How long do you let your frags heal?

turbo21 · Jan 2, 2014

2-3 weeks. for anything + common sense. you can just tell when a coral is healed. it looks good and nice and happy no rtn no half closed polyps

i have had alot of requests for sps that are not encrusted just healed nicely. i know when i purchase sps frags if the frag is encrusted i will break it off and throw away the base and then dip.

i got burned a few years back on a frag that got dipped in bayer but had aefw eggs that i didnt see. so i dont even take a chance on encrusted sps the base goes right in the trash

i think alot of people go too far in healing time. i know i have had people request add ons to a zoa pack the day i was shippping and let them know they would be cut a few hours before shipping and they were ok with it. they made it just fine

i think it is more on how you ship the corals than the healing time. 40 hr heat packs are a must in cold weather. hand warmers just dont cut it. styro lined boxes and triple bagged frags

LPSGUY · Jan 2, 2014

Although I think it would be safe for frags to be cut and shipped a few weeks later I usually wait longer. Many times the frags are still healing and shipping can be rough. All it takes is a little nick and coral like chalice start receding and can be extremely hard to bounce back.

trido · Jan 4, 2014

I voted less than a week. 80% of my corals were fresh cut from Local reefers when I brought them home and I never ship. I usually frag all my SPS, mount them to plugs and then advertise locally. I dont have too many finicky brand name SPS so it isn't an issue. If I frag my leather I let it heal for a month so the frags can actually attach and heal.

Flameangel08 · Jan 12, 2014

I'm pretty sure this emerald on fire wasn't healed before being sent to me. It's been a couple of days and it's not opened. I have over 100 other zoos that are fine. Didn't know where else to post this. Hope it's not intruding !

andijo81 · Apr 21, 2014

Flameangel08 said:
I'm pretty sure this emerald on fire wasn't healed before being sent to me. It's been a couple of days and it's not opened. I have over 100 other zoos that are fine. Didn't know where else to post this. Hope it's not intruding !

I have E.O.F and IME they're finicky when fragged. If I cut 4 frags, I'm lucky to keep 2.

nola90 · Apr 22, 2014

Most of it is 1-2 weeks.

Thus far, it is a 2 week minimum for SPS frags. That's about the usual time I see the frag encrusting over the superglue a decent bit and I deem that it is healthy enough.

As for zoas, 1-2 weeks most of the time is enough for them to heal. My fear is introducing a fresh cut into a new system and exposing it to new pathogens we cannot see.

LPS, if its a hard skeleton like a euphyllia where flesh isn't cut, I have sold fresh cuts from my personal tank without any harm. Acans, favias, etc where the flesh is actually disturbed, I leave it for a week.

ReefPiracy · Apr 23, 2014

The problem is the super small frags that is so common. Best is when the frag has had a chance to be happy and begin growing again when one polyp or one inch sps frag is given. From a buyer stand point is best to see frags that have been around awhile and happy. I have had no problem giving decent sized frags fresh out the tank for local reefers. I just bust up the rock and give 5-10 polyps or multi branch sps. I always hated how you pay top dollar for a frag that can take way too long to grow out or people who tank look more like a frag shop then a real tank. I find that even the coralline can be hard to outgrow when frags are so small. Some make it, others don't.

reeffirstaid · Apr 23, 2014

I know for a fact that there are vendors out there, that ship corals the same day they frag them. I was in a fairly local aquarium shop, which sells frags online. They had done a very poor job of fragging an acro colony, and were bagging it up to be shipped. When I asked why they didn't give the corals some time to heal, they commented that they don't offer any deals on corals, and sell their frags cheap. I only order from two online vendors, because I know what quality I am getting, and I know they don't pull these types of tricks.

reeffirstaid · Apr 23, 2014

I also agree with Sloppy When Wet on tiny frags. Way, way too many vendors send you what is barely a frag, for the price of what should be a small chunk of colony.

reeffirstaid · Apr 23, 2014

I also agree with the encrusted plug theory. A coral frag's plug, depending on species, should be encrusted. Almost NO online vendors ship corals that have encrusted plugs. None that I've used except for Live Aquaria's divers den, who I find is very generous in the size of their frags.

FLipp · Apr 23, 2014

depends on the coral.

ReefPiracy · Apr 24, 2014

turbo21 said:
2-3 weeks. for anything + common sense. you can just tell when a coral is healed. it looks good and nice and happy no rtn no half closed polyps

i have had alot of requests for sps that are not encrusted just healed nicely. i know when i purchase sps frags if the frag is encrusted i will break it off and throw away the base and then dip.

i got burned a few years back on a frag that got dipped in bayer but had aefw eggs that i didnt see. so i dont even take a chance on encrusted sps the base goes right in the trash

i think alot of people go too far in healing time. i know i have had people request add ons to a zoa pack the day i was shippping and let them know they would be cut a few hours before shipping and they were ok with it. they made it just fine

i think it is more on how you ship the corals than the healing time. 40 hr heat packs are a must in cold weather. hand warmers just dont cut it. styro lined boxes and triple bagged frags

Bring about a good point on how to treat plugs with SPS. I use to spend more time cleaning new frags and getting rid of the frag plug from random joe but been lazy as of late.

that Reef Guy · Jun 17, 2014

Good Thread.

balkin · Mar 27, 2015

I don't because I don't allow frag plugs in my tank from any other tank.. so I cut them and put them on fresh frag plugs or glue them in place right away!!

that Reef Guy · Apr 5, 2015

Lateral72 said:
Trust me, not a high-end hate thing at all. I've got/had plenty of of high-end stuff and will continue to buy more. You bring up some good points I hadn't thought about. Hot corals sell, and sell good. If there's a demand, why not sell the product? If the consumer is willing to take a big chance, I guess it's worth it.

Alright here's a scenario.

Company XYZ frags out a Watermelon chalice and lets it recoup for a couple days before listing it for sale. They sell out in hours and everything ships the next day. Two days after being listed and 5 days after being fragged, its been shipped across the country and is in a new tank. 6 out of 10 people loose their frags because they weren't ready to be shipped and not healed.

Now 4 of those 6 decide it was the Vendor's fault on go off on a forum-tirade, bashing the company or what-have-you. Was it worth it for Company XYZ to sell them before they were healed? Would waiting a week really kill the sale?

Not so much as having to grow new polyps, but just an ever so slight increase in mat size. I'm not sure how to explain it, but looking at a polyp you can tell it has attached itself, instead of simply being glued down. There is usually a minimal increase in the mat size of the frag.

No worries. I love discussions. Keeps things interesting.

You should never glue down a zoanthid.

It could easily detach.

You should use a Frag Saw and cut around the Polyp.

Then Glue the piece of the old frag plug that the Zoanthid is already attached to onto the new plug.

Never Glue the Polyp itself.

I then wait 2-4 Weeks after that before selling too.

vladandlilith · Apr 8, 2015

Lateral72 said:
Understandable. We all have different means in which we call the corals "healed", or in this case "healed enough".

That's kind of my point. 5-10 years ago we didn't have all these crazy Australian corals coming in by the boatload. Around 5 years ago, I walked into the retail store of one of the most popular online high-end frag retailers on the internet today. Their specialty was Zoas at the time, and guess what? Every frag they had their tanks stocked with was fully healed and I did not see ANY that had less than 3 polyps. I bought a 6 head mini-colony of Cateye Zoas for $20. Fully healed, full health, etc. And this was ALL of their frags.

Fast forward to today, and the same company often sells 1 polyp frags for $100+ that are nipped and shipped in the same week. (They are a sponsor here interestingly enough).

I bet I know who that is

Lateral72 · Apr 8, 2015

that Reef Guy said:
You should never glue down a zoanthid.

It could easily detach.

You should use a Frag Saw and cut around the Polyp.

Then Glue the piece of the old frag plug that the Zoanthid is already attached to onto the new plug.

Never Glue the Polyp itself.

I then wait 2-4 Weeks after that before selling too.