As a practicing reefer, you see and hear of a lot of different ways to do things. Some are “no brainersâ€- logical and easy choices based on sound theory and practice. Others are a bit more “out thereâ€, requiring us to wrap our heads around the concept a bit more thoroughly. Once concept that no one seems to have much difficulty grasping is the importance of making and distributing coral frags. They are not only a key to a more sustainable hobby and trade- they may very well be the ONLY way coral will be distributed in the future.
Seems like we mount most of our Acro frags vertically because...?
Fortunately, as hobbyists and industry types, we have a wealth of experience in fragging stuff. We know how to cut a coral, where to cut it, and how to grow it out. One thing that I have given much thought to lately is wether or not there is any benefit to mounting an Acropora frag on a plug in a horizontal or the more common vertical mounting? For some reason, vertical has been the “mounting technique of choice†in the hobby for Acros, and I’m starting to wonder why. I mean, I think of coral frags that I’ve secured to rock work in a horizontal orientation and recall that they encrusted nicely, and spread out more quickly and securely than those mounted like a chicken drumstick on the rock work.
I suppose you could simply lay it on its side, but at this point- would you?
I think that the horizontal mount has some advantages- mainly, a greater area of the coral may be exposed to light and water movement, which facilitates gas exchange and a cleaner “boundary layer†between the coral and it’s aqueous environment. Greater gas exchange and exposure of coral tissue to light would seem to me to encourage faster growth for a frag, and with more surface area of the coral on the plug, more rapid encrusting for many species.
When you DO mount Acro frags horizontally, they seem to encrust more before "going vertical."
I recall mounting Acropora millepora frags in this horizontal orientation, and seeing them encrust super fast onto the plug or rock work, and then start throwing up branches over a wide area. It seems to me that most Acropora frags really only start their vertical branching growth after they have laid down a “sheet†of encrusting tissue on the substrate to which they were mounted. One could hypothesize that mounting a frag horizontally would speed up this process? Of course, the same may not be true of some of the so-called “deepwater†species, such as A. suharsonoi, A. carduus, A. walindii, etc.
Perhaps "deepwater" species WOULD be best mounted horizontally? Maybe?
So I suppose it will be an interesting experiment on a commercial level to see which yields more rapid and healthy growth…I guess, since I have “a few†Acro frags, I will take to specimens of the same coral, mount one in the traditional vertical orientation, and one horizontally, and see which one seems to do better when given the identical conditions. Now I know this isn’t groundbreaking and probably has been discussed and played around with for years, but I’m curious and once I get a bug in a certain place, I need to play around with an idea…
Who is a “horizontal†mount kind of reefer and why? Or, are you convinced that vertical mounting is the way and that there is a reason to utilize this format beyond just the fact that everyone seems to do it that way?
In the end, does it really matter how you mount them? We're all about results...
These are the kind of weird things that keep geeks like me up at night…really. And I know more than a few of my fellow reefers out there have similar "mental gymnastics" going through your head at all hours of the night…
So, let’s open this up to even more discussion…Are there some other more unusual fragging/mounting techniques you use? What made you select these methods?
Can we talk?
As always, keep it interesting, be geeky…
And Stay Wet.
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
Seems like we mount most of our Acro frags vertically because...?
Fortunately, as hobbyists and industry types, we have a wealth of experience in fragging stuff. We know how to cut a coral, where to cut it, and how to grow it out. One thing that I have given much thought to lately is wether or not there is any benefit to mounting an Acropora frag on a plug in a horizontal or the more common vertical mounting? For some reason, vertical has been the “mounting technique of choice†in the hobby for Acros, and I’m starting to wonder why. I mean, I think of coral frags that I’ve secured to rock work in a horizontal orientation and recall that they encrusted nicely, and spread out more quickly and securely than those mounted like a chicken drumstick on the rock work.
I suppose you could simply lay it on its side, but at this point- would you?
I think that the horizontal mount has some advantages- mainly, a greater area of the coral may be exposed to light and water movement, which facilitates gas exchange and a cleaner “boundary layer†between the coral and it’s aqueous environment. Greater gas exchange and exposure of coral tissue to light would seem to me to encourage faster growth for a frag, and with more surface area of the coral on the plug, more rapid encrusting for many species.
When you DO mount Acro frags horizontally, they seem to encrust more before "going vertical."
I recall mounting Acropora millepora frags in this horizontal orientation, and seeing them encrust super fast onto the plug or rock work, and then start throwing up branches over a wide area. It seems to me that most Acropora frags really only start their vertical branching growth after they have laid down a “sheet†of encrusting tissue on the substrate to which they were mounted. One could hypothesize that mounting a frag horizontally would speed up this process? Of course, the same may not be true of some of the so-called “deepwater†species, such as A. suharsonoi, A. carduus, A. walindii, etc.
Perhaps "deepwater" species WOULD be best mounted horizontally? Maybe?
So I suppose it will be an interesting experiment on a commercial level to see which yields more rapid and healthy growth…I guess, since I have “a few†Acro frags, I will take to specimens of the same coral, mount one in the traditional vertical orientation, and one horizontally, and see which one seems to do better when given the identical conditions. Now I know this isn’t groundbreaking and probably has been discussed and played around with for years, but I’m curious and once I get a bug in a certain place, I need to play around with an idea…
Who is a “horizontal†mount kind of reefer and why? Or, are you convinced that vertical mounting is the way and that there is a reason to utilize this format beyond just the fact that everyone seems to do it that way?
In the end, does it really matter how you mount them? We're all about results...
These are the kind of weird things that keep geeks like me up at night…really. And I know more than a few of my fellow reefers out there have similar "mental gymnastics" going through your head at all hours of the night…
So, let’s open this up to even more discussion…Are there some other more unusual fragging/mounting techniques you use? What made you select these methods?
Can we talk?
As always, keep it interesting, be geeky…
And Stay Wet.
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
