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Tank spawned torch babies

NanoCrazed

NanoCrazed

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Thought be fun to start a thread to track development of torch babies that resulted from a mini spawn in my tank from beginning of August.

After battling some tank issues, i saw some white stringy material around the mouth of my holygrail. I wasn't sure at the time that it was a spawning event but sure had hoped.

So, i fought the urge to suck out and dump the questionable sludge in question with a baster, which is my typical first response. Instead, i blew the material gently off the mouth into the water column just in case.

Few weeks later, i happened to noticed some gold/yellow glittering spots. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be torch babies!

I suspect it's between my holygrail and the green torch in the tank. I only have 4 torches currently in there: holygrail, dragon soul, purple with green tips, and green (lost others several months back). So, 4 torches makes the parent guess work easy (-ier)...

Most are gold, some showing purple tips like my HG. And so far 2 green babies (hence, my guess that one of the parents is the green torch)

One interesting thing is the babies all seem to individually grow at different rates. I am finding new babies on a daily basis. Started seeing one, now up to 15.

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In the 2nd to last pic, is that a vermetid snail colony?
if so, be ware….

will you be passing out cigars in celebration of your offspring?!
best fishes and happy reefing
 
Kensington Reefer said:
In the 2nd to last pic, is that a vermetid snail colony?
if so, be ware….

will you be passing out cigars in celebration of your offspring?!
best fishes and happy reefing
Click to expand...
it's likely a colony... so fair my vermetids have been contained thankfully. Unfortunately, one of the torch babies grew onto a vermitid shell ... so can't do much until the torch has grown enough to remove and transfer.

rather than cigars... passing out aiptasia... much more enjoyment out of smoking or at least burning those.
 
NanoCrazed said:
it's likely a colony... so fair my vermetids have been contained thankfully. Unfortunately, one of the torch babies grew onto a vermitid shell ... so can't do much until the torch has grown enough to remove and transfer.

rather than cigars... passing out aiptasia... much more enjoyment out of smoking or at least burning those.
Click to expand...
I much prefer Aiptasia to cigars anyway
 
Looked into the tank just now... see some white clumps on the mouth of my green torch. It's similar to when the HG was outputting the other time.

Perhaps remnant material from the prior spawn.

I transferred it to rest on a plug in the front glass to monitor. Given how opaque it is, most likely it's not viable. But you never know.

Nonetheless, made for some interesting pics as part of this documentation attempt. Along with a gratuitous microscope shot.

You can see some round balls within the mass. I am guessing eggs.

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NanoCrazed said:
8.5 months at most for the spawning pair.

Holygrail arrived in January. The purple and green torches were from Feb.

The dragon soul torch was from Jan 2020. But this is likely notnone of the parents.
Click to expand...
Great! You likely have brooder species (different from pocillopora in that they take in sperm, but mass spawn later, rather than releasing larvae all the time . Given the time frame, you corals likely came in fertilized and you did a great job of keeping them happy enough to cook all the way through. This has been happening, at least that I am aware of, since the early 2000's and we are seeing it more as people know what to look for. Great job!
 
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