Mounting corals

[DmitryB]

So I've got a bunch of frags (teeny weeny some of them). They're on plugs, which I don't particularly mind if I bury the plugs in a live rock. The question is: how big of a live rock piece do you need to mount them? Now with Zoas, I guess mount to the rock you want covered with Zoas. But what about the rest: what happens if you mount a Hammer or a Torch to a small rock - does that affect how they develop and grow? Favias, Leptoseris, etc.

I drilled holes in a few pieces of live rock that will fit a plug, then glue them in there. But are these rocks big enough?

How do YOU mount your frags?

 

[StartingATank]

I really just look for suitable flow and lighting, and put them there. For some reason, Zoas don't grow quickly in my tank, so I don't really have to worry about that too badly

 

[Fish Fan]

The R2R #reefsquad I'm sure can help with this

 

[tbrown]

The rock that you use just has to be big enough for stability of the coral as it grows to keep it from flipping over.

 

[KrisReef]

Corals that encrust tend to cover whatever you glue them too. Branching corals, go two ways. Torches and other LPS grow up without usually growing down much so the base attachment point may never "grow over" Branching acro's may / usually will form a base, growing down and over the plug as well as upwards.

 

[DmitryB]

Corals that encrust tend to cover whatever you glue them too. Branching corals, go two ways. Torches and other LPS grow up without usually growing down much so the base attachment point may never "grow over" Branching acro's may / usually will form a base, growing down and over the plug as well as upwards.

If Hammers and Torches grow up - would you ever put Zoas under them on the same rock? That would be a cool look of a Hammer towering among a field of Zoas, but will Hammer sting down?

 

[KrisReef]

If Hammers and Torches grow up - would you ever put Zoas under them on the same rock? That would be a cool look of a Hammer towering among a field of Zoas, but will Hammer sting down?

I would not put soft corals under a hammer, just because I hate the potential for conflicts, while I have seen other tanks with rich mixtures of both. WHen they mature, then you have to start pruning stuff to keep the warfare and growth spread in check. In nature, corals seem to generally war until one type or species occupy an area. These spaces tend to be huge compared to our tanks, so a tank can allow for a lot of unnatural beauty compared to the wild.

 

[StartingATank]

Corals that encrust tend to cover whatever you glue them too. Branching corals, go two ways. Torches and other LPS grow up without usually growing down much so the base attachment point may never "grow over" Branching acro's may / usually will form a base, growing down and over the plug as well as upwards.

If Hammers and Torches grow up - would you ever put Zoas under them on the same rock? That would be a cool look of a Hammer towering among a field of Zoas, but will Hammer sting down?

My guess of what would happen would that the zoas would grow into the hammer skeleton, stress it out, and the hammer would polyp bailout, but that is just what I think

 

[DmitryB]

My guess of what would happen would that the zoas would grow into the hammer skeleton, stress it out, and the hammer would polyp bailout, but that is just what I think

Well that would be bad!