How long before leather frags stick?

[Molehs]

I got a handful of leather frags from a friend and was recommended to simply have them in dish with sand and eventually they will grab some sand and glue that to a plug or whatever. I tried it but they kept getting blown about by a stray current or a wandering snail. Several times a day I would have to fix them so the "wound" was sand side. I tried to glue what ever sand they had grabbed after a week of that but only one of them stayed glued. So I switch over to gently netting them against a frag rock, such that they were held in place but not enough pressure to cause surface damage/splitting.

How long is "plenty" of time to wait for them to grab hold of the rock? I want to give them plenty of time but I'd prefer to see them un-netted. As a noob I'm over eager and a little impatient, but having a "specific" time frame would make the wait easier, heh.

So what do you all think?

 

[cloak]

It can take quite awhile in some cases, it just depends on what kind of coral it is. Kenya tree corals can grab ahold in a matter of hours, whereas finger leathers (sinularia) or toadstools (sarchophyton) can take a lot longer. If I had to put a time limit on it before it's safe, I would say at least three weeks. Be patient.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-10/ac/feature/index.php

 

[mfinn]

I will usually take 2 pieces of rock and trap the leather inbetween and hold it all together with a rubber band. Place it in my tank so the rubber band isn't as noticeable and forget about them.
Then after 3-4 weeks I will remove the rubber bands.

 

[Molehs]

Sounds good. Nice to have an idea of how long. I appreciate the responses. Thanks guys.

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

i have recently only fragged one leather, it was a fiji yellow...it took about 6 days for it to grab the rock i netted it to...

i think it has a lot to do with water conditions, good water quality and good flow over it will encourage it to spread/ take hold.

my kenya tree took 5 days to grab hold...on a side note my pulsing xenia took about 3 hours...

if the elastics are too tight you will either crush or cut the frag, so be careful...

 

[ReefWhoDat]

Sounds like his question is answered, so allow me to borrow the topic for a second.

What about the flip side? I have a kenya tree attached to a rock that I hate. Whats the best way to remove it without harming it? Can I just frag by cutting it close to the rock?

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[NanoReefWanabe]

kenya can be a weird coral to cut...but it should be fine to cut it as close to the rock as possible...better option is to remove the rock and chisel the kenya off leaving a small portion of the rock attached...whatever you leave on the rock will likely grow back...

 

[mfinn]

kenya can be a weird coral to cut...but it should be fine to cut it as close to the rock as possible...better option is to remove the rock and chisel the kenya off leaving a small portion of the rock attached...whatever you leave on the rock will likely grow back...

That's the best way imo. I've ripped them off rock before, being very carefull to get all ( I thought ), but had it grow back.