So I sold some extra Pet Rocks the other day and picked up 5 frags, one of which is a 'leather tree coral.' The thing is about 3 inches tall. I paid like 9 bucks for the thing! Well it looked kind of sad is why...It was sort of bleached, but not all the way. It still had a green fluorescence to it at the store so I followed my gut and took him home. I got home at dark (aquarium time zone) so I was not worried about the jump in light intensity as much. I have a 400watt metal halide over my frag tank and the light is shared by the refugium and various tropical house plants. one bulb goes along way with the right amount of mirrors. lol.
ANYWAYS this was only YESTERDAY.
The halide does nothing for aesthetics...aside from the amazing look of flickering water...but it makes my corals SOOO HAPPY. My new gsp even opened up quicker than most peoples.
well the leather was the one I was worried about most since it was bleached slightly. NOT TODAY! the thing turned purple overnight. I have the tree propped on its side and all the branches curled towards the light.
The thing that I found funny (or just dumb) was that the fish guy, who so far has proven himself as someone who actually cares about stuff after he sells them, put the Leather in a bag with the Gsp....Lukily neither got damaged...i thought the polyps would have killed it..but they didn't.
once acclimated and happy, i am fragging the leather into 8 frags, it has that many branches, plus the left over base will make 9. God I love fragging for cash. It all started with a button polyp and I have not spent a dime since. 'sept electricity.
I guess I rambled so much I forgot my point. 3 questions:
Is there a good time to let the coral get used to the water before I can frag it, or is it ok to go ahead and start when ever?
Say I frag a branch that is 2 inches...can I cut the fragged branch in half for 2 smaller fragS?
I heard anthelia and the like grow faster when attached by the length of the stalk...If I frag a leather branch and glue it on its side will this grow the same way?
My frag tank is super clean atm. No chopped corals yet either. I would like to start with the leather as it is the largest and supposedly easy.
so far on the polyps i have done, i frag em when my water is clean. Let them root, then I take the dirtiest part of my display water (which is still very clean) and pour a gallon of that in there.
Essentially they are on the same system, but manually transferred rather than plumbed as they are in separate parts of the house. This lets me take snails and whatever janitor I need atm between tanks.
NO fish in the frag tank. Just corals, chaeto, rock and sand. I use the skimmer for about a week before I transfer and sell corals. I don't know why, but it gives me pretty good results.
ANYWAYS this was only YESTERDAY.
The halide does nothing for aesthetics...aside from the amazing look of flickering water...but it makes my corals SOOO HAPPY. My new gsp even opened up quicker than most peoples.
well the leather was the one I was worried about most since it was bleached slightly. NOT TODAY! the thing turned purple overnight. I have the tree propped on its side and all the branches curled towards the light.
The thing that I found funny (or just dumb) was that the fish guy, who so far has proven himself as someone who actually cares about stuff after he sells them, put the Leather in a bag with the Gsp....Lukily neither got damaged...i thought the polyps would have killed it..but they didn't.
once acclimated and happy, i am fragging the leather into 8 frags, it has that many branches, plus the left over base will make 9. God I love fragging for cash. It all started with a button polyp and I have not spent a dime since. 'sept electricity.
I guess I rambled so much I forgot my point. 3 questions:
Is there a good time to let the coral get used to the water before I can frag it, or is it ok to go ahead and start when ever?
Say I frag a branch that is 2 inches...can I cut the fragged branch in half for 2 smaller fragS?
I heard anthelia and the like grow faster when attached by the length of the stalk...If I frag a leather branch and glue it on its side will this grow the same way?
My frag tank is super clean atm. No chopped corals yet either. I would like to start with the leather as it is the largest and supposedly easy.
so far on the polyps i have done, i frag em when my water is clean. Let them root, then I take the dirtiest part of my display water (which is still very clean) and pour a gallon of that in there.
Essentially they are on the same system, but manually transferred rather than plumbed as they are in separate parts of the house. This lets me take snails and whatever janitor I need atm between tanks.
NO fish in the frag tank. Just corals, chaeto, rock and sand. I use the skimmer for about a week before I transfer and sell corals. I don't know why, but it gives me pretty good results.
