How do i get my candy cane to attach to a rock?

[DesertBandits]

So there you have it: how do i get my candy cane to attach to a rock? I know branching LPS corals will attach themselves to a rock. Is there anything special I have to do? from what point will it attach itself? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[spidey07]

You glue it. Either superglue gel or epoxy.

The branching types of LPS have to be jammed into rock crevaces or glued.

I'm a newb so I'm sure this is just my opinion and others can expound upon it.

But after having many corals wind up face first into another, I secure mine.

 

[jdieck]

Yes, the branches are just skeleton and will no longer grow so you either jamm it in a hole or glue it.
For that work I prefer to use epoxi puty as you can find a crevice for the branch and then fill it around with the putty. You can do it under water and the putty will soon cover with coralline.
I will recomend to place the coral temporarely in the location you think you want it and observe it's reaction for a couple of weeks before permanently gluing it in place. Note they like medium to low flow and medium to low light.

 

[DesertBandits]

Really!? Huh, I was under the impression the skeleton would attach to the rock like SPS. Is that just false info?

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6996456#post6996456 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DesertBandits
Really!? Huh, I was under the impression the skeleton would attach to the rock like SPS. Is that just false info?

Although the skeleton grows in lenght on the tip were the polyp is the rest (the bare part) will no longer grow nor will attach. Same for other branching LPS corals like euphylias (Frogspawn) or anchoras etc.

 

[DesertBandits]

Oh, so how is this coral in the wild? Does is sit in the sand? Should I glue it to a rock or, how should it be placed?

 

[xdusty6920]

in the wild the coral spawns. the small "bud"settles onto a rock and starts to grow. as it grows it deposts calcium and builds a skeleton. eventually as the coral grows it will form a base of solid skeleton and will only grow from where the flesh is. as said above just take the candy cane and place it in a suitable place in your tank (low/medium light low/medium flow) and not the sand bed. leave it there unglued for a week to make sure its opening up and happy with its new location in your tank. if all is well after the week is over, go ahead and jam it in and use epoxy to secure it in place.

 

[DesertBandits]

so is it attatched to the rock in the wild or does it just sit ontop of it?

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7002022#post7002022 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DesertBandits
so is it attatched to the rock in the wild or does it just sit ontop of it?

In Nature the released bud (about 1/8" to 1/4" sized baby polyp without skeleton in other terms) attaches to a rock and starts growing a skeleton which grows attached to the rock but once grown if broken it can not re-attach itself. What you get is not a bud, it is a fragmented branch of dead skeleton of a mature coral with fully grown and growing polyps at each tip. The branches are made of calcium carbonate which does not grow or have any capability for growing an attachment. So the fragment you got will not attach unless you attach it yourself.
The existing polyps at the end of each branch will keep growing and each will split into two polyps who in turn develop their own branch attached to the original branch and will split again and again. One branch will turn into two at the tip and those two will branch into four and those four into eight until there is no more room left between polyps to grow so give it some room. It will double in size about every year. so if yours is about 4 inches in diameter it will be 16 inches in about 2 years.

 

[DesertBandits]

cool. now i feel that my mind has fully wrapped itself around this issue. thanks