What constitutes rapid growth in corals

[goldfish]

Hey guys, just a point of curiosity here -

I recently picked up a couple of LPS for my birthday to add some life to my softie tank, and I've been doing some research. I keep hearing that my candy cane polyps and frogspawn will grow pretty quickly in good conditions.

Just wondering what that really means - I've never kept LPS before, so I'm not sure what to expect. Should I be looking at a new polyp or head every month or two, or is it more like every 3-4 months?

My tank's been doing well, so I'm hoping for some decent growth. Here are my params:

Salinity's been 1.025-26, temps 77-78. NH3/NO2 are 0, and NO3/PO4 are undetectable (need a better test, I know). Calc's 420-450, Mag 1260-1350, and Alk's 8.5-10.

I've got a 40B with a 250W 14K HQI and some supplemental T5s (4x39W). Rockwork's over 60lbs, and the tank's been set up since February. Had a bit of an issue with brownish-green fuzz recently, but I think that was just due to running my lights longer than usual and some dying macro releasing nutrients.

Now I just polish my glass every 8-10 days to get rid of a bit of fuzz. My tank's healthy, so what's "fast" growth for LPS?

Thanks, NG

[flame9x]

I've had a branching hammer for 3 months now, started with 5 heads and it's got 4 new ones popping out. My zoas, on the other hand, seem to be growing a bit faster, adding 1-2 new heads every few weeks.

[lanky_bark]

I've seen that with my own corals, they start off slow, then suddenly they just take off. More polyps or branches mean more new heads sprouting up, it's like they hit a growth spurt once they get established.

[floral9]

I had a branching frogspawn that started with just 3 heads. About a month and a half in, 2 of those heads have split, so now I've got 5. The length of the current heads has really taken off, adding a good inch in that time. I used to just go by water changes for calcium, but now that I'm dosing, I'm hoping to see even more growth. There's something about watching small pieces grow that really gets me.

[nixora]

Honestly, I've never pinpointed the exact reason for my LPS growth, but my experience with a branching hammer has been pretty telling - it went from 2 heads to 15 in 6 months, which was impressive, but then it seemed to plateau for a bit, not growing much more despite everything else in the tank remaining constant.

[angler88]

Picked up a Duncan from a fellow reefer a couple months back, started with just two heads - now I'm counting eight, might be more hiding in the back.

[northoak]

Just got my 2-head candy cane frag a month ago and it's already sprouting a third head, pretty stoked about that. Will snap a pic once my lights kick in tomorrow.

[reelmein]

If your coral gets comfortable with the flow, lighting, feeding, and water parameters, it'll take off. I focus on bringing out the best color in my corals and then just let them be. Comparing old photos of the frags really helps me gauge their progress. As for tracking growth by counting heads, it can be tricky, especially for corals that need to build calcium skeletons. You might see small heads emerge, but it can take a while for them to develop a sturdy calcium base.

[robinjay]

I recently dug up some old photos from when I upgraded to a 120 and went a bit crazy at a frag swap. I did a follow-up photo shoot a year later and plan on making it a yearly thing from now on. Some of the frags have blown up in size - I'm talking from thumbnail-sized to several inches across in just a year. My duncan's gone from 4 heads to over 20, my Elegance has basically doubled, and my Frogspawn and torch have added more and larger heads.

A few of my SPS have also done really well. A red setosa's grown a bit, but not as much as I'd like. The clam's been a real success story, though.