Duncan Coral

[Cnebo]

Hello everyone, I have had these duncans for about 2 months, and they seem to be pretty healthy. I spot feed them mysis shrimp and they are under bright lighting. They receive a good amount of flow, but the tentacles seem to stay pretty short and stubby when they open up completely. They started growing a new head and it's looking great, just noticed everyone duncans all have long sweeping tentacles. Here's a pic:

 

[nathanq.inc]

From my experience low flow and lower lighting would increase tentacle extension. I don't spot feed mine very often but when I do the tentacles stay shorter for a few days. I like them long so I spot feed as little as possible.

 

[Cnebo]

I feed them about twice a week, I'll try to cut that down a bit and see how that goes. Thanks

[jestep]

Is it possible they have something bothering them?

 

Mine extend fully no matter the flow or lighting. The only time they looked like those for more than a short while, was when they were being encroached by a BTA.

[Psychosis]

From my experience with Duncan's, the tentacles will shorten in higher flow. I fed regularly, and that never had an affect one way or another (other than explosive growth.) If it's growing a new head, I think it would be best to leave it as is. How ever, if you'd really like to see the longer skirt, it would be my reccomendation to try a lower flow area.

[surgicalsense]

Hello everyone, I have had these duncans for about 2 months, and they seem to be pretty healthy. I spot feed them mysis shrimp and they are under bright lighting. They receive a good amount of flow, but the tentacles seem to stay pretty short and stubby when they open up completely. They started growing a new head and it's looking great, just noticed everyone duncans all have long sweeping tentacles. Here's a pic:

 

 

When they are growing new nubs, the new growth kind of stresses them out. Once it passes this stage with the new heads, it will be fine. Mine did the same at this stage. Also, I have learned that to high of a flow will also keep them from fully extending.

[Cnebo]

They are about 1-2 inches away from a zoa colony and a green mushroom. The flow is not that strong in that area, but I can tell that it isn't being bothered. It opens up nicely just minus a long skirt. The new head has been making its way for about 2-3 weeks and looks to be doing fine. I'll see how it does once the new head has matured.

[Dani3d]

No, not everyone's duncan have long tentacles.

 

I have 2 duncans in my tank now and used to have 3, all 3 were very different and always have been.

 

From the 2 I have right now one has extremely long tentacles, so long that it looks like an elegance coral, and the other always had and always WILL HAVE short tentacles, no matter where I put it.

 

They were together for nearly a year in the same flow and same lighting and the one with long tentacles had long tentacles and the one with the short tentacles had still short tentacles even after a year of being side by side...so no it is absolutely not related to flow. I moved the one with the long tentacles in low flow now and it did not change ONE BIT and still have those huge tentacles.

 

The one in with the short tentacles is in stronger flow now but that did not chance anything about its tentacles either.

 

I can very much attest that flow does not make one bit of difference. It is probably the sub specie that make such difference. People say there is only one kind of duncan but I disagree, and from my experience there is at least 3 variants. The long tentacles duncan start out with short tentacles and develop the longer tentacles as it mature and grow. The short tentacles duncan remain with short tentacles always. The third one that I had also had short tentacles but it was an ugly brownish color so I sold it.

 

I have fragged the long tentacles and the short tentacles ones and they remain like that in the other people's tank as well.

 

So if you want some with long tentacles, buy those with long tentacles or a frag of it.

 

When I bought my long tentacles duncan, it was a small one head frag of a large colony and it did not have long tentacles that much but I knew that eventually it would grow like that and it did. AS it grew larger and more mature it also developped the very long tentacles just as the mother colony.

 

Here is the pic of the long tentacles..now looking exactly as the mother colony it came from as a one polyp a year and half ago:

 

 

and here is my short tentacles duncan that I have for 2 years. They are both in the same tank under same light and same flow, or similar:

 

 

They are also very different in color, one is a bright flashy green and the other is a bluish purple.

[metrokat]

Have to agree with Dani. My Duncan has sprouted heads in all kinds of flow, and shows long tentacles unless it is being bothered by the crabs.

[Psychosis]

I have no doubt there is variation between duncans, I've seen it all myself, but I do know that when mine went from higher flow to low flow, it displayed better extension and much longer tentacles. This may not be the case for everyone, and like I said, it seems healthy where it is, so I'd just let it ride. If it's all ready in a fairly low flow area it may just have shorter tentacles. I've just never seen them that short without flow being a factor, ymmv.

[surgicalsense]

Good grief ...

 

I have had my duncan in 3 locations in my tank. 1st was on the top shelf. Thrived pretty well but once I put in my new LED's it was to bright and stopped expanding completely. Then I moved it to the center seemed fine, but then it was harrassed by my pistol shrimps idea of moving sand around and kept disturbing it. Now it is on the far right in the sand bed. Not to bright, just enough flow. Geesh, now this may change once I install my MaxiJet and the flow slightly stronger.

[jestep]

The good thing about them is pretty well defined in this thread. They look great and they can thrive in just about any condition. They're one of my favorite corals by far and they seem to be getting a lot cheaper than a few years ago.

[surgicalsense]

The good thing about them is pretty well defined in this thread. They look great and they can thrive in just about any condition. They're one of my favorite corals by far and they seem to be getting a lot cheaper than a few years ago.

 

I paid $15 for 1 head from Vivid. I only priced one other place and it also quoted $15.

[Dani3d]

Maybe that has some sort of influence as to how much the polyps extend, but you cannot make a short tentacles duncan grow longer tentacles by changing the flow. That I am sure of because I tried with the 2 I have with short tentacles.

 

I liked the long tentacles much better so I tried to change mine into long tentacles with more light, more flow, less light, more food, less flow, you name it. After a year of experimenting I have come to the conclusion that my short tentacles duncans will remain like that no matter what.

 

You can probably make a long tentacles duncan get shorter tentacles if it get upset by something like too strong flow.

 

BTW, my long tentacles duncan completely shrivel each night and it practitally disapear into its skeleton, and by the end of the day it is at its longest for the tentacles. In the morning or around noon, the tentacles are not yet at their full length.

 

 

I have no doubt there is variation between duncans, I've seen it all myself, but I do know that when mine went from higher flow to low flow, it displayed better extension and much longer tentacles. This may not be the case for everyone, and like I said, it seems healthy where it is, so I'd just let it ride. If it's all ready in a fairly low flow area it may just have shorter tentacles. I've just never seen them that short without flow being a factor, ymmv.

[PinkDamsel]

My duncan used to have long tentacles, but in recent weeks has had short ones. It's the same duncan & IDK what accounts for the diff in tentacle length. Must be THE FORCE . . . .

[Dani3d]

IN that case a bad force. When my tank was contaminated with copper my duncans did that, but the returned to normal after the water was good. I would check your water parameters and especially for high nitrates and for copper.

 

Your case is not normal, more likely your duncan is upset by something.

 

My duncan used to have long tentacles, but in recent weeks has had short ones. It's the same duncan & IDK what accounts for the diff in tentacle length. Must be THE FORCE . . . .

[PinkDamsel]

would check your water parameters and especially for high nitrates and for copper.

 

Your case is not normal, more likely your duncan is upset by something.

I've done several 100% WCs, and use distilled water to mix the salt, so I don't know how copper would get introduced.

 

Some of my palys have finally started growing lately, even encroaching on nearby corals, so I'm wondering if it might not be chem warefare from the softies.

[surgicalsense]

I just think their moody corals anyways. Long tentacles, short tentacles, whichever and whatever. I am sure everyones corals are just fine.

 

Just as long as it is not melting away in ones' tank right before your eyes.

[AirportFF]

Mine are usually fully extended all the time. Once in a while they get PO's about something and are less extended for a couple days. They are about 4" below my LED array in a relativly moderate flow area.

 

[JR!]

Have to agree with Dani. My Duncan has sprouted heads in all kinds of flow, and shows long tentacles unless it is being bothered by the crabs.

same here. i have also noticed that they hate alot of carbon use. that could just be mine though

[Cnebo]

Well honestly, I thought when I purchased them from my lfs, the tentacles were a little longer. But when they were first introduced, I didn't see them for a couple of days.. So I might have forgotten how they looked because they didn't completely open for a week or two.

 

But honestly IMO, I like these a little bit more than the longer ones. These look exactly like mine.

 

[Cintax]

Have to agree with Dani. My Duncan has sprouted heads in all kinds of flow, and shows long tentacles unless it is being bothered by the crabs.

 

This is my experience as well. My duncans are right below my MP10.

 

I bought my colony with five heads, lost one, but now I have fifteen to twenty heads growing each and every way from the original four. My coloration is green/blue and long such as in Dani3d's picture.

[nathanq.inc]

Really interesting thoughts on the duncan variants with short and long tentacles. I understood you could get different coloured varieties but not different skirts! Looking at the pictures now I can see the difference. I'd like to see even more pictures! Has anyone got any further reading I could look into?

[milk]

I think the tentacle length like a lot of other coral has to do with flow/light; I've moved my colony in my tank with different areas of flow and light and the tentacles looked really different consistently.

[Psychosis]

The underlying trend is that if you have a duncan with long tentacles, the length may vary depending on flow and light, but if you have a colony that naturally has short tentacles, it doesn't matter. I didn't know they varied like that, but if the coloration can be so drastically different I don't see why not.

 

 

I should find a list of species commonly id'd as "duncans" and see if there is a true difference. It worked for my plate, any way. I'm off to google.