What determines branch thickness?

[Useful_Idiot]

At this weekends frag swap I was very surprised at how thin some of branches of the sps were. The branches were about 1/4" in diameter. I have some of the same species but my branches are more like 3/8". It's the difference between a pencil and a sharpie marker. Both corals have the same coloration so I'd imagine nutrient levels were similar. And I thought flow would only effect how close the branches grow not how thick they were. Anyone know anything about this?

 

[dowtish]

Light, flow, and food IMO. But if you are referring to frags, that may just be the way they are cutting them. It's not like you saw the colony they came from.

 

[rovster]

As the colony matures, the branches thicken as well.

 

[sjfishguy]

All things come into play but flow is by far number one. The more flow, the thicker the branches.

 

[Useful_Idiot]

The frags were tall enough that if I had cut the same size it would've been thicker. I would've thought flow except with my mp40's on a 27" high tank the flow seems to fan out into a gentle current so I feel I'm on the weaker end. All the polyps move but they're not gonna get ripped off the coral. Thanks for the rsponses.