Frags - Do you mount on the plug or not??

[Haggisman14]

So, not sure if this has been done before...but I know it's a topic many talk about. How do you mount your frags? I understand some corals are encrusting, so you can't take the coral off the plug...but for all those corals that you can remove from the plug do you...or do you just find room in your tank for the plug?

Personally I always remount my frags...always have!

Lets hear the responses!

 

[Dsnakes]

I am probably 50/50 on this. I've got a few encrusted that I just cut the stem and glued the top of the plug. When possible I will remove the plug though. I like the cleaner look of them mounted on the rocks with no plug.

 

[Crabs McJones]

I agree with Dsnakes. I'm half and half. If the coral is really encrusted on the plug i'll mount the plug. If its only a little encrusted i'll take it off and mount it on my rock and let it encrust on that

 

[Casey-Reef]

I agree with Dsnakes. I'm half and half. If the coral is really encrusted on the plug i'll mount the plug. If its only a little encrusted i'll take it off and mount it on my rock and let it encrust on that

When placing on a rock. How much consideration do you give to the size of the rock?

I'm always afraid of needing to move it later and it attached a large rock making the move very difficult

 

[Crabs McJones]

When placing on a rock. How much consideration do you give to the size of the rock?

I'm always afraid of needing to move it later and it attached a large rock making the move very difficult

If I'm mounting a coral with frag plug I'll choose the bigger rocks.

 

[Best Fish-Jake]

I only leave on the frag plug if it’s going in my sand bed.. otherwise I break out the bone cutters!

 

[914joe]

I'm a small tank guy and in an effort of conserving space I've been keeping most of my things floating on plugs

 

[Waters]

I always remove the plugs if possible.....I like to keep the tank as natural looking as possible.

 

[ThunderGoose]

I'm new to the hobby and I'm not confident enough in my skills to remove the coral from the plug. I do have a pair of bone cutters to cut the "stem" off the frag plug if I don't have a spot to insert it. How do you attach corals without a plug? I have too many invertebrates that would knock corals around if I just set them on the rock.

 

[914joe]

^^^^^ superglue gel... I use a lot and have glued some pretty big pieces

 

[Dsnakes]

I'm new to the hobby and I'm not confident enough in my skills to remove the coral from the plug. I do have a pair of bone cutters to cut the "stem" off the frag plug if I don't have a spot to insert it. How do you attach corals without a plug? I have too many invertebrates that would knock corals around if I just set them on the rock.

Superglue or epoxy work great

 

[XNavyDiver]

I am probably 50/50 on this. I've got a few encrusted that I just cut the stem and glued the top of the plug. When possible I will remove the plug though. I like the cleaner look of them mounted on the rocks with no plug.

+1. If it's a brand new mounted frag, I'll break it off and mount directly to the rock work. If it's encrusted over the plug, I'll snip off the nipple and mount.

 

[Dsnakes]

I'm a small tank guy and in an effort of conserving space I've been keeping most of my things floating on plugs

That's a great looking tank! What size is it?

 

[XNavyDiver]

I'm a small tank guy and in an effort of conserving space I've been keeping most of my things floating on plugs

Those Tiki/Totems in there that you've mounted some acros... very interesting! Have you tried an encrusting cyphastrea on one? It could be a real eye catcher/ focal point when one of those gets completely encrusted.

 

[914joe]

That's a great looking tank! What size is it?

Thanks!!! 30g frag tank... I love that the depth equals the width and enjoy it from all angles

 

[914joe]

Those Tiki/Totems in there that you've mounted some acros... very interesting! Have you tried an encrusting cyphastrea on one? It could be a real eye catcher/ focal point when one of those gets completely encrusted.

They would look great with cyphastrea. I'm trying a few acros that like to encrust seeing how they react on vertical plug

 

[Best Fish-Jake]

I'm a small tank guy and in an effort of conserving space I've been keeping most of my things floating on plugs

How do you go more than a day without fragging to keep everything from stinging each other to death!??

 

[MTBake]

It depends on the frag and plug it's mounted on. If there is a spot for the plug to fit in the rock work, I don't take it off the plug. Sometimes I do clip the post off the plug. If I can't fit the plug where I want the coral, I remove the coral from plug, if possible.

 

[Fin]

I have done it both ways, but prefer no plugs in my display, if possible. I have taken encrusted frags and cut it off the plug, as close to the base as I can. Then put the encrusted plug in my frag tank and glue the main part of the frag to a rock in my display. In a little bit of time, you have a nice colony started in the display and a frag to trade or put in another tank.

 

[914joe]

How do you go more than a day without fragging to keep everything from stinging each other to death!??

I wish I had that kind of growth... I am starting to have a hard time putting my hand in the tank without knocking things over which usually leads to a domino effect