Acan Reproduction?

[budsreef]

Has anyone ever seen or heard of acans reproducing spontaneously? I have a very small acan frag that started out as one head and now has a few more but all the heads have stayed very small. Even though it has been in my 120G for a year it has never done very well. I have glued it several times to a piece of shelf rock at the bottom of the tank but something keeps pulling it loose so I am ready to take it back out.

Just recently I noticed what looks like two heads of the same acan higher up on the rocks in a spot that the frag has never been near. I just can't imagine how that is possible unless they can reproduce sexually and not just by splitting. Any ideas?

 

[texhorns98]

Tagging along for the answer on this one. That's weird indeed. I guess it might be possible that whatever had been pulling it off the rock, pulled a tiny polyp off and it floated around.

 

[lilrobb]

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/reef/lg_stony/AcanthastreaLordhowensis.php">http://animal-world.com/encyclo/reef/lg_stony/AcanthastreaLordhowensis.php</a>

<span style="font-family: Arial">The[B][I] Acanthastrea</em>[/B] genus are hermaphrodites that use external fertilization in the wild, but this has so far not been duplicated in man made systems. This genus reproduce asexually as well. In captivity, the [B][I]A. lordhowensis</em>[/B] will drop tissue when stressed, in an attempt to propagate.They can also be propagated by fragmenting</span>

 

[budsreef]

texhorns98;521672 wrote: Tagging along for the answer on this one. That's weird indeed. I guess it might be possible that whatever had been pulling it off the rock, pulled a tiny polyp off and it floated around.

LilRobb;521673 wrote: http://animal-world.com/encyclo/reef/lg_stony/AcanthastreaLordhowensis.php">http://animal-world.com/encyclo/reef/lg_stony/AcanthastreaLordhowensis.php</a>

<span style="font-family: Arial">The[B][I] Acanthastrea</em>[/B] genus are hermaphrodites that use external fertilization in the wild, but this has so far not been duplicated in man made systems. This genus reproduce asexually as well. In captivity, the [B][I]A. lordhowensis</em>[/B] will drop tissue when stressed, in an attempt to propagate.They can also be propagated by fragmenting</span>[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the responses! Most certainly of the two methods I'm sure tissue coming off the original frag and floating around is the most logical. I'm shocked at the odds it would end up somewhere that it could actually attach and grow.

 

[budsreef]

Here are pictures of the original frag and what I think are the two that are now up in the rocks. It will be interesting to see how they do once they reach the zoas above them and the favia just below them. There might be another single head a couple of inches from the two on the rocks but there is no way to get a picture of it.
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