Fragging Tree Coral

[Leafy]

I have a Tree coral in my tank that has now reached the water line and then some. I would like to frag it, but I have never fraged any corals before. I have found info on fraging Colt and Xenia, but nothing specific to Tree.

 

Has anyone here fraged Tree Coral? If so, can you give me a few pointers?

 

Thanks!

[Asterix]

I belive the method described for fragging a colt coral should be the same as your tree. I would recomend Cutting a piece off with a sharp razor, Sticking a toothpick through the cuttings base, Rubberbanding the cutting to a rock...Just be careful not to let the cutting come off the rock, the flesh tends to rip off more often than not with me...Put the piece in a low flow area until it heals.

[Palmetto]

The tougher tree leathers are much easier to attach than the Colts, which I think are made of snot.

 

Remove the tree and place it in a bowl of tankwater for fraggin. Do not cut it in your tank, as they release toxins that can be bad for other corals. You may cut with a clean, unused razor blade, or with very sharp stainless steel scissors.

 

The rubberband method usually works well for these, although I usually use needle and thread because it is less restrictive and does not pinch the tissue so bad. I get a small needle and just thread it through the base of the branch about 1/2" up it. Then, I cut the thread so that I have a 6-8" piece of thread hanging through the branch. I thread another piece perpindicular to the first, then I take a small piece of live rock rubble and hang the branching upside down while tying it to the upside down rock. This causes less tension on the wound than any method I have used. I honestly have never lost a frag doing it this way, though it is more time-consuming- especially if you are doing dozens at a time!

 

If it is Capnella or Sinularia, I usually just rubberband it LOOSELY but tight enough to hold it to the rock. If you do it too tightly, you will risk cutting through the coral and it will come loose or slime too much. If you do it too loosely, well, obviously it will drift off. Cable ties sometimes work nicely in place of rubberbands. Some of the really tough ones like Nepthea and sometimes Capnella will let you superglue them down without sliming off. The other methods are more consistent, though.

 

I do not like the "toothpick" method of stabbing the coral and sticking it into a rock, as the risk of infection increases with the larger wound produced by the toothpick.

 

I know this is wordy, but there are many methods I have used - I have done an awful lot of farming here at the coral ranch.

 

Have fun!

 

[tinyreef]

i'm with palmetto, i don't like the toothpick method :x rubber banding is what i've always used but i've just started using tulle (veil material) as recommended by garf in their instructional video (ahh...i love you my cable modem! :love: ). seems to work so far on my colt cuttings, although the capnella should be able to take the rubber band's pressure a lot easier than the colts.