info on fraging LPS corals

[shane 1111]

originally posted by randyO

One thing I've noticed is that wild colonies of Acanthastrea lordhowensis do not grow the same as captive ones. I haven't seen a large round ball come in from the wild. All the pic's I've seen, the colonies are fairly flat, maybe with some curves.
So, when I see a pic of a large round brain coral, doubt is already in my mind.
Another thing I've noticed is that wild A.lordhowensis are usually attached/encrusted to a small rock. Sometimes with pieces of marco algae, and other life.
This leads me to think that these corals use the rocks to encrust. They depend on them. When most of use glue a frag to a rock, we don't set it inside the rock(excluding you and Marlon) but we glue it to the top of the rock. I think this is what causes the large round brain look. The wild pieces look like they we set flush to the rock.
And even though these corals encrust, I know they also create their own skeleton. The mass of my colony is much larger now. But I think it's more work for the coral to keep depositing skeleton. The more surface area we provide for them to grow, the faster the growth. When my buddy started to chop all his up, I thought he was crazy. Now I see it was like throwing gasoline on the fire. And now he can't put it out.
originally posted by randyO


i am trying this now and i will up date you in the difference in growth.

 

[shane 1111]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/ac_sp/feature/index.htm
another good link

 

[shane 1111]

Propagating "Large-polyped" Stony Corals (LPS)
by Anthony Calfo

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One of the most important things I'd like to convey in this article is how very hardy most corals are with regard for propagation. The techniques shown here are aggressive, illustrative, and only but a few of the many possible ways to fragment stony corals for sale, trade or simply controlling overgrowth in successful displays. Keep in mind that the ocean is a very dynamic environment! And corals often suffer extremes of temperate, light, salinity and/or contact (water flow, predation,

"Propagating large polyped stony corals can be fun and easy. Pictured here, aquatic scientists at C-MAC (South Carolina): Jake (grinning like he stole it) and Chuck (grinning like it's Christmas)." photo by Anthony Calfo... more...
weather/storms, etc.) in coral seas. Yet even the most aggressive fragmentary techniques are quite tolerable by such corals that could otherwise be fragmented in the ocean by various natural forces. The real secret to successful coral propagation is not the style(s) of making divisions, but rather the husbandry and water quality that precedes and follows the act of propagation.

By comparison, the propagation of popular soft corals like Xenia (pulse coral) and Sarcophyton (leather coral) has been practiced for many years now. Similarly, many aquarists have no fear about fragmenting their so-called "small-polyped stony" (SPS) corals such as Acroporids and Pocilloporids. But for all of our success, producing hundreds of thousands of corals frags of the aforementioned groups through the yearsââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦ a majority of aquarists are quite uncomfortable, if not wholly ignorant, of pruning or propagating the large(r) polyped stony corals (LPS).

Ambivalence with LPS corals is not without good reason! Even the hardiest species are generally much more sensitive to handling and damage. They categorically suffer higher rates of morbidity and mortality in all stages of custody and transit than other non-LPS cnidarians. The principal reason for this is very simple. For example, a grapefruit sized colony of corallimorphs ("mushroom false corals") or zoanthids ("button polyps"), might be comprised of 50, 75 or 100+ individual polyps. Damage to any one of the polyps has little bearing on the other polyps in the colony. But a grapefruit-sized LPS specimen such as Cynarina ("Doughnut coral") may be comprised of a single, large (huge actually) polyp. The reality of the matter is as simple as it seems, my friends. A 100-polyp zoanthid colony can easily afford to lose a single polyp, but many LPS corals have but few large polyps if not single-polyps, and little or none to spare! Appropriately, then, we must be extra careful to employ optimal husbandry and handling habits for LPS propagation candidates, before and after making divisions.

Remember to only conduct aggressive propagation techniques on established, healthy and well-conditioned specimens. I recommend a minimum of six months of undisturbed holding and regular feeding (weekly if not daily, minimum) for corals to be propagated. Propagation certainly can be conducted successfully in far less time, but the chance of infection or loss is at least somewhat greater in weaker or less established colonies. Do take the time to research and understand the needs of each coral you keep. Discover what they eat and how best to deliver it. Remember, "Form follows function!" If your coral has large polyps that principally come out at night when zooplankton abounds, don't be surprised that your coral naturally eats/prefers large zooplankton! The majority of LPS corals, in fact, require meaty fare in small, frequent feedings. Zooplankton substitutes are in order. Thawed frozen mysid shrimps, gammurus or eggs (fish or oyster in the aquarium trade) make good staples in the LPS diet. Minced meats of marine origin are fine too such as krill, shrimp or crabsââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦ squid, fish flesh and more. You must experiment and be mindful of the size of the polyps you are feeding. Offerings 3-5 times weekly are a good starting point, but in very tiny portions. More is not necessarily better, and overfed corals will simply regurgitate the matter later and burden water quality over time if repeated.

 

[shane 1111]

Fragmentation of a Fungia sp.

As mentioned previously, one of the obstacles to fragmenting large polyped stony corals is the resulting unnatural looking fragments and their slow growth rates. Perhaps no group of corals suffers from this more than do the Fungiids. These corals can be propagated with good survival, no matter how oddly the fragments may appear afterward.

As in the other examples, this Fungia sp. (below) was moved into a pan of water that allowed for easy handling of the coral. The coral was then quite simply cut in half using a disc cutting attachment on a rotary tool. Admittedly, this turned out to be a poor choice as the remarkably hard, dense skeleton stubbornly resisted the tool. Future experiments will most certainly use more aggressive tools such as band saws or chisels!

In addition to cutting the coral, the authors deeply scored one fragment across its septa, and deeply scored the other parallel to its septa. This was done in an attempt to stimulate the formation of anthocauli, or daughter satellite sites where a seemingly dead and denuded parent begins to decalcify and issue buds from along the septa of its corallum. This occurrence is well documented in damaged Fungiids. We also hoped to discover which type of damage would more reliably stimulate anthocauli formation.

As in the previous examples, the fragmented coral was returned to the same spot in the aquarium from which it was taken, and the fouled water from the pan was discarded. Within a couple of weeks, the tissue at the margins of the cuts was well healed, and within a month, new tissue had completely covered the cut edges. Several months later, both pieces are still alive and appear healthy, but have not formed new mouths where the original one existed. In hindsight, the formation of new mouths would probably have been more likely if the cut had been made across the mouth as opposed to parallel to it. Even considering Fungia sp.'s normally slow growth rate, new growth in this coral has been disappointing. This coral's inability to feed is undoubtedly contributing to its slow growth.

In addition, all of the scoring healed well, but no anthocauli were produced. Take note that even after apparent "abuse," the worst thing that happened was that our efforts did not force the coral to produce daughter colonies. These were rather aggressive techniques and yet the coral survived. The key was how well it was cared for leading up to, and after, the propagation occurred. Again, we would not recommend this or any propagation technique on newly acquired animals.

Overall, despite the survival and apparent good health of the Fungia fragments, they probably remain poor fragmentation candidates. Only the very fastest growing specimens have any hope of becoming large enough and normal looking enough in a reasonable amount of time. The best methods for propagating these corals will probably revolve around finding a reliable method to stimulate anthocauli formation.

 

[RandyO]

Nice thread shane.

Just to clarify, in the second post of this thread you have a long winded response from me, I was telling someone what to expect from a frag I had sent them. My experince with the growth rate of other lords have varied. Some took off while others grew much slower.

I've also got these fragging photos

This frag was made using a dremel. The colony was out of the water for 5 minutes to drain before I started to cut.

All that area that was cut is skeleton deposited by the coral. The original rock was small and flat.

This pic is of the colony about 30 minutes after fragging.

and this is the frag the same night, but not sure how long it was in the tank before the pic.

 

[RandyO]

Here are a few pics of cutting up an Echinophyllia colony to make frags. The tools this time are a hammer, a 4" cold chisel, and a razor blade.

Once I got that large frag off I broke it into 3 pieces.

Here they are in the tank.

The 3 pink ones.

I've also used just razor blades to cut Echinophyllia.

First time I didn't cut far enough into the skeleton, and the frag broke.

Second times a charm

 

[shane 1111]

anyone else wanna comment on fraging techniques?

 

[shane 1111]

thank you randy:thumbsup:
wear is MarLooney can some one tell him of this thread.

 

[shane 1111]

Nice thread shane.

Just to clarify, in the second post of this thread you have a long winded response from me, I was telling someone what to expect from a frag I had sent them. My experince with the growth rate of other lords have varied. Some took off while others grew much slower.

]

thanks.
sorry i didn't make that clear.
i was just trying to give an idea of growth

 

[bugsy714]

Randy- you are spoiled with flat echinos! I tried the chisel techique and it shattered the dome, DOH! hehe

I had to resort to dremeling which is not fun with all the slime and calcium paste

 

[Anthony Calfo]

a wet (tile) saw is a bit easier on such "LPS" corals as the cooled blade causes less collateral tissue damage.

You can by a small unit from Home Depot or Lowes (got mine there) for less than $60...

a 4" coral cutting, er... masonry blade is included

 

[shane 1111]

what is the name brand of your tile saw Anthony. what dose it look like? I don't use tools much.
I want one but I want to get the right one. what corals do you frage with it?

 

[Anthony Calfo]

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?acti...06291-1255-60084A&category=15&lpage=none&bc=c

very fine

You might consider a better quality diamond cutting blade too if you will be fragging a lot or doing very thick corallums.

 

[shane 1111]

thanks

 

[shane 1111]

i cant find it

 

[TippyToeX]

All you have to do is put in your zip code in Shane. It comes right up.

 

[shane 1111]

i dont live in warwick and i don't know the zip code. I tried mine but it said can not be found.

 

[TippyToeX]

It's called the Q.E.P 4" Portable Wet Tile Saw. I see it comes in 7" as well. Try Q.E.P on a keyword search on Lowe's site.

 

[shane 1111]

thanks

 

[RandyO]

Randy- you are spoiled with flat echinos! I tried the chisel techique and it shattered the dome, DOH! hehe

I had to resort to dremeling which is not fun with all the slime and calcium paste

Hey,
Not all of my Echinophyllia are flat, but it is nice when they are. I keep them mainly on the bottom so they keep that flat shape. I've fragged domed shaped Echinos and have shattered the skeleton but the flesh was still holding the coral together. I used a razor blade to take the chunks I wanted off the coral and then left it alone for a few weeks. The skeleton will start to fuse together again.

Right now I have a few frags really close together and they are attaching to each other. Many of them are different color morphs too.


I'll have to pick up one of those saws Anthony. Thanks.