fungia anthocauli

[kmatysek]

Anybody out there have any experience with fungia anthocauli?
We've got between 20 and 30 that started in August. I'm trying to decide whether to: Snap them off so that their over-crowing (as they grow) doesn't affect their adult shape. Or to let them 'hop' off in their own time. (Plus I have a couple folks to whom I've promised offspring.) I tried popping them off a month ago, but it was impossible to get a good grip on them (too little, and I was worried I was damaging 'em). As they get bigger I'm getting tempted.
I've included a recent pic. Wish I had a better zoom, this doesn't do them justice. They're really cool.
Kathy

 

[nm reef]

Now that is something you don't see everyday....I am aware that Fungia propagate in that manner...but I've never actually seen it. You've got several new ones attached to the origional it seems.....sorry but I've no idea how to seperate them. Information seems to indicate that they naturally seperate in the wild but I'd be concerned about manually removing them. Keep us posted on how you do with the mother and babies.
I took the liberty of enhancing your photo a bit for a clearer look...not much improvement but maybe somebody can help a bit more than I have...simply an outstanding coral....congrads again.

 

[kmatysek]

Wow, enhancements can make a big difference. I'll have to play with that (cheaper than a new camera!).
Yeah, I haven't seen much about these guys and only one other picture (from Eric Borneman's book, that I've seen on postings here). I have to admit that we had this lucky occurrence I think because we nearly killed the fungia. We had some general water problems and lost a couple other corals and during that time we thought we lost this guy. Then all but 1/6 of it bounced back. Many months later we noticed these guys sprouting up (at first I thought it was something else that had rooted itself in the cracks). Some have speculated that it did it intentionally to reproduce, but I doubt it.
My inclination at this point is to let things happen naturally, but someone mentioned that the babies might be mis-shapen as a result. I think I'll take my chances unless someone else chimes in with more info.
Thanks again for the enhancement and thoughts. I'll definitely post back as they mature.

 

[zafirablanca]

KMatysek,
I am a marine aquarium newbie, for sure. But I am a plant and fungal biologist by training. It is very common for many types of plants and fungi to initiate a reproductive phase in response to stress. In fact, this is a tool that scientists use when trying to force reproduction, in many cases.
My previous job involved growing fungi in solution in giant bioreactors for agricultural biopesticide use. We would give the organism a warm , oxygen and nutrient rich environment to grow mass, and then either change the temperature or allow the oxygen or nutrients to run out, and Bam!, reproductive stage induced and sporulation.
Many plants exchange vegetative growth for reproduction during stress also. Notice that in a drought, a farmers corn field will still flower and produce corn (quality aside), the plants will just be much, much shorter. This is because the plants react to the stressful environment. They 'realize' than death may be around the corner and quickly initiate reproduction (flowering) in order to avoid extinction of the species. They allocate what little resources they have to getting the next generation on thier way. It is a survival mechanism.
So, as strange as it may sound, the stress on the coral is probably what induced the reproductive phase. If this is the case, and coral follow other biological cycles, you may lose your original coral when the 'babies' are mature enough to leave their 'mommy'. I hope not. I really don't know. I think is is totally cool that you get to watch this in captivity. Enjoy. Please keep us informed as to what happens. The science geek in me is eager to learn more.
Good Luck,
-Christine

 

[kmatysek]

Christine,
You make a good point for the stress-induced reproduction case! It is interesting that that strategy applies to plants and fungi as well. I'm a computer geek by trade, but very interested in biology myself. You're right, this hobby can be wonderful for observing so much of the marine environment in captivity.
I don't actually think we'll lose the 'mom' since, except for the 1/6 pie-shaped wedge, it looks very healthy and may even have grown some in the past month or so.
I also neglected to mention in my earlier post that the mom has multiple mouths (I've attached a picture where you can barely see them - they're pinkish-purple and there's 3 of them, I think). I just noticed that Eric Borneman's book refers to this, in a photo caption, as 'an aquarium rarity'. I assumed it had something to do with it's reproduction behavior.
I love this hobby!

 

[jonthefb]

very interestign indeed! i agree with christine, tht this was a reaction to a stressful environment. did the fingia get stung? or dropped? in the modern coral reef aquarium vol 2 by fossa and nielsen, they describe in depth this particular occurance as it is a rarity, but this is what it says:
the corals of the family fungiidae often propagate by formign daughter polyps called anthocauli. these can result through asexual propagation after damage to adult polyps, but can also be formed from a planual larva that has settled after sexual reproduction.
they go into much more detail but i think that this is your answer. i would let them drop of naturally. in the same section it has a picture of the daughter polyps after they detatched from the parentfungia, and sure theyr not perfectly round, but in time should even out. i personaly bought a green striped mushroom rock that had one of these anthocauli on it but was very camouflaged and looked like the shrooms. then one day it fell off to the ground, and i picked it up to find out that it has a ston skeleton! kind of a nice treat. anyways, i have had like 4 polyps drop off so far, and they all are doing fine in friends tanks. definately let nature takes its course, and if they ever stop forming, your plate might even divide and depending on the numer of mouths, into three different individuals!
ver cool
keep us posted!
good luck
jon

 

[zafirablanca]

Very Cool!
Great photos. I don't even have water in my tank yet. It will be a long time before I get to where you guys are......
Good thing I am very patient. My other pets taught me that. Especially my parrot. Lose your cool and swear, and she might learn it and throw it back at you next time!
Keep us up to date!
-Christine

 

[kmatysek]

jon-
No apparent injury (except for a snail or two falling on it) and it's been in a relatively safe spot since the beginning (no stinging tentacles). I really think it's due to a weakened state when our water quality took a dive (and we lost a few other stonies at the same time).
Thanks for the fossa and nielsen reference. I only found one other photo of anothocauli (in eric borneman's book, and that one's been copied to the boards).
Christine - it won't take that long, really. Our tanks been up for 2.5 years.
I was sort of hoping to hear from someone with direct experience, but I appreciate all the thoughts - and will go with the majority opinion to let nature take it's course!
Thanks, all! I'll repost as they progress.

 

[oo bubbagump oo]

I have a long tentacle white Plate Coral. I spotted my Scarlet Hermits chowing down on him. (Took the

[hr]
out!)
Well, the coral has since receded towards one side nd to the middle. Will he expand again?
Also I have him placed right under the metal halide about 4" deep, should I put him on the bottom? Reason I ask is because I see your plates on the sand.
Not trying to take over the thread, this thread just seems like a better shot of getting good information.
Justin

 

[the claw]

Thanks for the bump. It was cool seeing what someone else experienced. Is kMatysek still around. I'd be curious to see how thing have faired in the last few months.

 

[the claw]

Bubbagump, if your tank can handle the decomposition of the dieing coral, I'd leave it. It doesn't take long for the daughter colonies to show up. I don't know if it works with long tenticle plates or not, but it might.

 

[oo bubbagump oo]

Nice, now what do you mean by "handle"?

 

[nm reef]

I was surprised to see this thread re-surface. I don't believe I've seen this member in a long time. I wonder what came of the plate and its babies?Somebody recently had a post with the same sort of re-growth going on. Within the last few days too.
amazing what you'll find lurkin' back there in the past!!

 

[the claw]

Handle meaning no ammonia spike. We all have reef relief packages and skimmers and such, and they are designed to clean up when something happens. If they can keep your ammonia and nitrates under control while the critter is dieing, then I would leave it. Our first instict is to yank something out of our tanks when we see something dieing. FOR good reason of course.

 

[jugger]

now that is truly amazing!!!!! seriously...... i hope mine does that... very unlikely though..... good luck and please keep us posted..... and if you can please hook us up with some more pics

 

[oo bubbagump oo]

Crap, I don't have a skimmer yet. I am barely starting a 10g fuge that I will mount a skimmer onto.
Should I yank the poor Plate out?
Justin

 

[kmatysek]

I'm still around, although I haven't posted in a while (tooooo many hours at work).
And, sad to say, we lost the entire plate coral a few months ago. We didn't lose anything else at the time so I don't know what the problem was. I've been having difficulty keeping SPS, I assume due to my lighting (all PC, no halide) but we had the plate coral a long time (alhtough it had suffered a previous setback which spawned the anthocauli). Not long before it happened I had tried 'popping off' a few of the anthocauli (I got some advice on another thread - I eventually found several others who had this happen). I found this very difficult to do since they're so small and it's very hard to grasp the 'stem' (with tweezers) without damaging their soft parts. It's possible that was too much trauma, although its death didn't happen immediately following my attempts to propogate. Shoulda' left it alone....
Good luck with yours. You may want to put it on the sand (mine moved around occasionally). Also, I'd get a skimmer.

 

[the claw]

What are your numbers reading Bubba? Is your ammonia up?

 

[oo bubbagump oo]

Nope, not yet anyway!
Nitrites are always 0, but I can't seem to get my Nitrates down... they are at like 40ppm. I threw some De-Nitrate media into my filter, to no avail.
I am really considering a De-Nitrifying Chamber... or a Fuge full of macro!
Justin

 

[spottedseahare]

Often macroalgae can uptake enough nitrates to lower the NO3- level significantly. Try adding a Chaetomorpha sp. and/or a Gracilaria sp. As the algae clump grows, remove and discard some of it. You can probably get a fist ful of Chaeto or Grac from your LFS. Many salt water fish stores have one of these in their large sumps.
If this works to lower nitrate, you must next try to find out what is causing the nitrate level to be so high to begin with. Overfeeding is a common cause of high ammonia/nitrite/nitrate. A high livestock load with a matching high nitrifying bacterial population could make nitrate rise.