Euphyllia weird fragging

[Norse]

Hello,

I would like to frag a branching Euphyllia but this time I´m interested in something different.
I´d like to let it attach itself to a big rock instead of using glue or epoxy but I´m not sure if it is going to work.

I´m thinking of make the cut in the fleshy part of the head and introduce it in a hole of the rock with a little bit of pressure on its sides.
I´m not sure if that make sense. I mean not cutting it on the "dead" part of the branch but at the middle part of the head.

Could it be able to generate skeleton over the rock this way?

I know it´s delicate and it could die... that´s because I´m asking first.

thank you!

 

[Norse]

Also interested in it but with Duncanopsammia...

 

[jayball]

that seems like a quick way to kill it. I would wait for it to grow out and do it the traditional way, snapping off branches.

 

[Norse]

Do you have experience? As I said, it could be less safe for the polyp but I don't see inconveniences for not to work in the way I want.
When you frag not branching Euphyllias, you're cutting tissue too and the corals survive almost everytime...

 

[jayball]

I read through the original post again. I think you are basically saying that you would remove part of the polyp (with skeleton). That seems a lot more realistic than what I first thought.

The only thing I can add to this is there is a recent thread where a member stated that he split a frogspawn skeleton up toward the polyp while trying to cut it and one or two people chimed in that if it split all the way it is a goner.

I have only fragged mine the regular way so I can not offer personal experience but I would say you should be prepared to fight "brown jelly disease" or bacterial infection should it pop up. If you have an extra head to spare and you try it let us know how it works out. Positive or negative.

 

[Norse]

I read through the original post again. I think you are basically saying that you would remove part of the polyp (with skeleton). That seems a lot more realistic than what I first thought.

Yes, with skeleton of course. Sorry but my English is not very good and it´s a pain for me to express things like this :facepalm:.

Thank you for your reply!

 

[organism]

Unfortunately Euphyllia don't grow that way. They aren't encrusting corals, they grow up and away from the base instead of towards it. Also as mentioned the flesh on the inside of the coral extends past the flesh you can see on the outside of the coral. Making a cut in the fleshy part you see on the outside will almost for sure kill it. Even if those weren't factors the flesh grows so slowly that the unglued frag's natural movement against the rock would prevent it from ever attaching.

Then there's the fact that Euphyllia will get torn to shreds if the fleshy part of them opens up against rocks which is what would happen in your scenario. Your options for keeping the coral alive are to glue down the stalk with enough height that it can open up without touching the rocks or put it on your sandbed.

 

[Goby_Clarence]

Agreed with all posts. If you want to hide the skeleton, pick an existing hole in the rock, or drill a new one for it, glue/epoxy putty the skeleton into the hole and if everything is healthy, youll never see the hole because the heads are extended almost every night. I have duncans, hammers, octospawn and frogspawn and they close up to purge themselves once or twice a month. The rest of the time they are at least partially extended.

Best of luck!

 

[Norse]

Thanks for the tips. I´ve decided not to try it. I want a little bit more information before risk the coral (I have several frags but it´s not my style to lead it to death if there´s not a chance).

 

[oceanarium]

The branching euphyllia will encrust to the new stone if you start with a small head or bud from under the bigger mature polyps.

If you cut duncans with a good saw like a wet tile or coral band saw within about 1cm of the head the new head will encrust very well indeed. Bonus is the donor coral will grow a new head from the cut face so in a while it is like it was never fragged.

 

[Goby_Clarence]

hmm good thought Oceanarium. Ive been watching my Euphyllia forest (hammer, hammer, octospawn, frogspawn, grape) closely. I'm running a Low-Ultra Low nutrient system as a mixed reef...with mixed results. The Euphyllias are responding the way Oceanarium suggests and differently to my previous experience.

The living tissue is growing downwards from the polyp(s) over the CaCO3 (calcium carbonate) skeleton ~1/4-1/2", which is a lot IME. others please chime in.

From there, new baby heads sometimes emerge, but as mentioned, my mixed results are likely from lack of dissolved amino acids and nutrients. I feed a variety of micro and meaty foods to fish and corals, but with 50+ frags in the 75 display with 4 interconnected tanks, I must say that not every one gets fed every time...

My main point, if I have one, is take a frag 1/2-3/4" down from the healthy polyp of interest, epoxy/glue it into a cranny or hole in the rock as I mentioned and either it will grow outwards and you'll never see the hole, or it will grow downwards, encrust, and THEN grow outwards and you'll never see the hole. The catch...feed it small things, medium things, and in particular, things that it can eat before your fish eat them, and it will grow.

 

[jccaclimber]

Also interested in it but with Duncanopsammia...

Duncans will slowly encrust. I've had mine for a couple years and it has encrusted around 3/4" down its base, which is enough to cover the glue. At the same time the head has turned in to ~30 heads so you can't see the base most of the time anyways. I have not seen any heads grow from the new encrusted section.