ACI Manila Spy Montipora

[JohnNYC8]

How far will the base on this coral spread as it grows? Will the base continue to grow as fast as the colony expands upwards?

I found a few great colony photos but they don’t really show the size of the base in relation to the overall size.

I’m avoiding encrusting and plating montipora on my main rockwork to cut down on shading and coral warfare so I’m thinking this will be a good option with an interesting growth pattern.

 

[Catawba_Valley_Reef]

I love this coral. Not too much encrusting honestly. It kind of reminds me of the Jason Fox red anacropora…encrusts enough to hold on basically. Pretty fast grower too. Here are a couple pics.

 

[JohnNYC8]

I love this coral. Not too much encrusting honestly. It kind of reminds me of the Jason Fox red anacropora…encrusts enough to hold on basically. Pretty fast grower too. Here are a couple pics.

Awesome pics! Thank you for the info. I’m going to grab one.

 

[Catawba_Valley_Reef]

Fyi they are very brittle/break easily. Once it grows you’ll have plenty of frags lol.

 

[JohnNYC8]

Fyi they are very brittle/break easily. Once it grows you’ll have plenty of frags lol.

lol, thanks for the heads-up. I guess there’s nothing wrong with an easy to prune coral in a 24” cube. Maybe I’ll get a frag rack and grow some out to give away.

 

[JohnNYC8]

Fyi they are very brittle/break easily. Once it grows you’ll have plenty of frags

I grabbed one and, I hope you’re sitting down for this, it broke.

We placed the two frags next to each other so hopefully they form into a little colony. It’s a great looking coral that’s already growing after only 1 week in the tank. Thanks again for the info.—I’m really looking forward to this one growing out.

 

[Catawba_Valley_Reef]

I grabbed one and, I hope you’re sitting down for this, it broke.

We placed the two frags next to each other so hopefully they form into a little colony. It’s a great looking coral that’s already growing after only 1 week in the tank. Thanks again for the info.—I’m really looking forward to this one growing out.

Lol. Glad you like it. It’s a fast grower for me. I like the color and the shape it grows into as the colony gets bigger.

Hope you enjoy it.

I

 

[DenverSaltyFarm]

Fantastic coral, I have several colonies in my tank and love them. all the red colonies in this photo

 

[Catawba_Valley_Reef]

Fantastic coral, I have several colonies in my tank and love them. all the red colonies in this photo

Great tank and thanks for sharing.

 

[FinalMac]

They hardly encrust at. They easiy fragged by fish, large snails, and urchins.

 

[JohnNYC8]

Fantastic coral, I have several colonies in my tank and love them. all the red colonies in this photo

Question: if two branches touch do you think they’ll fuse or just try to grow around each other?

 

[JohnNYC8]

They hardly encrust at. They easiy fragged by fish, large snails, and urchins.

Perfect, thanks

 

[Catawba_Valley_Reef]

Hard to say for certain. I think they will fuse together honestly.

I’m just saying that based on this pic:

Bottom middle it looks like it’s going to fuse.

 

[DenverSaltyFarm]

Question: if two branches touch do you think they’ll fuse or just try to grow around each other?

yes they do a great job of fusing. I had a very large piece get broken off a long time ago and i glued it right next to the colony and now its one. (its the largest colony in my photo) I also have a 1" piece that broke off 2 months ago and I never bothered getting it and it has rolled around in the current on the bottom glass for that amount of time without dyeing. Its a hardy coral for sure

 

[Catawba_Valley_Reef]

@JohnNYC8 How’s your Manila Spy doing?

Mine is growing like crazy.

 

[JohnNYC8]

@JohnNYC8 How’s your Manila Spy doing?

Mine is growing like crazy.

It’s still two frags but it’s growing

 

[Catawba_Valley_Reef]

It’s still two frags but it’s growing

Looking good.

 

[56longroof]

I have a pretty big colony in my tank. Its probably 6" wide at the top. But it only has a base of around 1.5". Nice coral and a fast grower for sure. I just wish it was a little more durable.