Torch coral reproduction

[Randy15]

So I just noticed one of my torch colonies had something dangling from the bottom. Upon closer inspection it appeared to be a tiny head attached by a thin string of flesh, skeleton and all. so I removed it and mounted it in my other display to monitor it. It has already shown some sweepers. The piece is only maybe 1/4". I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this or knows if this is how they naturally spread in the wild? Thought it was pretty cool. Wish I had pics at the moment but am unable. Maybe tomm.

 

[Randy15]

 

[Randy15]

 

[cardiffgiant]

I get those on my hammers and frogspawn, but they grow verrry slowly. It seems like the heads split and grow to a full size dozens of times before one of those tiny guys gets very big.

 

[Randy15]

I have also have what you are talking about on my hammers and frogspawns, but this dropped off a baby like toadstool leathers do.

 

[iamwrasseman]

i have a few dozen of them attached to plugs , they start out thin as a toothpick or less and i cut them off with my dremol and superglue them to a frag plug . i start feeding them with phyto then ova and then cyclopeeze and in a month or so they are the size of a pencil eraser . branching hammers, frogspawns and torches all do it so take advantage because many times if you leave them they get broken off and are lost or die .

 

[Randy15]

Think you may be thinking of the same thing cardiffgiant was talking about. This fell directly off the fleshy part of the head, not a little twig on the branches.

 

[emm0909]

I've heard of an elegance splitting like you're talking about. I know you're not talking about the little heads that grow out the sides. The elegance I'm talking about would literally drop pieces of itself and you'd find them on the rocks below it. I wasn't there, just was told by an experienced reefer. Pretty interesting.