Coral Frag

Coral Frag
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question about saltwater coral reproduction?

i have a blue mushroom, candy cane coral, orange zoas and a hammer coral. i am interested in the future to frag these corals. i bought a frag mushroom and i wanted to know how long it is going to take for it to grow really big. my water parameters are pretty good and my lighting is 96 watts in a 14 gallon. i don't feed my zoas or mushroom but i do feed my candy cane and hammer coral with brine shrimp twice a week. how much do you suggest feeding my corals? i tried feeding my mushroom and zoa but they don't grab on to the food. should i be feeding my mushroom and zoa too? how long does it take for a candy cane and hammer coral to grow? any information about fragging/feeding these corals will be really helpful

I understand that your cc and hammer eat the brine shrimp. However, the brine shrimp is useless food to them. The coral you've mentioned are ALL photosynthetic and require zero feeding. Can you feed them? Sure. Do you HAVE to? No.

If you do want to continue feeding your coral, you should feed them food that is more appropriate for their health. Here is a good list of foods for the zoos and LPS you've got:

-frozen cyclopeeze
-frozen oyster eggs
-DT's Phytoplankton (VERY little of this, as it can raise your PO4)
-Brightwell Aquatics Reef Snow
-Frozen Rotifers

The smaller the size of the food the better. When I say small, I mean in microns.

As for coral growth, reproduction and fragging, they don't do it all at the same rate. In addition to the natural growth rate of coral, the parameters of your system will contribute the unknown variable that will make it impossible for anyone to tell you how quickly these animals grow and reproduce.

What I can tell you is that you've got the two easiest LPS coral to frag. Candy Canes and Hammers are both branching (of course a Wall Hammer is not, but they are much less common and you likely have a branching species). Anyway, with a branching coral like that, you don't have to cut through any living tissue whatsoever. Fragging CC and Branching Hammers are as easy as gently snapping the calcified skeleton at a point where it branches away from the adjoining polyp (where the 'V' is). Rinse off the frag and the mother colony in some tank water, then replace it into a crevice in your rockwork.

Fragging zoa's and mushrooms is also extremely easy. Zoa's are very similar (sometimes) in appearance to Palythoa's. It is unbelievably important for you to know this because Palythoa's are actually some of the most toxic animals on the planet. They possess what's called Palytoxin. Palytoxin has been known to cause angina-like chest pains, tachycardia (racing pulse) and even cardiac arrest in humans. Please wear gloves and eye protection when handling Palythoa's and even Zoa's. Wash your hands and arms when done touching them. I personally have a friend who experienced a Palythoa squirt its toxin right into my friends eye while fragging it. My friend was rushed to the hospital because he was blinded in that eye. The blindness was temporary, thank god. But the blindness did last for almost two weeks. So precautions should definitely be taken.

I've included a link to a great source for you to learn more about Palytoxins.

I've also included a super source for propagation supplies. The site is Saltwater Critters. They also have fantastic pricing and great customer support.

Best of luck,
swimmer

Live coral frags may sometimes arrive unattached to any rock or substrate; this may present a problem in an aquarium with lots of water current or "curious" inhabitants. Your first inclination might be to wedge your new coral frag in between the rocks in your tank, however you may consider a different more efficient method - super glue gel.

Is super glue gel safe to use in a reef tank? Yes. Super glue is sold in two common forms; liquid and gel. Using the gel form can prove to be a very safe and effective method in mounting small coral frags in your aquarium. The super glue gel can be applied directly to the back of a coral frag or mushroom, then attached to a rock that is still submerged underwater without even removing the rock from the tank.

Follow these simple steps to mount coral frags in your reef aquarium using super glue gel:

1) Go to a local pharmacy or supermarket and pick up a name brand super glue in gel form, not liquid

2) Eyeball a rock in the aquarium that you would like your new coral frag to be mounted to

3) Remove your coral frag or mushroom from its container or tank and apply a small bead of super glue gel to its base. The glue can be applied directly to the back of the organism without harming it

4) Quickly submerge the frag with the super glue gel applied to its base and press it against the rock that is still underwater in the tank

5) Find a safe spot on the topside of the frag that is not delicate and press firmly with your fingertip to allow the glue on the back of the frag to bond to the rock, this should take approximately 30 seconds.

6) The frag should now be mounted to the rock. You may see some white film surrounding the base of the newly mounted frag but this is completely normal, you are seeing the dry glue.

If a frag is not firmly mounted to its new home in a tank it may have a hard time ever colonizing and growing. By using super glue gel to mount frags you are giving the coral the best possible chance of successfully living and growing.

Dylan Forsythe is the owner of ReefScavengers.Com, an online store that ships live saltwater invertebrates and corals from all over the world directly to your door. To learn more, visit ReefScavengers.Com

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