Trans-am4me Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 I cut a branch off my colt coral and tried to do what was suggested by the lfs and lay it in a low flow area of rock rubble and let it attach itself. But 2 minutes later it had been blown away, so I tried another suggested method and sewed it to a rock. My question is does it have to be standing one the edge it was cut on or can will it attach eventually however it is laying? also is it toxic to my tank to do the cutting inside the tank, anyone have problems with this? Link to comment
tinyreef Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 it's possible for it to attach on almost any side but it's more likely (easier?) for it to attach where the wound is. propping it against the target is probably the easiest method. take into account some corals expand/contract significantly during the day so banding/strapping needs to take this into account. i would recommend doing the cutting outside of the tank in a holding bin (preferably wc water to keep pH, temp, etc. the same, less shock). sometimes this isn't possible due to rock size or aquascaping tho. in such an instance you may want to run extra carbon or other filtration. the coral will ooze fluid and in some corals defensive chemicals. i have a toadie that 'smokes' (actually see the chemical exuding from it) for minutes after just accidental contact. touchy little bugger. Link to comment
Trans-am4me Posted February 15, 2004 Author Share Posted February 15, 2004 Thanks for the reply, I did see some stuff ooze out afterwards but it only lasted for a couple of seconds. The guy at the LFS said not to take it out just because it would shrink up and be hard to cut. That just didnt seem safe to keep it in such a small tank and make the cut. Link to comment
tinyreef Posted February 15, 2004 Share Posted February 15, 2004 the lfs is correct that taking it out of the water make the procedure more difficult. it's easier to make the cut if the coral is fully extended, that way you see what you're cutting off in proportion. also the coral's internal fluid pressure is more normal. in the future you can transfer it underwater so that it never touches air. place a container inside the tank and transfer initially inside the tank. i use a cup and then transfer to a larger bin that's waiting. the coral will retract a bit but as long as you don't touch it (flesh) it shouldn't be too much and it may re-expand a bit. hth Link to comment
Arden Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 I propagate and sell colt frags all the time. I do what many will tell you not to do and rubberband them to pieces of live rock. Colts take a long time to attach so you have to be patient but I have seen any portion attach not just the cut side. If you do use a rubberband try to make sure it's not too tight but even if it is the worst that will happen is that you will end up with two corals instead of one and that's not all that bad. Link to comment
2manytanks Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 do what I do.... cut a branch just below another branch so you have a "fork" on the frag, then snugly...not tight....zip-tie it to a rock... mine attach within a week. Then I just snip the zip-tie off... voila...instant $10.... Link to comment
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