recolonizing dead duncan heads

[astroboy]

Greetings all,

 

In a cluster of duncans, I lost about half the heads. New tissue is growing into the dead heads and in a few weeks I expect each head in the

cluster will have a live duncan growing in it.

 

On another cluster I lost everything, and since there's no living duncans in physical contact with it it's remained dead.

 

I was wondering if I'd have any luck snipping off a half or a third of a live duncan and attaching it to the dead cluster. Does anyone have any experience whether the tissue would survive and grow?

 

Thanks,

 

Mark

[geofloors]

I have cut heads off of duncans and left tissue behind. The old stalk with no head will eventually regrow a new head.

 

 

George

[ctenophore]

I don't think it will recolonize a fully dead skeleton, except maybe to encrust onto it a little bit. There has to be tissue beneath the head or inside the branch. They will rebound from some very bad injuries though, I have one mini colony with 5 or 6 fully dead heads that grew back from the tissue below which is now 15-20 heads. They seemed to grow back from the inside out, almost like some of the tissue came up through the branch into the bottom of the corallite.

[flowerseller]

I did not realize they will regrow from the dead head. I assumed it was nearly dead head with no tissue visible and regrew a new head from that. Never heard of this. I've cut heads to form new colonies, most of everyones came this way I assume, and know it does not take much tissue as George mentioned to restart a new head.