Coral Fragging
Coral fragging can be a frustrating experience, but here are a few methods that can make the process a little easier.
A lot of soft-branching corals can be fragged and attached with a rubber band to a piece of rubble until they grow, forming their own attachment. The coral can be wedged between two pieces and rubber banded, or the branch can be rubber banded directly to one piece.
Stony coral fragments can be superglued to a piece of rubber. However, not all corals are so simple to frag.
Soft corals that are often considered “beginner” corals (such as mushrooms, colt, and xenia corals) are often the most difficult because of their slimy consistency. The best way to frag these corals is to set up a propagation tank, covering the bottom with rubble pieces. Provide the tank with decent lighting and good water flow. Place branches of the corals you want to frag in the tank and allow them time to grow. These pieces may move around the tank due to water flow, and a sponge may need to cover the inlet of the powerhead or pump to prevent impeller damage. Eventually, the branches will attach to the rubble.
Cutting the head off of the donor coral of a mushroom and then cutting that head into four pieces usually works well. Not only will the head grow back on the donor mushroom, but four other mushrooms will grow from the cut head.
For Colt corals, a toothpick can be inserted through the base of the frag and attached to the rubble piece with a rubber band.
An alternative to setting up a propagation tank is filling a tray with rubble and placing it in the main tank or a well-lit sump. Coral fragments can be dropped on this tray and allowed to attach. This can be difficult depending on the tray’s access to flow and flow rates. Heavy flow will prevent attachment, and inadequate flow can cause deterioration or illness.
Frags can be attached with fishing line and a needle, sewing through the coral and tying the line around the rubble piece. This method works well for leathers, tree corals, toadstools, and devil’s hand corals. The trick is to tie the string tight enough for the coral to attach but not so tight that the fishing line slices through the coral.
Losing the needle and just tying the fishing line around the frag piece and rubble works for clove polyps, zooanthids, star polyps, and Anthelia. The easiest method is to place small rubble pieces in the path of an encroaching coral and allowing it to spread onto the rubble voluntarily.
All of these methods refer mostly to fast growing corals, and of course, become more difficult and timely if applied to slower growing corals.
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