Removing a Plate Coral from rock...

[raven312]

Hello all,

I recently bought a piece of rock with 2 plates and a Radioactive Zoa colony. I've had them about a week now and everybody looks happy but I can't help thinking that the plates should be on their own. I'm moving to a larger tank within a week and think that I want them each to have their own spot when I move them. What's the best way to remove them from the rock with minimum harm?

 

[lhm nole]

Split the rock in half with a hammer and flat tip screw driver is what I would do

 

[raven312]

Well, I hope I figured it out. I took the rock out of the tank, had two bowls, one with Reef Dip, and got to work. I took a razor to the attachment point of the plate coral and it seemed to pop right off. I let it sit in the dip for about 3 minutes, rinsed it in the other bowl of fresh tank water and put it on the sand, in a corner of the tank. I left the small one on the rock for now. Within 2 hrs its tentacles are back out and it seems no worse for the wear but I'll watch it for the next few days.

 

[raven312]

Split the rock in half with a hammer and flat tip screw driver is what I would do

I honestly thought about that but the zoas extend all over the rock and I only wanted to do one surgery, so I chickened out and popped the large plate off on its own.

 

[Sk8r]

Plate coral is never glued and never set on rock. That can kill it. They are mobile, and wander at will over the sandbed. Perhaps this was a misidentification.

 

[raven312]

I don't understand; misidentification of the plate coral or whether it was set on the rock? I don't know if they are glued there or not but they were definitely attached to the rock. After all of the reading and warnings of their behavior, I was concerned about the long term well being of the baby plate coral and the zoa colony on the same rock.
I will take a picture later of the former attachment point on the rock.

 

[Sk8r]

They don't attach. Their bottom is covered in inflatable membrane, which they can puff up, allowing them to drift about the tank with the current. I have known people to try to glue them down, but it never ends well for the coral.

They WILL emerge from the dead skeleton of a deceased plate coral, and it's possible that's what you have there, and that the zoas are growing on old plate. If that's the case, the broken-off ones may be ok, as what was broken may be something of the old skeleton, but do not glue them. Just let them wander, and think of them as stony anemones who pretty well go where they want, or at least where the current will take them. They will eat pellet food or even very thin slices of raw shrimp. It's certainly a very strange frag you got, and maybe 3 for the price of one. Plates are generally quite spendy.

 

[raven312]

I think I get you now. He seems to be in good spirits today, puffed up as usual and eating as if nothing happened. ...and he has moved, closer to his original perch. I'd put almost an inch more distance between them. The little one has its feelers out today too, which I'd not noticed before (largely because the big one covered a lot of it.) I definitely got three for the price of one. I paid $40 for the rock (which I bought for the plate). Here are a few pics of him now.

 

[Sk8r]

That was a very good deal.b

 

[JamesHolt]

I didnt know they moved.... Todays lesson !!!

 

[raven312]

I'd read that they do but didn't think this one would. I figured it would be under stress from being separated - but maybe that's why it moved. I had to look twice but I know it was much closer to the corner and almost an inch away. Now it's right next to the rock, touching it.

 

[raven312]

As a cool update... 2 months after I started this thread I changed tanks and had a huge cycle (it was stupid - a big learning experience) which wiped out many corals. Some of them regenerated and are doing well, including the plate. Both the "mother" and the baby one that I had didn't make it. HOWEVER, on the nub where the mother grew (the reason I started this thread was I was wondering if I could take it off of its stalk), a new one started growing. This is a picture of it now - doing very well. I'm going to take it off of the stalk soon, and hope that yet another grows... LOL

 

[billdogg]

I would try to see if the smaller one will come off the rock as well. It is on a pice of generic rock, not growing from old skeleton.

I have a bright orange Fungia that is one of my favorites. It apparently has found a place it likes right up by the front of the tank. It is very cool to watch it capture food and use its tentacles to walk it up to it's mouth.

Great buy btw!

 

[Timfish]

I would get all the zoas off that rock. What you have is a fungia "polyp bud" that will keep generating new baby plate corals indefinitely. Trying to remove the polups by force from the "polyp bud" can kill it. I have several of these and the "polyp bud" can grow and start making new polyp buds, three I have are now that have grown and are making 4 polyps at once.

 

[schroedel]

I am the same situation. I have been growing this plate out since it was the size of an eraser on a Zoa filled rock. Now it is about size of a quarter. When and how should I detach it from its "polyp bud"? How would I get rid of the Zoa on the rock without hurting base?

 

[Timfish]

Congradulations! It's best to leave the baby plate alone and let it fall off on it's own. Trying to force it off will almost certainly break the skeleton and may kill the "polyp bud" structure under it that forms the new polyps. It can take a long time for the baby plate to grow to a point where it will fall off. With the "polyp bud" structures I have that have grown to have several baby plates at the same time one will always be bigger and shade it's siblings. When the largest drops off a new baby plate is usually visible in a week or two but the next largest will start inflating more pretty quick taking it's place at the top of the line for light.

As far as getting rid of the zoas you will need to use a scalpel and be VERY, VERY careful. I would work in a bucket of salt water where you can keep the rock submerged and constantly flushing off the mucus the zoas will make. And always wear safety glasses when fragging stuff. If it's been a while the fungia and zoas have been together they are probably not to antagonistic to each other and I would remove them but use several removal sessions over a week or so instead of trying to do it all at once.

 

[AlSimmons]

View attachment 354873
I am the same situation. I have been growing this plate out since it was the size of an eraser on a Zoa filled rock. Now it is about size of a quarter. When and how should I detach it from its "polyp bud"? How would I get rid of the Zoa on the rock without hurting base?

If the zoanthids aren't damaging the plate coral there's really no need to remove the polyps IMO. If you look at the first two pictures in this thread it looks like the plate is doing just fine. I wouldn't do anything drastic unless it was called for.

 

[schroedel]

Congradulations! It's best to leave the baby plate alone and let it fall off on it's own. Trying to force it off will almost certainly break the skeleton and may kill the "polyp bud" structure under it that forms the new polyps. It can take a long time for the baby plate to grow to a point where it will fall off. With the "polyp bud" structures I have that have grown to have several baby plates at the same time one will always be bigger and shade it's siblings. When the largest drops off a new baby plate is usually visible in a week or two but the next largest will start inflating more pretty quick taking it's place at the top of the line for light.

As far as getting rid of the zoas you will need to use a scalpel and be VERY, VERY careful. I would work in a bucket of salt water where you can keep the rock submerged and constantly flushing off the mucus the zoas will make. And always wear safety glasses when fragging stuff. If it's been a while the fungia and zoas have been together they are probably not to antagonistic to each other and I would remove them but use several removal sessions over a week or so instead of trying to do it all at once.

If the zoanthids aren't damaging the plate coral there's really no need to remove the polyps IMO. If you look at the first two pictures in this thread it looks like the plate is doing just fine. I wouldn't do anything drastic unless it was called for.

Thank you I appreciate the input !!!!