Spread of Green Star Polyps?

[sumpfinfishe]

Yep, I must agree too! Briareum's most common form of reproduction is asexual, new polyps form from the original colony as it keeps reproducing it's purple or brown mat where new polyps sprout.
Just be careful with placement, as this polyp can spread like wild fire in ideal conditions. I have had success in propagating at least a dozen medium sized mats by simply placing unwanted or new frags of live rock beside the main colony.
Good Reefing!

[Bob I]

I have a rock that is overgrown with Green Star Polyps (hereafter known as GSP), it looks like a Chia Pet. Today I noticed some patches of a whitish material with what looks like some GSP's growing out of them. Can anyone tell me if that is the method GSP's use to reproduce? If that is so I would calculate I will have a lot of Chia Pets in less than a year from now. :eek: :rolleyes:

[Delphinus]

It sounds like it could be. What I notice in the spread of mine is that sort of matting extending out into new territory and then GSP sprouting out of that mat. But the one thing that I've noticed in mine anyways, is that it tends to be in one big contiguous clump -- i.e., the colony just gets bigger. Unlike, say for example, xenia, I haven't so much noticed pieces breaking off and starting new colonies in different places (although I suppose that could be possible -- it just hasn't happened in my tank..). HTH..

[titus]

Hello,

Yes GSP propagate in that fashion. It can continue from the edge of the current piece, have a piece sprout out from the middle of nowhere, etc. It's an extremely hardy piece of living thing.

Titus

[Bob I]

What I failed to mention is that there is no more room on that rock for the matting to spread, hence the appearance of matting with GSP's on adjacent rocks.