If all other variables are equal, do larger, multibranch minicolonies have a better chance of surviving the initial introduction to a new tank than single stick small (1/2 inch or less) frags? I usually buy small, but have about a 20% die off of new frags before they encrust and take off. Would it be better to spend more for fewer large frags?
Does Frag Size Matter?
- Thread starter kurtp
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joseserrano
2500 Club Member
I believe yes. Bigger coral, more area to take in light and food from. But that is also assuming it’s and aquaculture vs fresh wild cut. Wild I think it matters less.
WWIII
2500 Club Member
The "all other variables equal" is a lot of variables. I'm not sure size alone makes much difference. In my experience it hasn't seemed to, but there are so many variables it's hard to be sure. Interesting question!
OriginalUserName
Valuable Member
I was just wondering about this today. There must be a sweet spot. My tiny accidental frags seem to grow far slower than ones that are a little larger.
I know, tons of those durn variables really cloud the issue....my theory is that bigger mini-colonies would do better than small frags, but wouldn't it be cool if someone like the folks at BRS ran a study on this? I am really impressed with the amount of time and finances they put into increasing the reefing knowledge base, but it is unrealistic to expect them to run a test to find out if larger frags survive initial introduction to a tank better than small ones...its not like BRS is in the business of selling coral, after all. But their recent BRStv Investigates setup to test if different alk levels actually do impact coral growth got me thinking that my question could be studied, too....
Take several different thriving mother colonies of various corals, cut varying sizes of frags from each mother colony's growth zone and mount them on identical plugs using identical techniques, let them heal/encrust for the same amount of time and then move them into test tanks after replicating the shipping stresses purchased frags usually go through (maybe bag them, put them in boxes and let them sit overnight as if they were UPSing across the country from retailer to consumer). If you do several samples of each frag size and scatter them on egg-crate throughout the tank you should be able to factor out micro-differences in flow/light within the test tank and find out if the larger/more branched mini-colonies have a better initial survival rate than the small single branch frags.
Maybe a coral retailer could do this, but I guess it could backfire on their bottom line. They must get far more revenue by selling multiple small frags than by selling a single larger colony of the same total size. It's too bad, I know that if I had data that showed improved survive-ability, I'd be willing to spend a chunk of cash for a chunk of coral. As it stands, I don't have enough faith in my working theory to want to risk a big outlay of cash for a mini-colony that has the same risk of not surviving the transition to a new tank.
I guess for now I'll just have to hope for some anecdotal input from other reefers....unless I could convince the BRS team that improving new purchase coral survive-ability would mean more newbies not giving up the hobby and therefore more potential customers for their products....hmm, maybe I should float a proposal their way
I prefer small ones that are encrusted. Larger ones/mini colonies took shape and grew towards certain light and water flow in mind. In a new tank the shape of the coral might not be optimized towards it's new conditions. Just anecdotal obviously but I always have better luck with smaller coral and only a couple branches versus larger mini colonies
From my experience. The bigger the coral you get the more established and experienced you need to be in order to make a colony happy.... feeding and lighting habbits, etc...., versus a frag that spends much of its new growth and pattern establishing a base. It acclimates much easier I think.
Az reefer
Active Member
Smaller frags do better in my tank. Smaller frags have more of a chance of acclimating to the tanks parameters where a larger colony has had alot more time in another tank. Its harder to make a larger colony happy than a small frag.
BluewaterLa
Active Member
I think what matters most of all is not the size of the frag or if it came from the ocean cultured or wild grown Or if its been in captive tanks for 10 years, What matters most is how well you maintain your water and your understanding of reefing. Tank maturity goes a long way as well.
I'm not going to argue with anyone about wild corals Vs captive grown corals being more hardy than the other.
If your tank is mature enough, You are educated and experienced in reefing and you keep your water maintained & stable then there is no difference in coral health pertaining to Booger frags, Normal frags or colonies.
One often overlooked factor is the health of the coral / frag upon getting it to your tank, if it was not thriving in the other persons tank or Place then it may not be healthy enough to handle Parameter changes in its new home.
I'm not going to argue with anyone about wild corals Vs captive grown corals being more hardy than the other.
If your tank is mature enough, You are educated and experienced in reefing and you keep your water maintained & stable then there is no difference in coral health pertaining to Booger frags, Normal frags or colonies.
One often overlooked factor is the health of the coral / frag upon getting it to your tank, if it was not thriving in the other persons tank or Place then it may not be healthy enough to handle Parameter changes in its new home.
+1 bluewaterla
Size doesnt matter. What makes the difference is health and condition of said coral. A colony is a little harder for beginners but in a stable tank from a healthy specimen and an experienced aquarist there should be no difference from a frag. The health of the coral is all that matters. That's why mariculture and wild stuff is always given a bad wrap, because a LOT of people do not know how to tell the difference between bleached, stressed, stn, rtn or dying acropora. And man there are a lot of that in local stores I have seen.
Online you need a whole different set of skills for acropora purchasing. You have to be able to understand what blue light does to acropora that come from home grown tanks or from culture sites or even the wild. Guessing what the coral is going to be in this light from one picture is hard and takes time.
Size doesnt matter. What makes the difference is health and condition of said coral. A colony is a little harder for beginners but in a stable tank from a healthy specimen and an experienced aquarist there should be no difference from a frag. The health of the coral is all that matters. That's why mariculture and wild stuff is always given a bad wrap, because a LOT of people do not know how to tell the difference between bleached, stressed, stn, rtn or dying acropora. And man there are a lot of that in local stores I have seen.
Online you need a whole different set of skills for acropora purchasing. You have to be able to understand what blue light does to acropora that come from home grown tanks or from culture sites or even the wild. Guessing what the coral is going to be in this light from one picture is hard and takes time.
I think that size definitely matters. I got a 2" hunk of Gold Millepora from Copps once and in about a year I had a 7 inch real colony. These were super healthy too, but larger stuff grows faster. If you get a booger, then it might be 2 years before your frag is even 2 inches.
If I personally frag pieces of 1 inch, or larger, then they will encrust a good amount in less than 2 weeks. Some boogers take months to encrust the same. The larger a frag is, the more ability it has to create energy for growth and to be healthy.
All of this being said, I think that size is about the third thing that I look for in a frag and not the most important.
If I personally frag pieces of 1 inch, or larger, then they will encrust a good amount in less than 2 weeks. Some boogers take months to encrust the same. The larger a frag is, the more ability it has to create energy for growth and to be healthy.
All of this being said, I think that size is about the third thing that I look for in a frag and not the most important.
Also type of coral. Some very thin branched coral colonies do not transport as well as smaller frags that a single piece of styrofoam may prevent bumping.
KrisReef
10K Club member
Great thread here.
Some of my fastest growing coral frags came from accidental tip breaks, many of these frags have been less than 1/2 inch in length. My own observation is that these active growth areas are busy doing that, growing. When those tips get bumped off and I reattach them in the tank, they generally keep growing often times at (relatively) incredible rates based upon their initial size. If I move these tiny frags into a buddies tank, they may keep growing, but they are more likely to slow down or outright fail when they are moved into another system instead of keeping them where they were fragged. I believe this occurs because in a different system they must deal with another chemical & physical environment where they may not be suited for the same rate of optimal growth or even continued life.
We all try to manipulate the environments we provide, light, chemistry, flow, nutrients, etc. generally to optimize the health of the tank inhabitants. I believe that frag survival and success depends on where the frag came from and where it has landed and how much difference there is between the old and new situation. I agree that more knowledge about coral fragments can be had with some focused investigations. Hopefully some one will pay me to do this work>
Some of my fastest growing coral frags came from accidental tip breaks, many of these frags have been less than 1/2 inch in length. My own observation is that these active growth areas are busy doing that, growing. When those tips get bumped off and I reattach them in the tank, they generally keep growing often times at (relatively) incredible rates based upon their initial size. If I move these tiny frags into a buddies tank, they may keep growing, but they are more likely to slow down or outright fail when they are moved into another system instead of keeping them where they were fragged. I believe this occurs because in a different system they must deal with another chemical & physical environment where they may not be suited for the same rate of optimal growth or even continued life.
We all try to manipulate the environments we provide, light, chemistry, flow, nutrients, etc. generally to optimize the health of the tank inhabitants. I believe that frag survival and success depends on where the frag came from and where it has landed and how much difference there is between the old and new situation. I agree that more knowledge about coral fragments can be had with some focused investigations. Hopefully some one will pay me to do this work>
