For the Acropora Professionals

[Blitheran]

Hello!

I had an interesting idea and wanted to get everyone’s thoughts.

From what I’ve observed and what I’ve heard from other reefers many tenuis Acropora seem to prioritize encrusting the base and sending out new branches rather than continuing to grow from the original cut nub.

That got me wondering: if that’s the case, would there be any benefit to making a partial cut (around ¾ of the way through) on a Walt Disney frag and then laying it on its side to encourage faster encrustation and potentially create more branching points?

Has anyone experimented with something like this or seen it done before?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

#reefsquad

 

[Fish Styx]

Hello!

I had an interesting idea and wanted to get everyone’s thoughts.

From what I’ve observed and what I’ve heard from other reefers many tenuis Acropora seem to prioritize encrusting the base and sending out new branches rather than continuing to grow from the original cut nub.

That got me wondering: if that’s the case, would there be any benefit to making a partial cut (around ¾ of the way through) on a Walt Disney frag and then laying it on its side to encourage faster encrustation and potentially create more branching points?

Has anyone experimented with something like this or seen it done before?

Yup. I do this often. Works well for me with all acros, not just Tenuis.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Thats a popular theory and I do remember reading some posts years ago where someone had snipped the frags and it produced new growth, somewhat proving that it is true.

 

[X-37B]

I have laid them sideways before. Some grow upwards some encrust more. Sometimes snipping the top starts new growth. Some take more time than others.
One of my favotite things to do is put a nub of green slimer on the back wall and let it do its thing.
This grew from a eraser nub that I broke off when doing maintenance.
Took about 1.5 years to get to this and its still growing.

 

[Tahoe61]

Back in the day I did snip off the tip of Acropora, and I did place frags horizontally. Red Planet and Valida are fast growers, and both appeared to show new sprouts post snip.
It's definitely something to play around with.

 

[X-37B]

Here is the nub I put on the back wall. It will be 2 in September.
I glued the plug to the wall.

The old 120 with coral on the corner overflow.

 

[Blitheran]

Here is the nub I put on the back wall. It will be 2 in September.
I glued the plug to the wall.

The old 120 with coral on the corner overflow.

So it is a lucrative and viable thing to do to newer frags! Thank you!

 

[X-37B]

It can be if you have the space and are patient. Space is always a premium.
Having a dedicated growout system helps.

 

[tbrown]

I don't have either of them anymore but I did this with a Pink Cadillac and an Acroberry. Both encrusted and grew quite interestingly.