WOW it's BIG! The largest coral you've ever grown?

[Indytraveler83]

I've got a leather that's about 12" or so across and a GSP colony that's about 20 in long at this point. I've got a zoa garden that's getting bigger too. (Pics in build thread)

The biggest challenge I find is when the corals are large for the aquarium size, nutrient consumption becomes something to closely monitor.

My leather is notorious for going on growth spurts and then lazy spurts, causing consumption to spike and then fall, throwing nitrate and phosphate levels off on a regular basis.

 

[Isabel’s Hobby]

One of mine would be this Acropora Tenuis back in 2001. It was approximately 15"x15"

 

[Isabel’s Hobby]

I used to have this gigantic anemone it finally split into 3 and I sold some but it never got that big again
It was easy 10in diameter

 

[HuduVudu]

I am surprised I haven't seen the purple stylo's yet they are a weed. Here is mine 9" x 8" x 4"
My tank is 20 gallons.

 

[Isabel’s Hobby]

Awesome

 

[bigjgmac]

Today let's talk about BIG corals! To me there's something pretty amazing about seeing very large corals grown in a home aquarium! In the wild it's very common to see extra large corals but in our homes it's not an easy task! So today I would like for us to talk about the biggest corals we have grown and of course "this thread is worthless without pics!"

1. What's the biggest coral you have ever grown and what was the actual size? Pics please if you have it!

2. What are the challenges of trying to grow extra large corals in the home aquarium?


@uniquecorals knows how to grow them big! Nice guns Joe!

I've got nothing here - a favia colony and a bunch of frags. My reef is a newbie at 7 months old. It's going well, but I've got a LOOOONG way to go.

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

This might come as a shock to people, but I have this Xenia...

Seriously, though, it started as a tiny frag with more frag plug than frag, and within a year has completely overtaken the rock I mounted it on and has reached a size of at least 10 inches in every direction. I don't know a lot about corals but it seems I can grow Xenia!

 

[killr66tb]

Me like big coral

 

[Dom3rd]

This is my 90 Gallon and the top picture is before i cut that huge piece of GSP off the glass and the second picture is what is left still in the tank.

 

[VR28man]

Didn't grow it, but the largest hard coral I've seen in the wild were 2 meter diameter Montipora capitata, now destroyed by lava. (not the M. capricornis commonly seen in the hobby, which is actually often M. aequituberculata or foliosa)

I've seen footage, but never in person, other tabling monti or acro species that were as large in the wild. On the other hand, many "forests" of branching acros are probably from an initial colony whose parts broke off and grew a new. Does planting lots of frags from one colony count?

 

[Nhjmc]

Some incredible pics above.

Both of these started as 1" frags (just shy of 2 years) they barely covered the frag plug. This is today currently

love the frogspawn

 

[fishguy242]

stunner 18 years n lots of frags

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

This is the best QotD thread yet. Thanks for sharing all of these success stories.

 

[Flux Capacitor]

I once had a frog spawn basically die down to the skeleton, with the smallest pieces of skin left. 2 years later it had over 100 heads on it:

This is where if first started growing back:

Here it is 2 years later:

 

[Scott97062]

 

[cvicente]

28" Seriatopora after tank crashed

 

[Flippers4pups]

My monster Montipora Capricornis before I had to frag it. 18" in diameter.

 

[fcmatt]

when I read this thread all I can think about is alk alk alk. Lol

 

[Gary Wilkinson]

Turbinara Plate about 18” started at 3”

 

[Isabel’s Hobby]

28" Seriatopora after tank crashed