Fragging Gorgonian's....

I have a very large Gorgonian about 12 inches in heighth and spans about 7 inches across it has 15 branches off of two main stalks. It fell over on my new bubble coral so I took it out and and made three tree's out of it and seperated them so they wont fall any more....(my sub isnt deep enough) Is it okay to chop it up like that? That is how I made my Kenya tree's into a lil forest...Will the Goregonian live? (it is photosynthetic)
Danny

 

i'm thinking they can't touch air at all... i think you needed to cut it under water if you can cut it at all... but i'm not really an expert on this.

 

I've fragged several this way, should be fine.

Ginny

 

Yep, will be fine. And they can touch air. Well, at least mine has, lol. Just chop away and place as desired.

 

when you do this you need to strip the skin off the stem and glue the stem in a hole try not to get any glue on the skin it may become a infected and die. and a dip in some lugos wont heart.

 

The red and yellow ones are the ones that can't touch air, the silver and purple photosynthetic ones are almost impossible to kill.

 

Sorry I dont see a need for all that I just stuck it in a hole in a rock and they all opened up today so I guess there okay....
Danny thnx anywayz

 

Just thought id share the way i had learned it, here is a copy and past from leroy at garf on propagating gorgonians.



MATERIALS

-pair of scissors, scalpel, or razor blade
-two large bowls of tank water (-remember to change the water periodically because of the temperature change)
-Aragocrete? TM plugs or small reef safe rocks
-drill press or hand held drill
-1/4 inch cement drill bit
-GARF reef glue or Styrofoam*

STEP 1 - Drilling the Holes


Use a drill press or hand held drill with a 1/4 in. cement bit to make a hole in the plug or rock. The depth of the hole should range from 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch maximum. Wash plugs in tap water to remove excess dust and particles.



STEP 2 - Making the First Cuts

In a large bowl with tank water, cut off pieces of your mother colony. The size of the cutting does not matter, but if you are planning to ship these cuttings, larger ones require more water and are therefore more expensive to ship. Scissors work the best for this step, but a scalpel or razor will work just fine.

We always cut collected Gorgonians so that there are several short branches left on the base. These bases are glued into our brood stock systems. Each of the branches we left on the base soon grow new stalks that can cut later.
STEP 3 - Removal of Tissue


Using your scissors or razor remove 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch of the coenchyme (tissue) leaving the hard central axis.

This exposed axis offers a stronger bond with the reef gel than the tissue would. We have also seen that some Genus such as Plexaurella will develop an infection if the reef gel is covering the coenchyme.

The small pieces of left over tissue can be scattered over the substrate in your tank. We have observed some of these pieces attach and begin to grow.

We have been using wire stripping pliers this semester and they work very well for this job. The pliers seem to do less damage to the tissue we remove and more of them start to grow in the gravel.


STEP 4 - Attaching the Cutting

Using the reef glue, fill in the hole of your plug or rock completely. Next place the exposed axis of your cutting into the glue filled hole. Dip the cutting and plug into your second bowl of tank water and hold under water for 10 seconds or until there is a firm bond.

Your first gorgonian cutting is now complete. Remember to place the plug in an area with strong current and moderate light. If the cutting is not doing well in one spot, and this goes for all corals, move it each week until it finds a place it likes.



IMPORTANT NOTE

It is very important to dip any glued cutting in reef water as soon as possible. Reef glue heats as it cures and the tissue can be burned. We dip all cuttings in bowls of reef water as soon as we attach the coral.

The glue also seals the cuttings so very few of them get any type of infection. Notice the branches we left on this cutting. These branches make it very easy to tell the top of the coral. When you have many non-branching cuttings it can be hard to tell which end should go up. You can run the cutting lightly through your fingers. The polyps point upward, so the coral will feel smooth when you are pulling the base of the coral down. Glue the end down that feels like it is easy to pull through your fingers.

 

Hope ya dont thiink I was bein rude or anything like that....I am just lazy as hell....lol...I do need to start doin things proper like though so I will do this in th emorn after I get some super glue gel.....My school teachers would be proud...I am 50 yrs old and finally starting to listen and do things proper like....thnx friend....
Danny

 

Not at all danny just trying to help with some info.
I don't always do things the proper way or like others do myself,
i think we can find a better way of doing things sometimes by not following the way others do it all the time. ;D