SPS Competition

[yalpal]

Hi everyone,

Happy New Year! I have a question regarding competition for space. Now that my corals are actually growing instead of dying. I have a "problem" that I am wondering how many of you seasoned SPS keepers address. The frags that I thought I gave plenty of room to are now getting very close to each other. I have seen pictures of montipora colonies growing around branching acropora such as stags, but I have also seen them wipe out entire colonies. I have this green montipora that is closing in on a few of my Acros. Do you think I should just allow nature to take its course and allow the corals to compete for space? Or should I frag? I like the look of a large monti colony but not if it takes out colonies as it grows.

Thank you! Hope everyone has a great and safe New Year!

Jordan

 

[Southreef]

I think that the Monti is a faster grower and more aggressive so for the love of your other sps you may want to trim it back a bit.


I got excited when I saw the title for your thread... I thought you wanted to have a SPS grow contest lol

 

[REEF SMAC]

SPS won't really reach out and sting each other dead overnight like some LPS will. SPS will sting it out where they touch and usually one will win but slowly. IME the monti will lose the war where it touches an acro but it will eventually win the war by consistanly growing into it and eventually up and over it. The monti plates win by just how fast they can overtake an acro by eventually surrounding it and sufficating it.

Just replant your monti somewhere by itself, away from your acros. I will grow back in no time at all.

 

[low riderr]

funny, i was thinking it was a contest also.

 

[yalpal]

Haha I apologize for the title. You are welcome to turn this into a competition. I don't get how I've seen large colonies of montipora growing around Acros and appearing as if they are staying away. I will be able to cut back the existing plate, but it is encrusted on some rocks, and that will be very hard to remove.

 

[Froggy]

IMO the montipora will lose the stinging competition. I have a purple rim cap that is battling with a green slimer. The slimer wins every spot that touches the cap. The slimer has actually encrusted on part of one edge of the cap and continues to grow up through the center of it. I have found that if I trim the cap back in spots and give the stag time to grow past the cap, that the cap will actually grow around the branch...weird.
Here are a couple of older pictures kind of showing what I am talking about. I can try to get a picture of the encrusting slimer on the cap if you like.

- Joe

 

[low riderr]

nice pics froggy.

 

[yalpal]

Thank you! That's exactly what I'm talking about. Do you find that only happens with faster growing Acros like a green slimer?

 

[yalpal]

Joe- By the way your tank is absolutely stunning. Pictures like that inspire me to keep at it when this hobby can be so frustrating at times. Thank you for sharing!

Jordan

 

[Froggy]

Thanks Jordan!

Thank you! That's exactly what I'm talking about. Do you find that only happens with faster growing Acros like a green slimer?

This is the only spot in my tank that I have this happening but I would think a faster growing coral like the Slimer would have a better chance than slower growing corals. Caps grow pretty fast and the coral getting encroached upon would need to keep up with growth to keep from getting overshadowed/overgrown.

In my case, the point where the cap grew into the slimer, the slimer killed the caps flesh. The slimer then encrusted a small base on the caps dead flesh and continued growing upward through the center of it.

I now have the same thing happening with the same cap and blue mille to the left. I am trimming an edge of the cap to allow the mille's branch to grow and extend past it. I will then let the cap grow up and around the longer mille branch. Guess I see how it works out.

For what it is worth, the cap also loses to the mille and has died at the point of contact in my tank.

- Joe

 

[Nano sapiens]

I had a green Milli get close to a Undata and wipe it out overnight with chemicals.

Within a week, an ORA Red Planet did the same exact thing to a Setosa.

Both incidents happened rapidly and Monti tissue death was complete in a 1" circle around the Acros.

 

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

Very nice piks joe, thanks for sharing!