How do you handle encrusted coral plugs

[liddojunior]

How do you handle corals that are encrusted over the plugs?

I feel like touching corals on their tissue and skeleton is harmful to the coral.

I have really encrusting goniporas and not sure how to handle them. I have a couple decent sized colony but trying to grab them out of the frag rack feels like I’m crushing its tissue against the skeleton.


Same goes for encrusted chalices and favias.

 

[Lavey29]

I just cut stems off and leave plugs in place on encrusting corals.

 

[liddojunior]

I just cut stems off and leave plugs in place on encrusting corals.

But how to cut off the stems when grabbing the plug part means grabbing the coral

 

[JNalley]

But how to cut off the stems when grabbing the plug part means grabbing the coral

Hold very end of stem with pliers, cut at base of plug where it meets the stem. The circle will fall off, so make sure you have it over something soft not very far below it, or even a bucket of water with some soft sand at the bottom...

 

[DenverSaltyFarm]

How do you handle corals that are encrusted over the plugs?

I feel like touching corals on their tissue and skeleton is harmful to the coral.

I have really encrusting goniporas and not sure how to handle them. I have a couple decent sized colony but trying to grab them out of the frag rack feels like I’m crushing its tissue against the skeleton.


Same goes for encrusted chalices and favias.

I just grab them. IF they get beat up you are talking about corals that heal very fast IMO

 

[Lavey29]

But how to cut off the stems when grabbing the plug part means grabbing the coral

That's doesn't matter