I was placing new coral frags the other day and what I was thinking was...are frags capable of other animals who can establish boundaries very small so when they grow to be bigger there won't be corals attacking each other? Since I've been adding new SPS frags the space between them has started to diminish as there's less room, so will I begin to lose these corals or will they start coming to peace with their neighbors?
Questioning a preexisting philosophy
- Thread starter joker577
- Start date
Help Support Reef Aquarium & Tank Building Forum:
Depending on the species involved, you'll most likely start seeing some chemical warfare between close neighbors. The stronger coral will come out on top and the weaker coral will stop growing in that direction and probably start growing in another direction. Then things should calm down. Worse case scenario is that the weaker corals will be completely dominated and die.
Scooterman
Well-known member
10" will take time for them to fill that area, you should be good for a while.
kevinpo
Expert
It really depends on the type of coral, how long they have been next to each other, and environmental conditions. Some corals are very aggressive and will kill their neighbors in a few hours. Others avoid contact at all and grow away from their neighbors. IME most SPS corals that have been in the same tank for a few years will have partial die off on average then encroachment by the dominant coral.
Regards,
Kevin
Regards,
Kevin
