How many "MOTHERS" do you have and how big is a mother?

How many coral "colonies" do you currently have in your reef aquarium?

  • None, just frags.

    Votes: 81 41.3%
  • 1-2

    Votes: 41 20.9%
  • 3-5

    Votes: 29 14.8%
  • 6-10

    Votes: 24 12.2%
  • 11-15

    Votes: 5 2.6%
  • 16-20

    Votes: 4 2.0%
  • 20+

    Votes: 9 4.6%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 3 1.5%

  • Total voters
    196

revhtree

Owner Administrator
View Badges
Joined
May 8, 2006
Messages
47,603
Reaction score
85,991
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
The answers are going to vary on this one and be subjective but I thought, what the hey let's see what the reefing world has to say on the subject of MOTHER COLONIES! I'm not here today to judge those who like to frag frags because I've done it before and heck if you're good at it and are producing a ton of coral then go for it! But today isn't about tiny frags, rather it's about MOTHER COLONIES! Not brother colonies but mother colonies! Please keep it constructive and let's see what everyone thinks about it! Deal?

1. In your opinion how big does a coral need to be for it to be considered a mother colony? Answer the following and anything else you wish!
  • Acropora: How many inches and stalks?
  • Zoanthids: How many polyps?
  • LPS: How many heads on a torch?
  • Soft Coral: How many inches for a toadstool leather?
  • Montipora: How many inches for a Monti Cap?
2. How many coral "colonies" do you currently have based on your answer from the previous question?

image via @Reefiness
IMG_0264.jpg
 

Goaway

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 17, 2020
Messages
16,179
Reaction score
55,489
Location
Illinios
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
I used to have mother colonies. I had to move. Now I am trying to grow out some mothers.

Softies: usually a plague to begin with
LPS: I guess anything you can frag can be classified as a mother colony.
Sps a mother colony that can show the coloration to be expected. probably 4 inches+. >.<

Edit: just assumptions here.

tank005.jpg
 
OP
OP
revhtree

revhtree

Owner Administrator
View Badges
Joined
May 8, 2006
Messages
47,603
Reaction score
85,991
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
1. In your opinion how big does a coral need to be for it to be considered a mother colony? Answer the following and anything else you wish!

  • Acropora: How many inches and stalks? For me it's probably 10 or so stalks and a girth of at least 12".
  • Zoanthids: How many polyps? 200+ poylps
  • LPS: How many heads on a torch? 20+ Heads
  • Soft Coral: How many inches for a toadstool leather? 12" or more
  • Montipora: How many inches for a Monti Cap? 12" or more
2. How many coral "colonies" do you currently have based on your answer from the previous question?

Based on my criteria I only have around 5-8 colonies.
 
OP
OP
revhtree

revhtree

Owner Administrator
View Badges
Joined
May 8, 2006
Messages
47,603
Reaction score
85,991
Rating - 100%
1   0   0

ZoWhat

7500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
Messages
9,897
Reaction score
17,531
Location
Cincinnati Ohio
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
1. In your opinion how big does a coral need to be for it to be considered a mother colony? Answer the following and anything else you wish!

  • Acropora: How many inches and stalks? For me it's probably 10 or so stalks and a girth of at least 12".
  • Zoanthids: How many polyps? 200+ poylps
  • LPS: How many heads on a torch? 20+ Heads
  • Soft Coral: How many inches for a toadstool leather? 12" or more
  • Montipora: How many inches for a Monti Cap? 12" or more
2. How many coral "colonies" do you currently have based on your answer from the previous question?

Based on my criteria I only have around 5-8 colonies.
I think the true test is when you have another Reefer looking at your tank, squats down a lil and gets their nose an inch from the glass and says, "Oh wow, how long have you had that?"

;)
 

Epic Aquaculture

The artist formerly known as SawCJack00
View Badges
Joined
Apr 23, 2017
Messages
3,118
Reaction score
11,273
Location
Surprise, AZ
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have many many mothers in my systems. I am primarily a stick head so that's the only corals I will speak to. First off, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A MINI COLONY!!! (I know the OP didn't use this term, but it drives me nuts to see people calling large frags "mini colonies" They are either frags or colonies. To me an Acro colony has to be baseball sized or larger. Monti colonies should be 6" in diameter or larger. Anything smaller than this is a frag to me. Examples:

Acro Colony:
Vivids Confetti.jpg


Acro Frag (NOT A MINI COLONY!)
Vivids Confetti XXL Frag.jpg
 

Llyod276

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 4, 2020
Messages
518
Reaction score
344
Location
Illinois
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I reckon for my corals, once it grew off the frag and on to the rock it's a colony. I have some that have not budged off the frag. One of my zoas went from 10 polyps, to 50 the frag plug was removed with the original zoas. Now the colony remains behind. Another zoa frag had 4 polyps, now theres 5 in the same time frame.

So 1 zoa mother, which has been removed and gifted to start another colony in another tank. Also one of the sps frags had the same zoa as a hitch hiker, I removed the 1 polyp that was huge and shading the sps, but didn't get the root. So now there are 3 small heads where there used to be one. It's a weed at this point.
 
OP
OP
revhtree

revhtree

Owner Administrator
View Badges
Joined
May 8, 2006
Messages
47,603
Reaction score
85,991
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Is this QOTD a fail or what? :p
 

Goaway

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 17, 2020
Messages
16,179
Reaction score
55,489
Location
Illinios
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Is this QOTD a fail or what? :p
I think it could be the hour, or people don't know how to answer any of the questions. Nano guys keep their colonies small compared to those of 200g+ tanks. Some just frag away as they can. It's probably a very complicated QOTD. >.>

Who knows?
 

Waynerock

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 4, 2018
Messages
2,619
Reaction score
5,307
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
ASD rainbow Mille
I have been cutting off this lovely lady for a while now. I would definitely consider it a mother. It grows back so fast now. Everyone loves my 50.00 2-4 inch frags. Especially since ASD is still selling 3/4 inch frags for 100-150
 

Attachments

  • CA22BB76-952A-43DC-A14D-A14F3E5E190C.jpeg
    CA22BB76-952A-43DC-A14D-A14F3E5E190C.jpeg
    346.7 KB · Views: 110

Treefer32

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 1, 2013
Messages
1,388
Reaction score
976
Location
Fargo, ND
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I think this tough. If I had a 10 gallon nano a 4 inch acro might appear to be huge given the volume and size of the tank. In my 350 gallon display my 8" wide Acro still looks like a frag. . . . My 14" toadstool looks large enough to be a "mother" but its a toad stool...

I would say the hardest part for me is to get 1/2" frags to grow in a 350 gallon display. It seems like the smaller the frag in the larger the volume of water the harder it is to get them started. Once they get started growing they do great for me, but it's getting past the 1" mark that's really tough.

I've fragged my 6" acro once now and my 8 inch Acro a couple times now.
 

Auquanut

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 11, 2018
Messages
5,275
Reaction score
24,934
Location
Mexico, Mo
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Kinda wondering exactly what we're talking about.

Are we talking about colonies that have been fragged or need to be fragged? Making them "mothers" to new colonies? If that's the case, size only matters to the eye of the reefer. What looks best in the tank or can be sold/traded. In that case, a large frag could be (and probably often is) a mother.

Or are we talking about "Look at the size of that MOTHER!!"? I've got a few colonies that are way too big, and I've probably removed nearly as much SPS and soft coral as I currently have in the tank. The only frags I've got right now are what has been broken off of colonies accidentally.

Then again, I haven't bought any coral in well over a year. Still trying to make room for purchases I intend to make at RAP Chicago in October.
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 73 51.8%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 72 51.1%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 36 25.5%
  • None.

    Votes: 31 22.0%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 6.4%
Back
Top