too many on one rock?

[tomnscrubs]

I'm wondering if too many zoo's on one rock can slow the growth down
3 rocks are a little bigger than a large softball covered in zoo's
they're just brown with some green ones mixed in and a little bit of green on the tips of some of the brown ones
the ones that have detachted have turned green and look good
using 250mh 2 10k 1 14k in middle water is good
feeding tank every other day with DT's about 3 cap fulls
don't know type they are bought from a reefer who wanted out 4mo ago
sorry no camera

 

[drjuice28]

Yeah, technically it can. They expand from the edge of the colony, so the more perimeter, the more growth you'll see. If those large colonies were split into 3 small ones each, the growth rate would eventually be much greater than the original as a whole. Hope that makes sense!

 

[mikebeth16]

I have seen that mine grow fastest when there is "open" space on the rock on which they are growing. Once they have covered the rock, they seem to grow more slowly.

 

[MUCHO REEF]

I wouldn't necessarily say that too many polyps will slow down or decrease the rate of growth, it simply limits the surface area for growth. Growth rate would remain the same in optimal conditions, it's the limited area which could lead one to believe the rate of growth is reduced. For example, if you split the rock evenly into 4 exact pieces, they would still grow at the same rate of reproduction, but the surface area available for growth has drastically increased. Therefore, it would appear that growth is exponential, when it really isn't. As polyps reproduce on the outer perimeter, the colony expands. That same rate of reproduction occurs on a large rock as it would on a small rock, in my humble opinion.

Mucho Reef

 

[tomnscrubs]

ok so maybe pulling some off would help bring color to both groups when seperated then... if I read all replys correctly
yes they have grown on bottom of the big rocks too
should i just peeloff as much as posssible section by section or what is the best method