Torch coral morphing into bubble coral

[oceanblue9]

I've attached two photos of my torch coral. Initially, it looked great for about 6 months. Lately, the tentacles have been barely extending, which is concerning. The second photo shows something unusual - it's only happened twice, but it's started to resemble a bubble coral. The heads are still growing, but I'm hoping someone can offer some insight into this change. I haven't made any changes to the lighting or water movement, so I'm not sure what's causing this. My male clownfish has been living in it since the beginning and seems to coexist peacefully - he swims between the heads more often than on it, and he's gentle with the coral.

[riveton]

I've noticed changes in water movement can cause that bubbling effect, but since yours hasn't changed, I'm curious - what are your current water parameters looking like?

[oceanblue9]

My parameters have been pretty steady, 1.025 for specific gravity, zero for ammonia and nitrite, undetectable phosphate, and nitrates ranging from 5 to 10 between water changes. I've got two powerheads that switch on and off or run both on then both off - same setup since I got the torch. Honestly, I'm stumped. The heads are still growing, so it's not like it's struggling or anything. I'm just curious, is that bubbling up thing common for torch corals?

[riveton]

As long as your water conditions are good, I wouldn't stress about it. Bubbling tips aren't a cause for concern, but receding tips might be a different story.

[talonix]

Honestly, I've never seen anything like this before. I've had my torch for a while now and it's always looked pretty normal. I'm not sure if this is something to be concerned about, but I'm curious - is this a common thing for torch corals to do?

[felinxo]

Either super stoked or super annoyed. Rooting for the stoked part. Keep us in the loop.

[oceanblue9]

Thanks for the input everyone, I'll definitely keep you updated on how it goes. Hoping it's a sign of happiness like felinxo said. My Aussie gold/purple torch next to it seems to be doing fine, its tentacles are still fully extended.

[sweetie_22]

That's quite a unique situation. Have you experimented with any water treatments to rule out potential issues, or is it possible this is just a quirk of your torch coral?

[oceanblue9]

No PMS meds for me, and honestly, I've never had much luck with them anyway.