SPS Gowth Encrusting Vs Vertical Growth

[Joker79]

I have a couple SPS frags that are encrusting like crazy but not growing taller by all means..
Any ideas or experience with getting vertical growth Vs Encrusting growth?

 

[tyler1503]

I don't have much experience with SPS so take this with a grain of salt, but apparently it's a lighting thing. Too much light can lead to more encrusting as they have no need to reach up higher for more light. Also too much flow can change a growth pattern.

 

[jeremy]

They encrusted and put down a good base before they will grow up.

 

[Zero Nitrates]

My sps do the same thing. Would love to hear responses.

 

[Bry]

They encrusted and put down a good base before they will grow up.

+1 this has been my experience.. Once they have a good base you should similar growth up

 

[KologneKoral]

Branching is strongly influenced by water flow. If it is insufficient, the corals grow more slowly and do much less branching. Some corals will encrust heavily before growing upright strongly, but one typically sees growing points developing. Montipora digitata comes to mind.

 

[Braves Fan]

I am fairly new to SPS corals and my tank has mostly all frags in it. Some of my frags have put down a large encrusting base and are just starting to grow up. Some of the frags haven't put down a larger encrusting base and are just growing thicker without much branching out and others are just branching out and skipping the thicker and encrusting out stages. I guess it just depends on the coral.

 

[Connie]

Most of mine encrust at the base before growing upward.

 

[PaulKreider]

I have a LFS up here and the owner is a complete SPS freak, Has tons of sps tanks and a 450gal at home. He said the reason for this is flow. And he showed examples lol, in his 60g cube he has 4000gph of flow, those things encrust the size of bricks before growing out.

more flow- more encrusting
less flow- more outward growth

 

[Joker79]

Wow! Thanks for the responses!!!! Looks like i have some experimenting to do!!!

 

[SloppyJ]

I think it's also species dependent.

 

[Rob&Gab]

Some Encrust for us some Grow New Stems. its weird. But we have one millie that is doing both at the same time and just startign to take off.


as well as our red planet its just shooting Stems everywhere now after encrusting 1.5-2"

 

[Joker79]

Looks like i better widen the base that thy are on!! Lol

 

[Genesis Corals]

My best educated guess for the reason most SPS encrust before going vertical is to stake out as much territory as possible. Once they bump into another coral or chemically detect that other coral they will start to branch. When a SPS encrusts they are using the rock as their skeleton, but when they branch they have to build their own. Also if you think about building a solar panel array, do you build it with one panel above the other panel or do you spread them out on a flat surface, which is more efficient for capturing energy. Why build a skyscraper when you can build a ranch. Again just an educated guess, no experiments or articles to back up my train of thought.

 

[Joker79]

Good thought train though!!!!