Frag Plugs - Remove Frag or Not?

[layer3switchguy]

Folks,

May be a silly question, but curious none the less. Do most reefers remove the frag plugs (disc, etc) when introducing the frag to the main display? The disks are a bit unsightly... Then again, not in love with the idea of cutting the frag off the disk or plug, especially if it's started to encrust onto it.

Just wondering...

Cheers,
L3

 

[saltygeek]

A lot of people dremel off most of the "point" on the plug. Im like you, I hate to lose any encrusted areas. I have broken them off the plug by accident and ended up with two frags though

 

[allsps40]

If I can I will but most of the time you cant get it off the plug without braking the coral.

 

[serpentman]

After battling unwanted pests, I will never allow another "foreign" frag plug into my tank. To many tiny nooks and crannies for unwanted pests, or their eggs, to hitchhike into my tank.

 

[poolkeeper1]

Good advice

Good advice

After battling unwanted pests, I will never allow another "foreign" frag plug into my tank. To many tiny nooks and crannies for unwanted pests, or their eggs, to hitchhike into my tank.

+1 Just finished treating for Red Bugs after 25yrs of healthy SPS It can happen to anyone!
Bill:wavehand:

 

[Dustin1300]

It all depends for me....I have drilled out holes but most of the time anymore I just pull the frag off. With encrusting monti that becomes a little harder and I have just cut off the tip.

***Had to comment on this from serpentman:

Advice to married reefers: It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Is this working out for you? The wife does not understand why I need to buy a big ticket item every 1-2 months. I keep thinking I'll stop but I always find something else I can do.

 

[MechEng99]

100% with Serpentman. I NEVER add a foreign plug to my system. They're a petri dish of pests, algae, etc.

When I get a coral, I break it off the base...even if that means I lose some of the coral (I soak the old plugs in bleach and vinegar separately and then reuse them later on...yay recycling). Next, they all get a dip in Coral Rx. If I find any pests, I treat further with whatever medication is appropriate. Then, all the corals...wherever there isn't live tissue gets dipped in hydrogen peroxide to kill any potential algae spores. Then, where there isn't live tissue, I superglue over just to make sure. Corals are then mounted onto new plugs...and go into QT for 30 days. After QT, they come out, and go through the entire process before they go to the "grow-out" tank. After 30+ days in the "grow-out" tank...they go through the entire process again (minus getting mounted to a plug) before going into the display tank.

Some say I'm a bit neurotic with QT...but it works...so well it has even kept most corals out of my display. LOL. Seriously though...I would at a minimum remove bases, dip, and QT for 30 days.

 

[Dustin1300]

MechEng99,

I'd guess you had a bad experience?

 

[fcmatt]

i try to remove it but the last few corals i bought this was near impossible. So in it went.

 

[MechEng99]

Dustin - I've actually never had a pest make it into my display, so no, not really. I've just received so many corals with pests that I had to deal with in my QT that I don't take any chances. Plus, I've seen so many people lose so much when it could've been prevented. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.

 

[Dustin1300]

Dustin - I've actually never had a pest make it into my display, so no, not really. I've just received so many corals with pests that I had to deal with in my QT that I don't take any chances. Plus, I've seen so many people lose so much when it could've been prevented. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.

I believe I need to ramp up my procedure for new frags...I thought my dipping was enough but I find your procedure the best idea. I think I'll dip, QT 30 days, and dip again before going to DT.

 

[MechEng99]

Even with dipping I've had AEFW make it into my QT (eggs hatched). I added the hydrogen peroxide dip to areas without tissue after getting bryopsis in my QT. Plus, things like Montipora Eating Nudibranchs aren't affected by normal dips (even though a lot of dips claim they are). I left some nudis in Coral Rx, Lugols, and something else (I forget) for over an hour - the corals were dead, but the nudis were still alive. On one coral I got some of those freakishly huge flatworms (still don't know what they were exactly). I manually removed all but one of them (didn't notice it), and the dip didn't do anything to it. I found it roaming around in the QT one night. So yes, dips aren't the cure for everything. They're a good start, but I really believe there's no substitute for a QT tank. If you need any help setting up a QT on the cheap, let me know.

 

[Ucantwin]

I notice most of the time the frayed is just glued onto the disk, so I just pop them off. I think if u don't eventually you have a checkered board tank

 

[jonjonwells]

It all depends for me.

If the plug will fit into the crevice where i want the coral, then I leave it alone.
If the plug is too big, I try to modify the plug to fit, without cutting the coral.
If the plug just cannot go, the I try to remove it with as little damage as possible.

All of my corals are grown out on frag racks before permanantly mounting on the rockwork. This allows me to find exactly what lighting they like, and I am able to see their growth patterns better. This allows for better placement on my rockwork. It does make the removal from plugs harder though.

 

[chefzif]

Cut the frag from the plug dip and mount to your live rock, I agree with Serp! Tooooooooo! many Pests!

 

[watchguy123]

it is certainly more convenient to leave the plug on and easier to place in tank but as others have said, it makes it that much easier to introduce some plague into your tank.

 

[Mr. Right]

I agree with the home to unwanted pests. BUT IMO I find that corals grow faster when mounted to a rock rather that a plug.

 

[Ss9boxer]

Pests

Pests

I read this thread because I too was curious about removing coral from frag discs... However now Id like to get some feedback about "pests". I bought live Bali rock and star polyps attached to a live rock and added them to my Nano reef. My tank was bare before, with these rock came, a star fish, many snails and these little white "bugs", which I've read about as being Copepods or Amphipods. As I've read many call them "pests", are they just unsightly or do they cause havoc? I intend to get a skunk shrimp to hopefully less their numbers.

 

[divewsharks]

I read this thread because I too was curious about removing coral from frag discs... However now Id like to get some feedback about "pests". I bought live Bali rock and star polyps attached to a live rock and added them to my Nano reef. My tank was bare before, with these rock came, a star fish, many snails and these little white "bugs", which I've read about as being Copepods or Amphipods. As I've read many call them "pests", are they just unsightly or do they cause havoc? I intend to get a skunk shrimp to hopefully less their numbers.

copepods and amphipods are not pests, they are free food for you fish.

 

[launchnukes]

100% with Serpentman. I NEVER add a foreign plug to my system. They're a petri dish of pests, algae, etc.

+1 I always break off the plug or rock the coral is mounted on, then dip. sometimes it's painful because you can lose over half the size of a coral, and usually do, but better safe than sorry.