[Cibo]

How do you get Montipora capricornis to grow with that layered cup look I had one it just grows flat it incrusted the rock and grew right off the rock

[Seadog09]

i think it has something to do with the water circulation around the piece.

[jason18]

I think some just grow in different ways.

[anthony27]

as we can all see in your picture jason

[jason18]

haha i forgot about that.

[jg2269jg]

it has to do with flow the better the flow around the peice the different it will grow. as far as i know
jeff

[Eleven11]

So with good flow, one can expect it to grow in layer like in jasons picture? A nice layered cap can make a world of difference in the look of any tank.

[reefman]

there r ways to induce the cap to get to be cup shaped. lay the cap flat n position the flow to be just above it n gradually raise the flow or lower the cap.
the idea is allow the cap's growth pattern to chase the flow.

note: the cap also need good random water flow so detritus does not settle inside the cup.

[coralnut99]

It can be a bit tricky to do, but if you can stand the frag up, it will tend to swirl first.

I set mt frags in small 1X1 slate tiles that come in a sheet at Lowes, etc. With caps I take the tile and run it over the edge of my bench grinder to cut a v-shaped groove. I stand cap frags up in the groove and they've consistantly started to swirl way before they encrust. You could achieve the same thing with a file since slate is very soft.