Do corals age ?

Joined
28 Dec 2007
Posts
12,781
Reaction score
31
Location
JHB
I have this one striped mushroom that is really looking "old" it is the mother of all these vibrant healthy looking "kids"

They all live in the same tank, lighting, flow etc.

Is the coral just getting old ?

52849aad591a97f9.jpg


52849aad5cd84a17.jpg
 
Corals could live for hundreds of years. One mushroom will split into man. so in the end the "original" one might not be there anymore but it surely didn't die;)
 
Well you can see this one has propagated itself, but the actual mother seems to not long like she is going live for a hundred years :whistling:
 
will be interesting to watch what happens warr...
 
This is a very good question... with no simple answer. When it comes to soft corals, as Kanga points out, they split and split and the "younger" ones grow on. So depending on how you think of an "individual's" age, how "old" the coral really is becomes a kind of philosophical question. I do believe that a single mushroom polyp can "get old"... however, I doubt too many of us keep them that long. i.e. I don't think that's the case here.
 
Back
Top Bottom