One thing that many new reefers don't think about when getting into the hobby is having too much success. It sounds like a strange concept, how can too much success in reef keeping be a problem? Well considering that our home aquariums are only a minuscule fraction of the ocean, space will always be precious in our systems. Under the correct conditions coral can grow to fill the entire volume of your tank, and when you have multiple species in one system, normal trimming will be required for someone who is having success in keeping them. If left to their own devices, corals will wage war with each other and in the end you will end up with a monotypic reef, it is for this reason that a successful reefer will need to learn how to frag corals.
Common equipment that is used for this purpose can include: bone cutters, scalpels, forceps, and glue. For larger colonies, or where very precise cutting is required, a wet bandsaw is often employed. It is important to wear personal safety equipment such as safety glasses, gloves, and in some cases a mask when fragmenting your coral. Additionally, many hobbyists utilize supplements like iodide to disinfect coral colonies and coral frags to stave off infection during and after the fragging process. The pieces of coral that have been removed from the main colony are usually mounted to ceramic plugs or small pieces of reef rock with glue and then stabilized in a new position or aquarium, where they can grow into a whole new colony. With practice the process can be a fun experience and a way to share coral with other hobbyists.
Stay tuned for our: "Fragging Experience".
We are going to show you the complete process of cutting, splicing, and mounting live corals to grow your own reef garden.
Visit:
WWW.FRAGSCORALZOAS.COM
Browse our WYSIWYG coral frag collections!