Who mounts frags on the side?

[turbo21]

You figure most stags are nice and thick. An inland saw could split it really nicely. (George hint hint). Lol

 

[SloppyJ]

I tried this. Only on a few frags but it seems to me that the upright frags encrust faster but the tips of the sideways mounted frags grow faster but don't encrust as fast.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

You figure most stags are nice and thick. An inland saw could split it really nicely. (George hint hint). Lol

Ahh yes, a stag would be a nice candidate.

 

[Big E]

A lot of stags don't need a big base to start sprouting branches. My Lime in the Sky for example, has just over a 1" base and it's 7" tall and branches everywhere.

On the other hand most of the millies or tables I have needed to base out quite a bit before they really took off. I think a lot of what a coral does is species specific as well as based on the conditions in relation to flow.

 

[turbo21]

A lot of stags don't need a big base to start sprouting branches. My Lime in the Sky for example, has just over a 1" base and it's 7" tall and branches everywhere.

On the other hand most of the millies or tables I have needed to base out quite a bit before they really took off. I think a lot of what a coral does is species specific as well as based on the conditions in relation to flow.

Good points. I had a watermelon milli from cherry corals that laid down a 4" base. And I never saw vertical growth. Until I broke the tip off the original frag which triggered the vertical growth it definitely comes down to species

And hey ed. All the frags you gave me are encrusting nicely in their vertically mounted positions haha

 

[Intricateart]

I figured this was the right crowd to ask this question. What glue are you guys using and can it be applied under water?

 

[classklown90]

Loctite superglue gel. I havent tried it under water

 

[Sdoutreefer]

I figured this was the right crowd to ask this question. What glue are you guys using and can it be applied under water?

Ecotech coral glue... only because I get it for a screaming deal. Otherwise I'd use something cheaper from home depot.

 

[Tahoe61]

The frags in the images where all fragged at the same time. One larger branch was glued horizontally, that particular branch encrusted faster than the other vertical frags. It's my belief that greater surface area exposed to light led to faster growth. April through August.

 

[hybridazn]

You figure most stags are nice and thick. An inland saw could split it really nicely. (George hint hint). Lol

Yea yea, I'm on it lol

After I cut , how do you want me to mount? One in side and one vertical?

 

[turbo21]

I would say mount both on side after cut. And if you could make a second frag that isn't cut In half and mount that sideways. To see what grows faster

 

[hybridazn]

I would say mount both on side after cut. And if you could make a second frag that isn't cut In half and mount that sideways. To see what grows faster

Gotcha. I'll try to do that tonight when I get home from work. I'll post up pics

 

[turbo21]

Gotcha. I'll try to do that tonight when I get home from work. I'll post up pics

Sounds good!!

 

[Rob&Gab]

Now here's another question to put a monkey wrench in the plan

If you are gluing them sideways the tissue on the bottom half dies because it's covered in glue. Do you think it's possible then to split the coral longways and get 2 frags out of 1. Since it doesn't matter the bottom tissue dies anyways. If I still had all my sps I would be trying it tonight for sure

Bob

Ive split a Branch right down the center to make 1 frag into 2 only put a dab of glue to help move things quicker instead of covering the whole bottom that is gonna die and then regrow. Mounted it to a plug within 2 weeks the 2 for 1 frags started doing its thing.

 

[EW_Fish]

the new fragging technique. . never thought of splitting it down the center very smrt

 

[Rob&Gab]

the new fragging technique. . never thought of splitting it down the center very smrt

so far so good with my frags i split down the Center of the stick. its working perfectly. im pretty happy with the overall success, i thought it would have died but nope its encrusting. ill get some pictures tomorrow.

 

[Frag freak]

Natures way of a colony spreading and growing fuller when a piece has broken off and is laying on the reef floor.


Makes sense scientificly.

 

[Frag freak]

Btw... My two frags of monti digi... The one laying on its side after getting fragged accidentally is doing better....

 

[maroun.c]

If I remember correctly the suggestion to glue horizontal was also meant for allowing the fragging site to remain out of epoxy and still get water circulation which will allow for faster healing. I remember doing a comparison for some frags when my frag tank was still running fine and did see some faster initial growth for horizontal which was logical as there was more surface for vertical new growths as most accros will grow vertical. Still any frag (vertical or horizontal) will still require a year or two to become a mature colony and the original frag it started from will most frequently become a thick solid base regardless if it started vertical or horizontal.
An interesting comparison I still have to make is with larger 4-5" frags glued horizontally Vs vertically where it will obviously take much less time for the frag to become a colony. would be nice to see how fast the vertical frags will catchup.

 

[reefsaver]

I do believe they encrust faster because there is more surface area. Touching the plug. But I don't believe they grow any faster

Many believe it does and I think it's because. It's harder to judge the vertical growth on multiple branches than it is seeing the encrusting

This is an excellent point, they would grow at the same rate but at some point the Side mounted frag will have almost twice as much encrusting coral growth because it has almost twice the surface area of a flat plug. Really makes a lot of sense if you imagine both corals in a tank getting the same everything. But one has almost twice the surface area.