A PPE Experiment (with pics)

[Chris2222000]

I cut the stem and have 1 polyp to put on a frag and the base grows into a new polyp. I have done this alot and the sucess rate is about 95%.

Cool! How do you attach the cut part of the polyp with the slime present, and about how long did it take for them to recover?

-Chris

 

[ficklefins]

Day 6:

The situation seems the same with one half down and the other still there. I'm starting to get a bit pessimistic about its survival, but I am also sending it good vibes.

I will shoot some new pics tomorrow if there is any change in appearance.

 

[J. Montgomery]

IIRC, zooxanthellae are brown and aren't believed to contribute to zoanthids vibrant colors which come from pigments and fluorescent proteins made by the polyp.

 

[Mochis]

I wipe the bottom side of the polyp on a towel and then glue it. If I have something that keeps excreting slime like xenia I wrap it with cheese cloth. It opens up the same day and produces a new polyp about the same time as the original stalk grows into a new polyp. So really i'm turning 1 polyp into 3.

 

[5DC]

Wonder if you could super glue the middle of the 2 zoo slices to close the wound. this would also seperate the 2 halves at the same time. Just another idea.

Cool experiment.

/d

 

[ficklefins]

I apologize for the late feedback but unfortunately my experiment did not turn out well, and I ended up loosing the polyp. Both sides melted away over time with no signs of health. I have an idea for the next experiment, but with only one polyp left I am not willing to risk it.

I realize that this was a drastic measure in terms of propagation but I hope that others share their techniques for spreading the wealth. So if you have any other techniques that may yield more polyps please share with the community so that we can make the PPE a more accessible coral.

Thank you,

Luciano

 

[kiran523]

I have successfully done your technique Luciano. It was by accident when I was cutting a ceramic frag disk with RPE's. It lacerated the polyp exactly how you made your cut. Both of them survived and are doing well. I really wish I had taken some photos. I have also cut the head off of a paly and glued it on a disk. That tech also worked well. GARF uses the latter technique I mentioned. I haven't built up the guts to do the whole mushroom blender method yet

 

[jeffsreef]

this was a great experiment

 

[hardcz]

this was a great read, good documentation too. It's nice to see someone taking a stab at different propagation methods.

 

[gastone]

Luciano,

sorry that it didn't work out for you. If my PPEs every decide to grow babies I'll have your replacements waiting for you.

G.

 

[AugieReef]

Would have been really cool if it worked! another trial?

 

[jformani]

Great thread, what else can we test ha ha

 

[NanoNathan]

what i think would be a good thing to try.. your 1st cutting you said they closed in on its self and regrew as one whole zoa. what if you took 2 totally different zoas, say one blue and another pink. Now when you cut them put one of each zoa next to each other and they would heal together. maybe your could create some new Bi-polar zoas 8)
just my .02 cent

 

[robsreefs]

Now that sounds like.a good idea I think it might work I might have to give that a try

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