Acro growing fatter and chunkier but minimal vertical or outward growth

[FrugalReefer]

I’ve had this Acro for a little over a year now. It was sold to me as a Pearl Jam Acro from my LFS (AquaSD San Diego). These pics were taken about a year apart. Over that time it has encrusted nicely and grown fatter and chunkier but there has been little to no vertical or outward growth. I know growth is growth but it would be nice to see more vertical growth, especially after a year. Any tips/tricks to encourage more vertical growth.

 

[Yanir34]

What type of lightning are you using with ?

 

[FrugalReefer]

What type of lightning are you using with ?

Nicrew Hyperreef 150W.

 

[Macdaddynick1]

You must have a lot of flow, which is great. Once it lays the base you’ll see the vertical growth.
Actually.. idk the growth looks a bit odd to me. so I might be wrong.

 

[homer1475]

Do you have a now pic thats not so blue?

It does look like odd growth even for basing out.

 

[FrugalReefer]

You must have a lot of flow, which is great. Once it lays the base you’ll see the vertical growth.
Actually.. idk the growth looks a bit odd to me. so I might be wrong.

Yeah, 3 powerheads plus the return. My school of thought with flow is to have more powerheads with moderate flow rather than a few powerheads running at full blast flow.

 

[homer1475]

Yeah, 3 powerheads plus the return. My school of thought with flow is to have more powerheads with moderate flow rather than a few powerheads running at full blast flow.

Same school of thought here. I run a total of 7 PH's in my 80G cube.

 

[FrugalReefer]

Do you have a now pic thats not so blue?

It does look like odd growth even for basing out.

Do you have a now pic thats not so blue?

It does look like odd growth even for basing out.

I’ll try to get a better pic.

 

[FrugalReefer]

This is the best I can do. Don’t mind the Vermetids and the Cyano.

 

[homer1475]

That is not typical growth.

Even in the highest flow it would still branch out. It looks like the original frag has gotten "fatter" without any vertical growth.

 

[FrugalReefer]

That is not typical growth.

Even in the highest flow it would still branch out. It looks like the original frag has gotten "fatter" without any vertical growth.

Anything that will help encourage vertical growth other than more waiting?

 

[sculpin01]

Unfortunately, that is diseased growth. I know this because I am dealing with it in one of my tanks. This is known either as a coral growth anomaly or a calicoblastic epithelioma. Unfortunately, it appears to be contagious and may spread to other corals. There's some indication that it is an immune response/bacteria associated, although no specific pathogen has been identified. Here's an example of a coral that developed it in my tank, followed by a coral that is recovering from it:

Growth Anomalies on the Coral Genera Acropora and Porites Are Strongly Associated with Host Density and Human Population Size across the Indo-Pacific

Growth anomalies (GAs) are common, tumor-like diseases that can cause significant morbidity and decreased fecundity in the major Indo-Pacific reef-building coral genera, Acropora and Porites. GAs are unusually tractable for testing hypotheses about drivers of coral disease because of their...

journals.plos.org

Ecology and Pathology of Novel Plaque-Like Growth Anomalies Affecting a Reef-Building Coral on the Great Barrier Reef

Here we identify ecological and structural characteristics of a novel plaque-like growth anomaly (GA) at outbreak levels in a population of the staghorn coral, Acropora muricata, on the Great Barrier Reef. The smooth appearance of the plaques results from thickening of skeletal structures...

www.frontiersin.org

 

[FrugalReefer]

Unfortunately, that is diseased growth. I know this because I am dealing with it in one of my tanks. This is known either as a coral growth anomaly or a calicoblastic epithelioma. Unfortunately, it appears to be contagious and may spread to other corals. There's some indication that it is an immune response/bacteria associated, although no specific pathogen has been identified. Here's an example of a coral that developed it in my tank, followed by a coral that is recovering from it:
View attachment 3120802View attachment 3120804

Growth Anomalies on the Coral Genera Acropora and Porites Are Strongly Associated with Host Density and Human Population Size across the Indo-Pacific

Growth anomalies (GAs) are common, tumor-like diseases that can cause significant morbidity and decreased fecundity in the major Indo-Pacific reef-building coral genera, Acropora and Porites. GAs are unusually tractable for testing hypotheses about drivers of coral disease because of their...

journals.plos.org

Ecology and Pathology of Novel Plaque-Like Growth Anomalies Affecting a Reef-Building Coral on the Great Barrier Reef

Here we identify ecological and structural characteristics of a novel plaque-like growth anomaly (GA) at outbreak levels in a population of the staghorn coral, Acropora muricata, on the Great Barrier Reef. The smooth appearance of the plaques results from thickening of skeletal structures...

www.frontiersin.org

Interesting. What should I be doing to combat this?

 

[sculpin01]

Interesting. What should I be doing to combat this?

I don't believe there is any treatment currently available as the pathogen/causative agent remains unknown. If the coral eventually grows normal branches (as mine has in the second picture), you could harvest those and destroy the remaining diseased tissue. I have had several colonies appear to become infected and then recover but I do not know how or why that happened.

 

[sculpin01]

Here's another article:

Not only a human nightmare: Coral tumour-like disease

Written by Sara GAGLIARDI Edited by Brad WEILER Just as humans and other animals (e.g., dogs1), scleractinian corals can be affected by a tumour-like disease called growth anomalies (GAs). Growth a…

reefbites.com