When corals go to war

[JojoAZ]

My tank is at the point now where I'm a month or two from some head on collisions between various acropora. In the past I've just spaced out colonies more than I thought I would need, but its easy to underestimate just how big some frags will become and how fast. My question is, for those of you that have older sps colonies, how do you deal with overcrowding when they encroach on each other? Do you take action or let nature take its course.

I see the obvious danger being the toxins released when this happens, the other thing that I worry about is losing an entire colony to another, does this typically happen in other's experience and how do you counter it?

 

[Mael]

I believe most around here will frag the colonies occasionally to try to prevent the warfare, as usually one will come out worse than the other. Bonus is you can spread the love or make some dinero on the side selling the frags. Great place to unload would be the auction next month in Scottsdale.

 

[Marksmithsb2004]

Mael's right, frag them.

 

[longgy]

Some times you just loose the battle if you don't pay attention. Alot of my sps were killed by Ricordeas which has spread everywhere and are super difficult to remove. It even burned my sea urchin that happen to be wedged on top of one =/

 

[reefmutt]

If your talking acropora vs acropora.. I generally leave them to sort it out...
If it's Acro vs zoas or mushrooms, I find acros don't have much chance.. The other stuff just slowly grows over the Acro..
Are you talking encrusting edges or growth tips?
I'd say that 60% of the time, on encrusting edges, the corals find a common ground.. Or a no grow zone.. They burn each other and stop.. Or one slowly advances in the other without too much damage..
Sometimes, you get a very nasty coral that causes a lot of damage to another.. Again, if the colonies are somewhat mature, there isn't a lot you can do..
Some people lay down some epoxy as a buffer but that won't last for long.. Or some use a long sharp flat screw driver and chip away at the aggressive growth edge..
For growth tips, same thing applies.. Sometimes they just meet and stop growing.. Sometimes they attack. You have to wait and see.. Or.. You trim them..
Personally I'd be inclined to let them work it out as they would in a reef.. But if you like a more controlled or manicured look to the reef, fragging is the way to go..

Let us know what happens when your acros actually do meet.. It's always interesting to see what happens..