How do you plant coral?

[Drexellake]

I can't find much on Google or here. Not even sure it's called planting. I see a lot of info on selecting, acclimating, and growing, but how to you get it onto your live rock etc?

[GHill762]

depends on the coral.. stony corals can typically be popped off the frag plug and superglued to rock, at which point they'll encrust and grow from the rock. if they can't be taken off the plug then you can either try to put the plug stem in a hole in the rock or you can snap the stem off and glue the plug to the rock, at which point the coral should encrust over and eventually hide the plug disc (although many times it's still somewhat noticeable).. with soft coral I prefer to let them grow from the plug to the rock, then remove the plug and either sell it or start another spot somewhere else in the tank..

 

sometimes, and many prefer it, coral vendors/growers/etc will actually mount the coral on a bit of rock rubble, then you can glue it into the rockwork and it'll look a lot more natural..

 

it's not really "planting" as corals aren't plants and don't have root systems, but it's typically referred to as mounting or placing.. as in "I'm going to place that coral there" or "where is the best place to mount this?"

 

what kind of coral are you specifically curious about?

[AZDesertRat]

For hard stony corals most use superglue or reef safe epoxy. For soft corals, most will attach themselves where they want with time but you can help things along by sticking a toothpick through it into a hole in the rock, loosely rubberbanding it to the rock or using a piece of netting wrapped around it and the rock until it attaches.

 

Search "frag plugs", "attaching frags" and "fragging" for more information and ideas.

[GHill762]

here's one method:

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/148730-steviets-how-to-glue-thread/

[ETucc]

I can't find much on Google or here. Not even sure it's called panting. I see a lot of info on selecting, acclimating, and growing, but how to you get it onto your live rock etc?

 

Since Corals are animals and not plants, planting is definitely not the correct term.

[Drexellake]

what kind of coral are you specifically curious about?

 

The cheapest and easiest to grow I can find locally until I know what I'm doing. I have a link with some recommended beginner corals. Thanks for the info.

 

Since Corals are animals and not plants, planting is definitely not the correct term.

Thus posting the question in the "beginners forum".

[ETucc]

Thus posting the question in the "beginners forum".

 

Been there, done that.

[Drexellake]

Been there, done that.

Dude, I know next to nothing saltwater tanks. I have two saltwater fish only tanks about 25 years ago. I've been keeping freshwater for about 30 years including breeding Discus at one time. Not sure why I never got into salt more other than not knowing, and thinking some of the critters might sting and kill me. Ignorance is bliss.

[BoxKing]

Another way would be to drill a bunch of holes into your rockwork, especially in areas that you feel dont have enough placement crevices for your liking. This way you will have extra room to place frags.. if they come on frag plugs, or if you decide to add plugs on your own.

[itsamaybe]

Superglue gel usually preferred over regular superglue as it is easier to work with.

[GHill762]

Superglue gel usually preferred over regular superglue as it is easier to work with.

definitely..

 

regular super glue will do nothing but make a nasty mess and you'll typically end up getting it all over yourself and the coral..

[Drexellake]

Thanks everyone. I'm loving this forum already.

[clownfitch]

To me nothing looks more unnatural than live rock with frag plugs glued all over it. If it isn't on a small piece of rock rubble and you can move it to one, then you should do so and glue that to your rock work. It looks WAYYYY more natural than a bunch of frag plugs. Most of my coral is glued to small rocks which are in turn epoxied to larger rocks so that they can be easily moved and or removed.

[Paandemonium]

Since you'll most likely start off with zoas I say you pop off the stub of the frag plug and superglue(gel) that puppy right onto your rock. Other soft corals like leathers need to be "toothpick- rubber banded" to the rock for best results. Stick to softies or LPS dont go to SPS until you have more experience

When someone told me to use super glue gel the first time I thought they were crazy lol apparently not.

[Andrew_Reef90g]

I personally glue the coral onto small rocks and then just slam the piece of rock in a crevice. I can move the coral around if I want then, and also I'm able to take it out if I want. As a beginner you will probably move coral around so I reccomend this.

[markalot]

I can't find much on Google or here. Not even sure it's called panting. I see a lot of info on selecting, acclimating, and growing, but how to you get it onto your live rock etc?

 

Hi Drex,

 

I have found a combination of AquaStix reef epoxy and super glue work best.

 

like -> http://www.marinedepot.com/Two_Little_Fishies-Reef_Glue_Epoxy_Putty_for_Saltwater_Aquariums-TL-FIMTEP-ct.html

 

The Epoxy is a two part, you break off a small chunk then mush it around until a solid color at which point you have about 3 minutes to use it before it starts to harden. Put glue on one side and attach to a rock, then put glue on the coral or frag plug with the stem cut off and mount that to the epoxy you just stuck on the rock. You'll get the epoxy on your hand, super glue on your hand mixed in with the epoxy and you'll have to spend 20 minutes cleaning your hands off but dammit those corals are stuck in place for good.

 

I only did freshwater for 10 or so years, then a lady at work convinced me to try reef and I never looked back.

[Alexraptor]

Personally i let all my corals go full natural, finding a suitable groove or cavity where they will be able to stay put until they encrust onto the adjacent rock.

[Mr. Microscope]

Coral > super glue gel > epoxy > super glue gel > rock

[GHill762]

Personally i let all my corals go full natural, finding a suitable groove or cavity where they will be able to stay put until they encrust onto the adjacent rock.

I do this too, usually because I'm out of super glue.

[Drexellake]

I'm probably going to end up doing it in a way that makes it as natural as possible at some point, but for right now I'll concentrate on keeping them alive. Lot's of great info on here for sure. Now to find a good RO post. Thanks again everyone, all of your feedback has helped me greatly.

[metrokat]

easiest to grow I can find

Some people have trouble growing what are considered weeds in the coral family. What is easy for one hobbyist is not the same for another.

[Drexellake]

Has anybody tried this?

• Jurassic Gel 4540 Reef Adhesive

[GHill762]

 

Has anybody tried this?

• Jurassic Gel 4540 Reef Adhesive

personally I wouldn't order anything special..

 

this is all I use:

 

I don't even use epoxy anymore, too much mess.. that would be different if I were trying to attach rocks together or whatever but for mounting coral, super glue alone does the trick 98% of the time..

[Drexellake]

It's only $14 so if it works......... I have some gel. I'll try it first. I still have a month or so before I'll be buying coral. First priority is stable water.

[Psychosis]

I wouldn't bother with epoxy unless you have some bull dozers in the tank, ie turbo snails, urchins, hermits etc etc. If you have any of those critters or just don't want to chance losing frags to the rockwork, epoxy all the way. Don't buy anything listed specifically for fragging, it's the same stuff rebranded with a tang on the tube in most cases (some thicker coral glue and specific coraline colored epoxy being the exceptions, but still not necessary)

 

Also, if using epoxy, try to keep it thumb nail size or less for your average frag, otherwise you'll have huge white blobs all over the place. Less is more.