anthony27

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I would like to know more about sps, and the first area I would like to cover would be pollyp extensions on sps coral.


I have noticed that some of the sps I have, have small pollyp extensions on them ans opposed to the other sps I have that have longer extensions.


Why is this?

Is it the area they come from, deep water opposed to sps that would be higher up in the light? Also I am thinking it depends on the species and sub sets of those families that would have the short opposed to the long polly extensions.

:cheers:
 

juiceguy

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it depends on species, flow, predators. some species look like a big hairy bushes and others are bare but they have polyp extension at night to feed.

i have miles that look like weeds and then take a purple monster that has very little polyp extension but turn a flashlight on after a few hours at night it has full polyp extension.
 

E.intheC

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anthony, are you dosing at all? (Not just 2 part or calcium or anything) but Zeovit/Prodibio/amino acids? I'm thinking of starting a pretty decent dosing regimen. I've heard it helps with polyp extension
 

SevTT

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I would like to know more about sps, and the first area I would like to cover would be pollyp extensions on sps coral.


I have noticed that some of the sps I have, have small pollyp extensions on them ans opposed to the other sps I have that have longer extensions.


Why is this?

Is it the area they come from, deep water opposed to sps that would be higher up in the light? Also I am thinking it depends on the species and sub sets of those families that would have the short opposed to the long polly extensions.

:cheers:

Naw, it's nothing that simple. They have small polyps or long polyps for the same reason that they grow in tall sticks or short bushes or big plates: 'cause that's the form that best allows them to survive in their ecological niche.

There're all sorts of sizes of food particles on a reef, and it's only natural that life will evolve to consume everything that's available, from the very large to the very small. Corals with small polyps eat the stuff the bigger ones leave behind, and bigger ones eat stuff the small ones can't catch.
 

SevTT

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so its not really related to the specific coral but the environment you have it?

No, it definitely is related to the specific coral. That coral is the product of countless generations of evolution and has evolved to take a specific size range and type of prey. The coral you have in your tank isn't going to change to take prey outside of its ranges no matter what you do, basically.
 

ctxmonitor

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That is true it all depend on specific coral but sometime it depend in your tank, flow, light, etc.. Some sps have long awesome polyps extension and then when put in my tank, have short polyps extension.
 

SevTT

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That is true it all depend on specific coral but sometime it depend in your tank, flow, light, etc.. Some sps have long awesome polyps extension and then when put in my tank, have short polyps extension.


True, that. I'm basically talking about the maximal expansion in optimal conditions for expansion -- the coral's not gonna get any bigger than that. I'm also ignoring sweeper tentacles. ;)
 

zook

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Another note would be the reason for polyp extension in the first place and it would be for prey capture. Naturally, the planktonic population in the ocean is most abundant during the nocturnal hours and that's when it's best for polyp extension. Also during the day time, obligated corallivores will prevent the polyps from extending.

In our systems, polyps are extended at all times due to the lack of the above mentions. I actually have an issues with so much polyp extension in my SPS that it shades the tissue and preventing it from coloring up fully in more intense lighting.
 
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To summarize the above good info:

1) Different coral species have evolved to maximize their potential in the environment in which they are found thus some species optimally exhibit long polyps while others exhibit next to none ( and every degree in between).

2) Environmental factors within your system ( water quality, flow, nutrient availbility, predation etc) will also affect polyp extension in both a reduced or hyper extended fashion.

#1 you can't control. #2 you can.

I also personally don't think polyp extension is the be all and end all of coral health either. I think a case can be made for the fact that excessive daytime polyp extension is not a natural or necessarily a healthy thing as corals don't typically do this in nature and some of the nicest and healthiest systems around don't exhibit tremendous polyp extension either.
 

E.intheC

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I'm only dosing 2 part right now, but I'm researching (and probably will ultimately go with) the Zeovit carbon source (Zeo start2) and bacteria (Zeobak). Once that has been dosed for a while and the system re-stabilizes I will look into the other supplements that Zeovit has.

Check out the zeovit forum for some more information if you're curious.
 

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