Every chance I get, I look over my tank with a magnifying glass.
The other day, I examined an encrusted section of a forest fire digitata, and saw a single green polyp in a sea of orange polyps (photo below). This polyp is average in shape, but has a bright fluorescent green center with orange tips. I am guessing that this unique color pattern may be due to a spontaneous mutation, since I have an abundance of forest fire digitatas, and this is the only polyp of its kind in my tank.
I would like to try to grow this polyp into a coral of its own, but technically, I don't know how, so I think may just progressively trim the encrusted patch smaller and smaller around this single polyp, and hope that the mutant stem cells that created this polyp will then be induced to make new polyps.... I don't know how corals make new polyps so I have no idea of the feasibility of this approach. Does anyone know about coral stem cells? Or about growing a whole montipora from a single polyp?
The other day, I examined an encrusted section of a forest fire digitata, and saw a single green polyp in a sea of orange polyps (photo below). This polyp is average in shape, but has a bright fluorescent green center with orange tips. I am guessing that this unique color pattern may be due to a spontaneous mutation, since I have an abundance of forest fire digitatas, and this is the only polyp of its kind in my tank.
I would like to try to grow this polyp into a coral of its own, but technically, I don't know how, so I think may just progressively trim the encrusted patch smaller and smaller around this single polyp, and hope that the mutant stem cells that created this polyp will then be induced to make new polyps.... I don't know how corals make new polyps so I have no idea of the feasibility of this approach. Does anyone know about coral stem cells? Or about growing a whole montipora from a single polyp?