colony. instead of being removed by skimmer and ...

it does not happen often, and it does not happen to everyone.

I've read that Pocillopora can brood larvae within their polyps and eject existing polyps in addition to typical sexual reproduction. I think this is what makes Pocillopora more likely to spread in captivity compared to other SPS. I'm just not sure how common or problematic it is. Maybe I should just go for it. I don't think Pocillopora is a particularly aggressive coral if it does spread.

I've had two baby's that I've seen. One actually landed on a frag plug. And the other right next to a favia colony. It could potentially become a problem. Had the coral for maybe a year.

Thanks for the input. Is yours a typical pink P. damicornis, or something else?

 

[Wills612]

Green skin purple polyp

 

[DarkStalker]

my green pocci is alway dropping some babies in the tank, I had one that sticked to the back glass, then I had to move the tank and it died, yesterday I found a nem baby in a rock.
my pink pocci never did this

 

[williewilliams]

When the actinics come on the babies really can be seen. It took me a while to figure out what they were. I thought they were an anenome or something, but as they grew I knew it was pocci. It spread to the other side of the tank and into another tank linked to the main. crazy.

 

[Wills612]

When the actinics come on the babies really can be seen. It took me a while to figure out what they were. I thought they were an anenome or something, but as they grew I knew it was pocci. It spread to the other side of the tank and into another tank linked to the main. crazy.

What type of pocci is it?

 

[LoJack]

I have this happen fairly frequently. I started with a 1" frag and I've got 6 colony's in the tank now and I haven't fragged it yet.

If you don't want them or they're in a problematic area, just cover them with a smear of epoxy while they are still small and manageable.

Otherwise, frag them and sell them. Thats what I intend to do. Pocci is usually pretty easy to get rid of in my experience.

 

[rovster]

Mine dropped baby poccis all over my tank. Actually I'm glad it did. Originally, I got rid of my pocci because it grew too big and to the water surface. It was mainly green, and kinda ugly. I have a few leftover droppings that are getting to mini colony size now and they are rainbow. I guess before I had it too high. It's beautiful now, with green, blue, and an electric glowing base color.

 

[FoothillCorals]

IME the green ones like to spread babies. I ended up with dozens of little ones in a 90gal, they pretty much took over the tank.

 

[Peter Eichler]

the reports you have read, are from the rare instances where the coral spawns in an aquarium, AND the eggs and ... settle somewhere and start a colony. instead of being removed by skimmer and ...

it does not happen often, and it does not happen to everyone.

It's from polyp bailout, not spawns. It's not very rare at all with these corals.

 

[Finland]

I had a bright green one constantly dropping babies. I ended up getting rid of the mother colony, sold as many of the offspring, then killed off at least 30+ mini colonies. Finally got rid of them. It was a pain. Then I noticed a single polyp on the plug of a recent purchase. It ended up growing into an 8 in brown poci, that started dropping babies everywhere. I ended drying out the brown poci and am still trying to get rid of the babies. Almost got them all.

 

[UTCReefer]

Yup. Mine is trying to take over my tank too. It springs up all over the place. When the mini-colonies get big enough i snap them off and superglue over any base left behind and take them to my LFS for credit.

 

[rovster]

I think people make a bigger deal about them "taking over" a tank than needed. Yes, it can be a hassle, that said, at the end of the day, it is a stony coral, so its not like it grows super fast either. You can just break it off and sell or give away the frag. Some pocci's are nicer than others.

Here is a left over "dropping" that I'm glad left behind...


THe origional colony was colorless, but I had it in the wrong spot. The dropping is super colorful, and that's a bad pic, LOL!

 

[Wills612]

I think people make a bigger deal about them "taking over" a tank than needed. Yes, it can be a hassle, that said, at the end of the day, it is a stony coral, so its not like it grows super fast either.

+1. I really like mine, and is a fairly hardy coral IME.

 

[LoJack]

It's from polyp bailout, not spawns. It's not very rare at all with these corals.

Exactly. My original colony was a hitchhiker on some live rock. We didn't even notice it was there. When doing my research I discovered that the hair like polyps release and settle elsewhere on the reef forming a new colony.

It was compared to a plant like java fern that drops clones of itself.

 

[penfold2]

Thanks for all the input, guys. Being as Pocillopora is not a particularly aggressive coral, some spreading may not be that big a deal. I may try to avoid the green colonies though, since they seem to be more prone to this behavior than others.

I wonder about some of the other species like eydouxi or meandrina. You hardly ever see them in the hobby.

 

[a.browning]

Anything can take over a tank if you let it. By the time you notice them, they'll probably be 1/8-1/4" or so and easy to kalk if you don't want them.

I have a 6" diameter green colony, and now every couple inches on my rockwork there is a small new colony starting to grow. Easily over a hundred of them. For an sps tank this can be bad since pocillopora will beat pretty much any other sps coral if they come in contact. In a mixed reef it shouldn't be able to do as much damage. But still, you'll want to stay on top of it if you do end up with a spawning event or similar. Mine started doing it when it got to be a good size, around 5" across or so. I kalk the ones near acros and other sps, and leave the rest until they're big enough to chip off and frag.

 

[penfold2]

For an sps tank this can be bad since pocillopora will beat pretty much any other sps coral if they come in contact.

Really? I don't think I've heard that before. This is the kind of thing I was worried about as I can't stand pest species in my tank. I know they don't multiply like Aiptasia, but I don't relish the thought of having to kalk tens or even hundreds of corals whenever my Pocillopora decides to multiply.