Training a Montipora Digitata?

[Dewman]

Ok... I know that sounds wierd, but just listen.
I had a frag of green Monti that I got back in early July. It started out as a forked piece about pencil thick and 1.5" long.
Since then, it has grown by leaps and bounds. It has branched about 10 times, which is good, and is now about 8 inches long and about 5 inches inside spread. But my problem is, it isn't thickening up, and the branches are growing laterally to the surface of the water.
My Orange Monti I purchsed at the same time was already a fairly large specimen and had begun to branch normally (antler-like) in an upward fashion. It has also grown several inches and branched multiple times, but is much thicker in arm width.
The green specimen is positioned near the surface of the water, while the larger orange one is lower in the tank.
I guess my question is, should I move the green one down in the tank to lower light levels to TRAIN it like a plant, to reach for the light? Will this slow the branching and increase the growth in is digits' width?

Sorry it was so long...

 

[Anonymous]

i doubt that will do it. i have noticed that the branch thickness is usually determined by the flow in the tank.

i believe spectrum has a lot to do with the lateral thing.

i have no idea how chemistry morphs them, i can't test every tank i go see.

these are my experiences anyway, and they are not exact responses to every condition of course. i have done some trading of frags and see the effects of different conditions and this how it appears to me.

HTH

 

[XXX]

I agree that many factors play into what a particular coral looks like as far it's growth pattern. If you want to find out what happens I would move it and see.

 

[Cresta]

Or instead of moving the entire colony, you can frag several branches, reattach to different locations to see how they would react.

Even though bleaching is unlikely with an established speciemen, moving the entire colony do post some risks in shocking it s to the new settings (water flow, light, etc).

 

[Dewman]

I think I will crack the specimen in half and cement each piece to a new rock. This will, at hte very least, give it the LOOK of having grown in the right direction. It should help with some of the slow growth on the back side of the specimen.
I will let eveyone know hoe it goes.

Thanks

 

[outerbank]

Make sure your calcium and dKh are high. If they are low, the corals will tend to thin out. SOme species are thinner than others--jsut like people!

Scott

 

[Anonymous]

Definitely worth trying. Very bonsai 8)

Podman is correct that current is likely the single biggest influence on growth density.

However, a coral is obviously getting chemical cues from within its tissue that tells it when to branch, so perhaps, a similar thing could be happening to create thickness in branches. you could also try binding three pieces together like pencils in a rubberband and maybe they will fuse.

In field samples we have caused different organisms and samples to fuse together by allowing them to touch.