Acro Colony With No Branches

[Hemmbone20]

I got this colony of “JF Hateraid” from a local reefer a few months ago. He had cut the main branches off because detritus had gotten in and killed a majority of the colony.
It’s been happy in my system as far as I can tell.. it’s continued to encrust though… any ideas on how to get this guy to grow more sticks?

 

[Damage12]

Usually it will go vertical after it’s done encrusting. How’s your flow in the area?

 

[Hemmbone20]

Usually it will go vertical after it’s done encrusting. How’s your flow in the area?

Flow is good. Light is good. Water quality is good. All other acros are happy and growing normally.
I guess a better question would be, what makes a coral decide it’s done encrusting? This colony is probably 4” across

 

[skey44]

Looks like you have some nubbins started! If I knew how to make them grow up vs out I’d have a full frag ststem by now! Alas it’s not even had to be setup yet due to me lacking cuttings on all but the most vigorous Acropora.
A few things I’ve heard are…
1. Snip. Cut the original part of the frag off… this is rumored to encourage branching growth.
2. Nowhere to go but up. Don’t allow any desirable areas for the coral to encrust. Ex. Place on a branch rock or pvc extension where encrusting any further would mean going down/under into a low light area. I guess putting it next to another encrusted coral might work similarly.
3. Wait… some of my favorite corals seem to be putting all their resources into base building while others build no base at all. And of course the tried and true corals grow nowhere but out and up (looking at you Cali tort)
I’m sure there’s more but that’s all I can think of right now.
That’s a sweet looking coral and it does look happy. Can’t wait to see what it does in your system!

 

[skey44]

Another tip… buy tort, valida, austera, and dragon type Acropora if you’re wanting that classic upwards branching. Certain corals just invest more in upwards growth vs encrusting. My Cali tort has very little encrusted base but it’s is growing huge. I had to stick it in the back of the tank after I realized how big it was going to get.

Whereas this coral I am really rooting for it to grow up. It’s going to run into some other corals soon so hopefully it gets the hint and starts to grow up.

 

[billyocean]

Sounds scary but you can stab or gouge a couple spots where its encrusted and most of the time it will start sprouting where its healing. Could just wait on what's already there too...your call.

 

[Damage12]

Looks like you have some nubbins started! If I knew how to make them grow up vs out I’d have a full frag ststem by now! Alas it’s not even had to be setup yet due to me lacking cuttings on all but the most vigorous Acropora.
A few things I’ve heard are…
1. Snip. Cut the original part of the frag off… this is rumored to encourage branching growth.
2. Nowhere to go but up. Don’t allow any desirable areas for the coral to encrust. Ex. Place on a branch rock or pvc extension where encrusting any further would mean going down/under into a low light area. I guess putting it next to another encrusted coral might work similarly.
3. Wait… some of my favorite corals seem to be putting all their resources into base building while others build no base at all. And of course the tried and true corals grow nowhere but out and up (looking at you Cali tort)
I’m sure there’s more but that’s all I can think of right now.
That’s a sweet looking coral and it does look happy. Can’t wait to see what it does in your system!

I agree with skey as to #2. I try to glue a frag on a plug so it’s not really able to touch the main rock. This way it has nowhere to go but up.