Sickly birds nest.

[Roy 9121]

I got this birds nest from a friend that was getting rid of his tank. It's not doing to well, but I started feeding it and it seems to be doing better. But as you can see, its mostly dead except for the tips. My question is, should I just cut the tips off and glue them to a rock, or will it repopulate the rest of the skeleton? What is my best course of action?

 

[DSC reef]

I'd frag it. I'd be worried the algae growth that could take over the skeleton would inhibit the new growth.

 

[Roy 9121]

I'd frag it. I'd be worried the algae growth that could take over the skeleton would inhibit the new growth.

So, it won't repopulate the old skelton?

 

[DSC reef]

It could but I've had more success when I've fragged a dying coral.

 

[Roy 9121]

It could but I've had more success when I've fragged a dying coral.

The problem is, there's just these little nubs on the ends, I think I'd have a hard time fraging them now. I think I'm going to let it go for a couple days and see what happens.

 

[DSC reef]

Sounds like a good plan since it's just a little left. Corals are crazy though. I've seen things come back that you would swear was dead. And the tiniest nub of bansai grew into a colony, I didn't even see a polyp on this nub. This hobby never ceases to amaze me.

 

[tdileo]

Would be hard to frag with so little. If it doesn’t get any worse I would let it grow for 2-3 weeks and clean off any algae growth from the skeleton every 2 days or so. When the tips are an inch or so you can frag it off no problem, then discard the dead skeleton.

 

[Roy 9121]

Would be hard to frag with so little. If it doesn’t get any worse I would let it grow for 2-3 weeks and clean off any algae growth from the skeleton every 2 days or so. When the tips are an inch or so you can frag it off no problem, then discard the dead skeleton.

Thanks, that sounds like a good plan.

 

[Roy 9121]

Sounds like a good plan since it's just a little left. Corals are crazy though. I've seen things come back that you would swear was dead. And the tiniest nub of bansai grew into a colony, I didn't even see a polyp on this nub. This hobby never ceases to amaze me.

This is a crazy hobbie, that's what I like the most about it.

 

[Susan Edwards]

my dau gave me a frag of bird's nest that broke off hers. It was very tiny and it has grown like crazy so you could frag it. First pic in May, second in sept.