Frags & Plugs for Newbies?

Cheeze

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Hi again!

When I had a coral tank almost 13 years ago, coral frags/plugs weren't that well known or used. Almost all corals bought were already fairly grown on it's own plate or skeleton, and would just be attached or wedged into your rockwork or substrate. At least whenever I used to get corals from my LFS or online...never saw the tiny frags sold.

I love the benefit of using frags for sustaining coral populations long term and watching them grow. I, however, have no idea how plugs are supposed to work (do you eventually remove the coral from the plug?) or when you can transfer the coral onto the rockwork (being that I see a lot of frag holders lined up in tanks).

Is there any video or website that you would suggest to someone which explains the best way to go about displaying frags in your tank and how to use plugs? I know a search on YouTube will get me hundreds of results, but I wanted to ask the community of experts first!
 

dwest

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Hi again!

When I had a coral tank almost 13 years ago, coral frags/plugs weren't that well known or used. Almost all corals bought were already fairly grown on it's own plate or skeleton, and would just be attached or wedged into your rockwork or substrate. At least whenever I used to get corals from my LFS or online...never saw the tiny frags sold.

I love the benefit of using frags for sustaining coral populations long term and watching them grow. I, however, have no idea how plugs are supposed to work (do you eventually remove the coral from the plug?) or when you can transfer the coral onto the rockwork (being that I see a lot of frag holders lined up in tanks).

Is there any video or website that you would suggest to someone which explains the best way to go about displaying frags in your tank and how to use plugs? I know a search on YouTube will get me hundreds of results, but I wanted to ask the community of experts first!
You can do either. Most of the time, I remove the frag from the plug because plugs sometimes are the source of pests. I will then dip the frag and quarantine it on a new plug. (Some folks quarantine and some don’t) But there were a couple of times (from a known source) where removal wasn’t possible so the plug and coral was glued right on the rock. In that case I’ll use a 2 part epoxy to glue the plug to the rock.
 

Gtinnel

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As with many things in this hobby I agree that there is no right answer. I usually dip my corals and then add them to a frag rack in my tank. It isn't until I go to place them on my rockwork in the tank that I break of the stem of the plug but leave the disc. I then use superglue and 2 part epoxy to glue the disk onto the rockwork where I want it. Most of the corals will grow enough to cover the plug pretty quickly.
 
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