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

Calm Blue Ocean

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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

I really don't have an answer but I still wanted to say that I love this picture and if I can ever grow a coral that looks half as good as that then I'll know that I finally won at reef keeping!
 

Reef and Dive

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For a diver, nearly all corals we have are actually frags, with very very few exceptions.

A mother to me is a near person-sized coral, that would need an entire aquarium just for it.
 

monkeyCmonkeyDo

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Mother for me is a coral big enough to frag and put back in the aquarium no worry of it dieing.
Lol if it cant take the frag.cutting it prob isnt big enough.
I have 2 gorgagians id call mothers. I bought them this way. My tanks still relatively new and hasnt grown much coral yet unfortunatly. Lol
D
 

SaltISlife

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No way i can frsg this.. but this elegance coral takes up a huge portion of my 6ft 135g tank. Fully expanded its near 19 inchs long
 

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Ilikefishandlamps

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Mushroom mommas count? Smallest is 2” biggest is about 3.5-4”
 

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Ilikefishandlamps

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thepubenator

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I consider mothers to be the parent colony of fragged coral, not size alone, so really only have one coral i frag regular which is the blue stag, where need to make 3-4 2inch frags monthly to stop it taking over. But I have quite a few colonies which dont get fragged.
May FTS.jpg
 
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cryptodendrum

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I guess it depends on what one's definition of a mother colony.
Going off size, I have at least 6 different colonies that are as large as, or larger than a bicycle racing helmet.
The monti frags I temporarily put in my Anemone tank due to space issues last year, have kinda become significant colonies of their own. Anyone in or around The Hague want some frags? ;-)

Screen Shot 2021-05-28 at 10.25.27.png
Screen Shot 2021-05-28 at 10.26.00.png
Screen Shot 2021-05-28 at 10.25.45.png
 

najer

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The pavona covers the end of my weir box back and onto the back glass plus there is another level down and outwards, there have been frags. :)

DSC_0009 (1024x727).jpg
 

prospervandale

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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
I’d LOVE to bring some business your way.. where are you located?
 

Freenow54

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Three colonies one mother ship. Has a huge " foot on it" its assume to look at
 

Freenow54

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I have frags, small colonies, and big colonies. I don’t know the definition of “mother,” but I guess if you can frag it....it’s a mother. So I have only a handful of pieces that aren’t (or couldn’t be) mothers.

Is that Jimmy Morrisons Grand child?
 

Butcher333

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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.
Asked and answered. LoL.
 

Riqaq

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A difficult question: I always thought of it in terms of either:
  • When it produces young on it's own, or
  • when it is so big that you have to prune it back to either: keep the tank how you want it; keep it healthy; or stop it engaging in a coral war.
On the first criteria, my first mushroom was 2 inches in diameter when it produced its only baby (it is 8 inches now, and never produced another) and my Caulastrea had 4 heads when it produced 2 drops that are both now healthy single headed animals.
 

KrisReef

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Is this QOTD a fail or what? :p
Yes, the reference to "Mother" had me thinking first of Frank Zappa, then of Mother Teresa, and finally to the actual question. "Mother' has a certain connotation linking it in this question to propagation. Coral fragging is asexual propagation so calling a frag a mother is sexist and possibly demeaning to coral colonies that identify as male? A more precise terminology might be "donor" colony for fragment origins.

I have given most of my "Momma" colonies away. When they get big I usually take them to the store for chopping or reselling to folks who want frags or a larger showpiece colony. I have a few donor colonies, 1 blue ridge coral, red (weed) montipora, a cactus coral, a leptoseris, Montipora undata, that I have divided many times, some I tried to get ride of but fragments brought them back.

The truth is, the more I want a colony to grow the more likely it will rtn. The ones I have success with I can't get rid of.

Oh yeah, I also have a organ pipe colony, and blue photosynthetic sponge, and a recent addition (2 years) a Space Invader pectinia that I have given a lot away from as well.
 
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