Do you immediately permanently mount new frags?

[cyclgrl]

I usually mount a new frag to a piece of rubble and then let it sit loose in the tank until I decide on a permanent place. This new permanent place can take months as I figure out if the coral likes its environment (and because I might want to rearrange placement from time to time). That said, sometimes it's annoying if it falls over for some reason or another. I'm curious as to whether most people find a permanent place immediatley?

Thanks.

 

[xtrstangx]

I always put a frag onto a piece of rubble. I then rarely glue that onto the rock in my tank. The one piece that I have glued the rubble to the rock was a Monti Cap that I wanted to grow against gravity.

Other than that, I usually just stick them in cracks and hope they don't fall.

 

[Don Berry]

I've been told by some people that it is better to let the frag heal before glueing it to a rock. I've done it right away with success, but I was told it's best to wait by a pretty knowledgable LFS owner. I would error on the side of caution if you are concerned.

 

[quaz]

I have glued most of my frags right away on LR then wedge them in a hole. If the spot is good and they need to be secured i'll apoxy them then. I have found that with little branches and chips the glue can kill them easily. So now on the smaller ones I try to secure them into the reef structure and then they will branch towards their favorable position towards light and flow.

 

[MiddletonMark]

I generally attach them immediately - as I've lost ones otherwise [snails, crabs, starfish drag them under the rockwork].

While a few I'll just set in place ... I glue them onto a piece of rubble, then glue or very strongly adhere that into place on the rockwork. After you lose the 5th frag into the rockwork [just disappeared in the morning ] ... I glue them all.

Depending on source - I'll place it. If from aquarist/etc ... I'll put it quite close to where I think it will remain. If wild, from LFS ... I'll then slowly acclimate it to my lighting.

I haven't had any issues, but that's just my anecdotal experience.

 

[Lunchbucket]

i glue all mine immediately. i have glued them straight to the rock or to rubble. rubble is nice if you want to move them after a while...but after they take off they are gonna encrust to the rockwork anyhow IMO

Lunchbucket

 

[JOSHUAB]

glue in place immediatetly, I usually have done the research ahead of time to figure out where to place it, and if I place it in a position that it doesn't belong I FRAG it and place it where it I think it should go.

 

[cj_basser]

If the frag didn't already come on a frag plug or rubble, i will glue it to a frag plug. After it grows a bit and is good, it will get placed on the main rock structure, still on its rubble or plug.

I agree...it does get annoying when it falls.

 

[Lunchbucket]

if you mount them right away just make sure you acclimate them to your lighting. i use windown screen which works great

Lunchbucket

 

[javajaws]

I'm new to the whole frag mounting thing, but I like to mount mine directly to the LR in the tank. This is because the flow in my tank really knocks things over, and also because I like to mount pieces on the edges of the rockwork and have them pointed out at an angle toward open space. Doing that with rubble bits in the middle is a little harder. I also want my frags to grow into their locations. Having them "mobile" is too much temptation for me to move them around and disturb their growth patterns. If I feel the frag isn't doing well then I'll move it as a last resort.

This is also assuming the frags came from a similarly lit tank and need no/minimal light acclimation. Knowing what lighting they came from and where in the tank they came from really helps. If light acclimation is needed I deal with it as necessary before permanently mounting.

 

[GMGQ]

Wedging works for a while... Until a turbo comes along and knocks the frag over in the middle of the night and you dont see it until the next day after you come home from work and the frag is ruined.

 

[gil716]

amen to that Gary.

for frags coming from unknown lighting situations, i'm gonna try a new method based on what i saw in another thread. basically, they used a cheap plastic tray with suction cups, inserted a piece of eggcrate in it, and then mounted it to the glass. this way, you can slowly bring the frag up to the light.

otherwise, i mount them on rubble and then the rubble onto the main rock.

 

[Lunchbucket]

gil - if you want to move them up the tank wall. go to walmart and buy a plastic soap tray w/ sqaure holes in the bottom. they fit frag plugs perfect. the squares are the same size as eggcrate holes and the have two suction cups on them. that way you are done w/ a piece made up and it is cheap

Lunchbucket

 

[gil716]

nice!.. the less work the better. thx for the tip.

 

[Lunchbucket]

gil - no problem. i have used one for years. i stick one in the back of the tank and put frags in it. in tank frag tray

Lunchbucket

 

[kozmo02]

i glue to rubble but i dont always put them in their permanent spot, i usually start them on the sandbed because i rarely get frags from tanks that have identical lighting so i take a couple weeks to let them acclimate usually low on the rock work or on the sand bed.