Who mounts frags on the side?

[turbo21]

I have seen this done many times over the years and feel it is a bad practice

When you mount them this way you are killing the tissue on the bottom The frag then had to heal at the cut point point and on the bottom where you just purposely killed tissue. How in the world can this be better than mounting frags at the pint where you cut?

I have heard many arguments that because there is now more base that they will grow faster ,from what I have seen ,they grow slower when mounted that way. Anthony Calfo lives in my area and has talked a lot of locals into mounting frags this way and I believe that is just bad information

What do you think?

Bob

 

[k2parkstar]

I've done both. Honestly the frags I mounted on their side encrusted faster in my opinion. However I still mount vertically a lot because people prefer it

 

[ReefMadScientist]

I personally do not like buying frags mounted on the side because when I get home I pull them off the plug and glue them on my LR. Yes, I do not understand why people do this as the tissue being glued is pretty much dead.

As for growth, I am not sure this technique hinders growth but I think it does stress the frag more.

 

[turbo21]

I do believe they encrust faster because there is more surface area. Touching the plug. But I don't believe they grow any faster

Many believe it does and I think it's because. It's harder to judge the vertical growth on multiple branches than it is seeing the encrusting

 

[evolved]

I understand most people think sideways frags are ugly, and don't typically mount them that way myself. But I do think they encrust much faster this way, and possibly lead to broader vertical growth in a lesser time.

Consider how frags happen in the ocean; it's likely they end up somewhat sideways too.

 

[reef1980]

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/general-sps-discussion/56695-gluing-sps.html

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/ge...hen-mounted-like-trees-their-growth-tips.html

 

[rossco]

I prefer the looks of mounting with branches up. That being said, here is an opportunity to see hard evidence, rather than speculate, on growth and encrustment rate. Both of these frags are of the same colony locally known as the Lighthouse. It is a purple coral with yellow/green corallite tips. The frag on the left was a piece that was rolling around on the sandbed of a friends tank after removing all of the acros due to a pending tank breakdown. Not wanting to see it go to waste, I grabbed it and mounted it up. The bottom was already dead as it had been on the sandbed a couple weeks. It has been in the frag tank now for about a month.

Fast forward to the frag on the right. This came out of a different friends tank as a backup piece. I have had it mounted up for about 2 weeks. This frag browned out due to dipping and system changes and is now coloring back up, hence the more dominace of green.

Even though one is obviously bigger than the other to start, I will keep track of these two every couple weeks until one of them gets moved to the display.

 

[Scoly]

I glue them both ways, depending on where they are getting mounted. I personally think they grow faster laying down.

 

[Rob&Gab]

only sometimes we have Browming out under the SPS when we glue them side ways. GOOD flow and nice amount of light should keep em colored up underneath .

yes this is our overflow box old picture about a month and a half or so. Allot has encrusted and grown some moved to different tank but yea.

 

[Rob&Gab]

This piece is mounted fully sideways, color below and on top encrusting only right now. but good flow and good light its getting. ive seen with low flow with sideways corals the color on the bottom browns out

 

[spspirate]

I think that maybe mounting them side ways "may" trigger faster growth because the polyps or another words the coral may go into survival mode. Maybe they can sense the direction of which way the light is coming from and strive to achieve a much normal position and growth pattern. Normally I like to mount branching SPS at a 2:00 o'clock position.

 

[classklown90]

Mounting sideways increases surface area for light absorption. Simple as that

 

[o2manyfish]

I don't have any experience with growing faster, but I mount a majority of the frags I get on their side because it promotes more growth from the coral.

If you have a frag with a couple of branches, and mount it with the tips pointing up, the coral will encrust and continue to grow up on the branches.

However, when I mount a coral on it's side, it sprouts multiple new branches aiming up toward the light. 9-12 months later the frags mounted on the side grow into fuller colonies.

The more branches you have the more points of growth on the coral, and once it starts growing the overall size increase of the colony is much faster.

Dave B

 

[Big E]

I don't have any experience with growing faster, but I mount a majority of the frags I get on their side because it promotes more growth from the coral.

If you have a frag with a couple of branches, and mount it with the tips pointing up, the coral will encrust and continue to grow up on the branches.

However, when I mount a coral on it's side, it sprouts multiple new branches aiming up toward the light. 9-12 months later the frags mounted on the side grow into fuller colonies.

The more branches you have the more points of growth on the coral, and once it starts growing the overall size increase of the colony is much faster.

Dave B

+1

More surface area that is getting light will provide more areas to grow. I mount on the the side if it's for myself.

If I'm mounting it for someone else, I'll stand it up like a tree because people seem to prefer it that way from a looks perspective. Even if I mount it up I try to angle it to give more surface area facing the light.

As far as the glue.....its going to touch acro skin either way and if the acro doesn't like it it's going to recede either way.

 

[watchguy123]

Up, down, sideways, anyway you glue it, months will be necessary before it's a colony. Supposition discussed is interesting. Until we really understand the biology, growth stimulation factors, and see side by side evaluations, all of this is just interesting supposition. I would not suggest Anthony Calfo of misinformation however, whether I do or don't agree with him. Esthetically, I like frags mounted up or slightly angled. Laying on their sides just is not as pleasing even if it turns out to lead to faster growth.

 

[Chameleon]

side is better for torts and stags....vertical is better for anything without long branches

 

[Sdoutreefer]

I just fragged up an entire colony (about 6 inches across) because I was worried it was RTNing. I glued several frags in different ways. Half upright and half on the sides because I am curious what will grow better. I'm a believe that the ones glued on their sides will encrust faster because of the larger amount of surface area exposed to the plug and the more surface area being hit by light. Most SPS encrust, then grow upwards. Gluing SPS frags sideways makes complete and perfect sense to me. I guess I'll find out shortly!! Or in a month... :beer:

 

[andijo81]

I volunteer my services to a vendor that's sort of in my area. I go and help frag, clean, organize, and other maintenance. I mainly do it for the free education, kinda like an intern. Anywho, he has me glue Mille's on there side. No other acro's, just Mille's. He may have told me why, but I have A.D.D... so it's gone into the Ether

 

[turbo21]

Now here's another question to put a monkey wrench in the plan

If you are gluing them sideways the tissue on the bottom half dies because it's covered in glue. Do you think it's possible then to split the coral longways and get 2 frags out of 1. Since it doesn't matter the bottom tissue dies anyways. If I still had all my sps I would be trying it tonight for sure

Bob

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Now here's another question to put a monkey wrench in the plan

If you are gluing them sideways the tissue on the bottom half dies because it's covered in glue. Do you think it's possible then to split the coral longways and get 2 frags out of 1. Since it doesn't matter the bottom tissue dies anyways. If I still had all my sps I would be trying it tonight for sure

Bob

Haha if you could make that cut. I'd think it'd have to be a pretty thick piece..