I've never done eggplant in hydro until this year. It does continuously grow up and produces suckers, but not at the rate a tomato plant will. They need to be trained. I had to cage them in the soil garden. I'm sure there are varieties that don't get as big. The main problem is the plant gets top heavy and the fruit can obviously get heavy. We pulled at least 8 fruit from each plant in soil last year, but we also pick them before they get too big, which allows for continued fruiting. The hydro plants are growing at about double the rate my soil eggplant is right now and my soil is very nutritious with years of sifted compost and vermicasts and tons of earth worms. I expect the hydro eggplant to reach at least 8 feet tall at it's current rate and based on what I have read.
So, if you want bushy, you will still have to support its weight, but you could cut the top when it reaches a couple feet high and let a couple suckers have at it. Just like tomatoes and peppers.
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