SPS frag growth vs. other corals

[rosterv]

Hey everyone, I've got a couple questions concerning SPS frags.

First, I wonder if it is worth investing in frags that are a little larger if they tend to grow faster. Basically, do larger frags tend to take off quicker / snowball effect or grow exponentially?


Secondly, I have some very small frags that are stagnant or growing very slowly while my soft and LPS corals are growing well. Is this a water quality issue? My parameters test all right but I have lots of fish and detectable nitrates.

A few months back I took some acro and a red birdsnest frag home to rehab when my local fish store's A/c went out and the tank temps got high and were browning/bleaching. Now they have gotten their color back but they are not growing.


I have a 75g with a kessil a350 on one side and a 150 on the other with a 250w MH in the middle. Everything is doing well but my SPS is not growing very quickly but they are very small.

 

[organism]

Growth is essentially based on surface area, so the tinier the frag the tinier the growth and vice versa. The rate of growth is determined by the coral, and the amount of growth by its initial size.

SPS rely on a ton of different parameters for growth, there's a lot more to it than just lighting I'd recommend searching this site for all the stuff they need. That said kessils are pretty meh on output, especially when it comes to SPS.

 

[Baccara]

They seem to all be different in growth speed. Sometimes they take off right away and sometimes they take a year to really start growing well Ime.
They can take a few months to adapt to a new environment even when their needs are met.

Just be patient and keep the water stable and they will grow if the environment is correct.

 

[rosterv]

Good to learn, thanks

 

[jrkonzelman]

they won't necessarily grow faster, but you may get more growth over time. Meaning, the more branches you have that can grow the more actual growth you have the potential to get because more of it can grow.

That being said, it all comes down to consistent tank parameters and taking care of your tank with SPS (and some luck)