branching hammer......

[leaffish75]

how do they multiply? do they split? i upgraded my light and now mine has doubled in size. lately in the center of each there is a small hole. kind of like a mouth. also this stringy stuff has been coming off.

[ViciousFishes]

That small hole is a mouth as they do need to be fed. Don't know about that stringy stuff.

[JustPhish]

They multiply by putting down more skeleton. As they do the actual heads start to split and grow into a Y branch. Viscious is right, they can be fed but I never really feed mine. THe stringy stuff coming out of the mouth, if brown, can be zoxanthellae that the hammer is regulating my releasing some. This can be in reaction to many things, but not really a cause for worry unless you see the coral start to decline.

 

I do have to say something about mine. I took it home maybe two months ago with three quarter sized heads. I put it in my 20L with t-5 lighting and I do not feed it and skim very lightly. The thing has grown into 7 heads large enough that I am rethinking my placing it in a 20L. I have never experienced such growth with a parancora like this before.

[SaltyDawg]

The stringy stuff coming out most of the time means they arebnt getting enough food intake and need to be fed. Mine does this , I feed him and he's fine. Could very well be expelling dead zooanthalia as well though.