Who Gives A Fish Forums

I've got a couple of colonies, my candy cane and duncan, that are shading out their lower branches. I don't think there's any cross talk or signalling going on between the heads since they're separated by bone, not soft tissue. Maybe this is just how branching LPS grow. The lower polyps are getting smaller and turning white - is this normal? I've noticed with Acropora and other SPS, they seem to grow in a way that prevents shading themselves. Is this not the case for branching LPS?

Anything with a branching pattern will inevitably lead to shading in certain areas. I've personally experienced this with bflintix9tos, where the growth has resulted in self-shading. That's when you know it's time to start fragging the parts that might not make it anyway. This approach can be helpful, trailblazere. Good luck with your colonies!

It's like in the wild, the shaded branches just die off naturally, making way for new growth to take over. The top ones keep growing taller, shading out what used to be the higher branches, and the cycle repeats itself.

Food availability and flow can make a difference. Remember, the colony's nutrient-sharing system is key. Most LPS can handle lower light if nutrients are there.

I recently noticed some of the lower heads on my volleyball-sized branching hammer were struggling, so I decided to give them a new lease on life by cutting them off. Now they're thriving in direct light. I'm planning to donate them to the next club raffle, giving someone else a chance to enjoy these healthy heads.

If you're seeing new growth on the light-facing side, I'd say let the lower branches go. It's the natural way of things. SPS corals do this too, and it happens pretty quickly in my experience. The dead parts harden up and become a new foundation for other corals or sponges to grow on.