Why corals don't grow

[Clown79]

Just going online and notice this is a frequent issue for some.

 

I myself have been in the situation where a coral just declines for no known reason or growth is slow. 

Or that coral you just can't keep!

 

We know the main causes for lack of growth or even death but what about when hobbyists do all the right stuff, stable parameters, good flow, good maintenance etc.

 

 

 

 

[Friendly]

well...if they're not thriving, then it's likely one of those parameters is not stable.

 

occam's razor...  

[patback]

1 hour ago, Clown79 said:

Just going online and notice this is a frequent issue for some.

 

I myself have been in the situation where a coral just declines for no known reason or growth is slow. 

Or that coral you just can't keep!

 

We know the main causes for lack of growth or even death but what about when hobbyists do all the right stuff, stable parameters, good flow, good maintenance etc.

 

 

 

 

Imo it happens when you spend 100+ bucks on a booger, or buy something you have always wanted but never tried before. I bought grandis (super slow growing) at the same time as my rastas and bbeb (all time faves and my umpteenth try with them at 10-20 bucks per polyp)

Wouldnt you know... my rastas are 100% gone and I have grown 2 more heads of the grandis than the bbeb, which are closed 95% of the time. 

[Gourami Swami]

 

[mitten_reef]

1 hour ago, Clown79 said:

Just going online and notice this is a frequent issue for some.

 

I myself have been in the situation where a coral just declines for no known reason or growth is slow. 

Or that coral you just can't keep!

 

We know the main causes for lack of growth or even death but what about when hobbyists do all the right stuff, stable parameters, good flow, good maintenance etc.

 

 

 

 

Light and food are the biggest growth booster for any stony corals.

Keeping things a little “dirty” seems to work well for felshier stuff. 

 

Yah, being very scientific here 🤪

[Tamberav]

4 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Just going online and notice this is a frequent issue for some.

 

I myself have been in the situation where a coral just declines for no known reason or growth is slow. 

Or that coral you just can't keep!

 

We know the main causes for lack of growth or even death but what about when hobbyists do all the right stuff, stable parameters, good flow, good maintenance etc.

 

 

 

 

It's hard to make every coral perfectly happy in a mixed reef..even with thoughtful placement and most people keep mixed reefs. This problem is made MUCH  worse by small nano tanks as we dont have as much different depth and areas to work with for placement.

 

I have been separating mine out to make life ez mode 😛

 

 

 

 

[seabass]

Let me start off by saying that I'm no model coral grower.

 

Like has already been said, light, flow, food, and nutrients along with good stable parameters can go a long way to thriving corals.  Of course too much light, flow, and nutrients can be a problem too.  Messing with placement sometimes helps, but can add stress too.

 

Chemical warfare and stingers can be an issue.  Obviously things like cyano, GHA and other pests can cause problems.  There are a whole host of irritators that can pose problems too.

 

Maybe too much chemical media?  What about biodiversity?  I feel that people which start with good live rock often have an advantage over dry rockers.  Additives can sometimes help, but I personally feel they often cause more harm than good.

 

Certainly things like peroxide can be negatives.  There is temperature, possible contaminates, lack of trace elements.  Changing too much water, not changing enough water, type of water/mix, light cycles and spectrums, etc, etc.

 

I've had coral growth suddenly take off when transferring it to another tank.  Who knows what was missing or what was holding it back.

[Clown79]

8 hours ago, patback said:

Imo it happens when you spend 100+ bucks on a booger, or buy something you have always wanted but never tried before. I bought grandis (super slow growing) at the same time as my rastas and bbeb (all time faves and my umpteenth try with them at 10-20 bucks per polyp)

Wouldnt you know... my rastas are 100% gone and I have grown 2 more heads of the grandis than the bbeb, which are closed 95% of the time. 

I spent a decent amount on zoas and have no luck with them in any of my tanks

[Clown79]

13 minutes ago, seabass said:

Let me start off by saying that I'm no model coral grower.

 

Like has already been said, light, flow, food, and nutrients along with good stable parameters can go a long way to thriving corals.  Of course too much light, flow, and nutrients can be a problem too.  Messing with placement sometimes helps, but can add stress too.

 

Chemical warfare and stingers can be an issue.  Obviously things like cyano, GHA and other pests can cause problems.  There are a whole host of irritators that can pose problems too.

 

Maybe too much chemical media?  What about biodiversity?  I feel that people which start with good live rock often have an advantage over dry rockers.  Additives can sometimes help, but I personally feel they often cause more harm than good.

 

Certainly things like peroxide can be negatives.  There is temperature, possible contaminates, lack of trace elements.  Changing too much water, not changing enough water, type of water/mix, light cycles and spectrums, etc, etc.

 

I've had coral growth suddenly take off when transferring it to another tank.  Who knows what was missing or what was holding it back.

Funny you mention that.

 

I have moved 1 coral to a different tank and it will be happier than the previous tank. Have yet to figure out why, the tanks are so similar.

 

4 hours ago, Tamberav said:

It's hard to make every coral perfectly happy in a mixed reef..even with thoughtful placement and most people keep mixed reefs. This problem is made MUCH  worse by small nano tanks as we dont have as much different depth and areas to work with for placement.

 

I have been separating mine out to make life ez mode 😛

 

 

 

 

If I could go back, I'd plan thing differently because keeping my euphyllia happy has been a challenge when everything else is happy.

 

 

All great info. 

It's always interesting hearing everyone take on a subject

[Tamberav]

+1 coral happy in one tank but not the next.

 

My digis hated the 25g and love the 22g but the birds hated the 22g and love the 25g.....they both beginner SPS...pft!

 

My LPS being too happy lately and just trying to murder each other constantly to open space and grow bigger. Idk how I'm going to deal with LPS dominated coral warfare tank. My frogspawn went from 2 heads to 8 then proceeded to murder things around it.  

[Clown79]

On 2/28/2019 at 4:40 AM, Tamberav said:

+1 coral happy in one tank but not the next.

 

My digis hated the 25g and love the 22g but the birds hated the 22g and love the 25g.....they both beginner SPS...pft!

 

My LPS being too happy lately and just trying to murder each other constantly to open space and grow bigger. Idk how I'm going to deal with LPS dominated coral warfare tank. My frogspawn went from 2 heads to 8 then proceeded to murder things around it.  

Man I wish my euphyllia would grow. Frogspawns are never happy in my tank.

 

My red monti cap has grown like no other, the green one is losing colour, browning, same tank.

 

It's so odd especially when you have multiple tanks that run almost identically.🤣

 

I've switched corals from tank to tank and seen a complete difference.