Green leather bud

[wbdevers]

I've got a green leather that is doing great. When I got it there was a small piece of some sort of green algae attached to the base rock. Very small size and I didn't want to make the coral mad so I left it. Here is my dilemma; fast forward to now and the algae is much bigger and longer and I don't want it to spread. A second leather has grown from the base of the parent. It is happy and growing fairly well but since it is shaded by the parent it receives little to no light. I want to 1) remove the algae and 2) frag the daughter that has sprouted. How do I remove the daughter from the base of the mother and how do I attach it to its own rock? The daughters stalk is maybe the size of a nickle.

Thanks all.

 

[Misled]

Ok, a couple ways you can go.

1. Using a sharp razor or scalpel, cut the base of the "daughter as close to the rock as you can. Put some rubble rock in a small tupperware bowl and put the "daughter" in the bowl. It should attach in a couple weeks.

2. Tear the "daughter" off the rock with your hand. Do the tupperware bowl thing.

3.Lay a piece of rock against the stalk of the "daughter". It should attach to the rock in a week or two. Cut or tear it off the rock it's on now.

Any of the above methods may leave enough of the "daughter" behind to form a "daughter-in-law". It begins to get annoying at this point, The kids never go away, and they can start breeding at any age. Mine likes to drop little ones.

 

[125G Reefer]

^^ Nice pics.

 

[wbdevers]

Thanks for the tips Misled, but not sure I understand the plastic bowl part. Do you mean, just punch holes in it and float it in the tank or sump?

Also, I'm not sure the "daughter" is attched to the base rock. Could I try cutting it off from the parent that way?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Misled]

First, yes, you can just cut it off. For the bowl part, just put some rubble rock in the bottom of the bowl and stick it in the tank, the rock will make it sink to the sand or bottom. Put the little one on top of the rock. The bowl will keep the water flow down and allow the frag to stay still and not blow around.

 

[wbdevers]

Okay, thanks. That makes sense now. I wasn't quite sure just what you meant. Brain fart!

 

[sTefaniA]

You can also cut of the daughter, push a toothpick trough the base and use a small elastic band to keep it attached to a piece of rock. It will grow over the toothpick and you can just cut of the ends when it is attached. I hope you understand what I mean because it is hard to explain.

here you can see the toothpick in the base of the leather, I had already removed the elastic bands

now it has grown and you can't see the toothpick anymore