Coral Getting Knocked Over

MadBrad527 · Jun 23, 2013

Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum so I would like to first off say this forum looks like a keeper for me.

Anyways, on to the important stuff. So yesterday I bought two small pieces of soft coral that are attached to frag plugs (zoanthid of some sort and kenya tree coral) and I used CorAffix Gel which is used to glue frag plugs to rockwork. I then woke up the next morning to see that both of my plugs were knocked over by my 4-5 inch long Black Angelfish. That's right, he completely knocked it off the rockwork and it is laying on the sandbed. I have read that a form of punishment for this is to put the fish in a "time out" in a refugium, but I have a small fuge that hangs on the back of my aquarium, and it is not large nor wide enough to fit the fish in. Any other ideas out there, or glues/epoxies that will for sure hold the coral in place?

I'm open to any ideas, thanks.

P.S. Sorry if this post is in the wrong forum or there is a solution already, please redirect.

Brad

c_healy · Jun 23, 2013

Superglue gel....I use the loctite ultra gel or whatever its called. Works good for me

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Martyd · Jun 23, 2013

I use reef epoxy putty. It's moldable and holds tight.

MadBrad527 · Jun 23, 2013

I thank both of you for glue/epoxy suggestions, and I will consider it. Anyone have any ideas of how to get the fish to behave? I scared him away from the coral for a good two hours, and it looked like he was going to ignore it. I went upstairs to go grab a drink, came back down, and he knocked part of the actual coral from the plug and knocked the plug off the rock. Sounds like I need to unfortunately get the fish out of the tank, but I'm not that frustrated quite yet.

Reefing Madness · Jun 23, 2013

Epoxy is the way to go.
Aquarium Aquascaping & Coral Propagation: Two Little Fishies AquaStik Epoxy Putty

KoleTang · Jun 23, 2013

You cannot train a fish. It will do what it wants to.

Sea_Me · Jun 23, 2013

Can use super glue, but it needs to be gel.

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Jlobes · Jun 23, 2013

KoleTang said:
You cannot train a fish. It will do what it wants to.

+1. well I guess you can train a fish to an extent...but, i doubt you can train it to leave your coral alone!! proper husbandry and research before purchasing animals will help with the "training" aspect. As in, buying fish that will not disturb your corals. Look for reef safe fish and inverts.

as for the gluing issue. super glue gel, reef epoxy, coral gel. If you use the super glues...it helps to apply the glue, give a quick dip in H2O to form a skin, then apply the frag/plug to the desired location, give a slight twist/pull and then push to secure. Theres a bit of a learning curve when it comes to gluing frags and such. hope that helps.

LisaD · Jun 23, 2013

I use both.. Depends on what I'm affixing and the lay of the rock. Use more glue next time, or epoxy if that's what you choose to use.

Fish are habitual... Not trainable. For example... Feed them the same time and way every time you feed, they will flock to the area that you feed in when they see you. Discipline is out of the question. They don't have the mental capacity to understand that you don't want him to mess with your coral. He's a fish, he's curious... It's just what he does. You can't fight instinct.

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Bartmmackey · Jun 23, 2013

I wouldn't put epoxy in my tank again if the pope himself threatened me with a .50cal. Skimmer nightmare. If it does it to the skimmer, what does it do to the water. And I've had disrupted old epoxy turn my skimmer into the Lawrence Welk show too.

Martyd · Jun 23, 2013

Bartmmackey said:
I wouldn't put epoxy in my tank again if the pope himself threatened me with a .50cal. Skimmer nightmare. If it does it to the skimmer, what does it do to the water. And I've had disrupted old epoxy turn my skimmer into the Lawrence Welk show too.

Really? I've used it for years and have never had a problem.

LisaD · Jun 23, 2013

Same here... Never had a problem with epoxy as long as its aquarium epoxy.

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Eric B · Jun 23, 2013

I use super glue gel and a ball of the epoxy together. Super glue on frag then put epoxy over that spot dip in salt water/tank then super glue on bottom of epoxy then into tank where the frag is to be mounted. Had frags that I tried to remove later and ended up using a small screw driver to pry them off the rock work. Never had a problem with skimmer or anything else doing it this way!

Jlobes · Jun 23, 2013

Bartmmackey said:
I wouldn't put epoxy in my tank again if the pope himself threatened me with a .50cal. Skimmer nightmare. If it does it to the skimmer, what does it do to the water. And I've had disrupted old epoxy turn my skimmer into the Lawrence Welk show too.

Really? I have heard of this happening, but have never experienced it myself. I have used quite a bit of epoxy over the years.

Chompers · Jun 23, 2013

As far as any fish, when you buy one ask if it is reef safe. Some shop owners/workers will tell you anything to make a sale but the majority will be honest with you. It is best to know the answer before asking it, but I'll be the first to admit that I still impulse buy. And if it isn't reef safe, don't put it in a reef tank.

For the most part, the entire angelfish family is not reef safe. At the very best, they are "with caution". That means they aren't really reef safe but "we'll tell you anything to make the sale". Sort of. "With caution" means that maybe a certain specimen will be fine in your tank but he may also be a pure terror.

But like everyone said, the solution is super glue gel. Get a large frag plug and glue down your fish. He'll never mess with your corals again.

KoleTang · Jun 24, 2013

Bartmmackey said:
I wouldn't put epoxy in my tank again if the pope himself threatened me with a .50cal. Skimmer nightmare. If it does it to the skimmer, what does it do to the water. And I've had disrupted old epoxy turn my skimmer into the Lawrence Welk show too.

This happened to .Marshall as well. Was it Two Little Fishies brand?

cPr · Jun 24, 2013

Eric B said:
I use super glue gel and a ball of the epoxy together. Super glue on frag then put epoxy over that spot dip in salt water/tank then super glue on bottom of epoxy then into tank where the frag is to be mounted. Had frags that I tried to remove later and ended up using a small screw driver to pry them off the rock work. Never had a problem with skimmer or anything else doing it this way!

This is the way I do it and It works well for me, I have had my skimmer go nuts but it was only once and I have never had a repeat of it.

chappy · Jun 24, 2013

My skimmer goes nuts for a few days after epoxy but it's no big deal if I use epoxy I know to crank down my skimmer or turn it off for a few w days

LisaD · Jun 24, 2013

Chompers said:
But like everyone said, the solution is super glue gel. Get a large frag plug and glue down your fish. He'll never mess with your corals again.

+1!!!! LOL

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