How do GSPs spread?

[calvertbill]

I always assumed that they expanded like a stain covering a rock and that if you wanted to start a new colony it had to be by cutting a piece from the old one.
But this morning I discovered a new mini-colony (5 eyes? heads? buds? strong) on a rock about 6" from the existing colony...howdat happen?

 

[groupergenius]

They have a pinkish-purple mat that they grow out of. This mat spreads out across just about anything and the GSP march begins. Slowly but undeniably gobbling up every last piece of available real estate until the tank looks like a field of wheat in Kansas b

wwaahhahahhaha.......yet, I digress.
Maybe at one time the rocks were touching.

 

[big]

Originally Posted by GrouperGenius
They have a pinkish-purple mat that they grow out of. This mat spreads out across just about anything and the GSP march begins. Slowly but undeniably gobbling up every last piece of available real estate until the tank looks like a field of wheat in Kansas b

wwaahhahahhaha.......yet, I digress.
Maybe at one time the rocks were touching.

Yep they sure do that!! Remember that post last week about the little piece I glued to another rock after yours where not opening? They will spead the Wheat fields quickly!. Here it is agian just four days latter to compare....... I think they have grown some in just a few days..... When they start to annoy you glue some to your back glass, they look neet there......Warrren

 

[rldavisou]

Star polyps are some of the few corals that can actually reproduce sexually in our tanks. They can release up to hundreds of spores at a time. I used to have a pic of a colony releasing spores, but I can't find it on my computer. It was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen, lol.
I don't put star polyps in my tank for that reason. I feel that anything I put in there should stay where I put it.

 

[paintballer768]

Yea the mat is how they spread. Its possible the mat extended to a new rock, and if rockwork had been rearranged, then you could have ripped the mat.
The time difference in the pictures is about 2 months. 2nd picture was supposed to be focused on the rocks, but you can see the difference here.