Encrusting gorgonian - Propagation tips

B

Birder

[Before I damage this coral trying to transfer part of it to another rock, need to know if can be propagated easily. I think this coral is Encrusting Gorgonian (not sure), but instead of being pink or brown in color as I see in some Web pictures and in this forum, the polyps and mat are white with some brown.

Can it be propagated like GS Polyps? (cut/peel off and super glue to new rock).

Similiar to this coral

Thanks]
 
[Yeah, the stuff is nearly indestructable! You can just peel it back and cut off what you want. Then you can just glue or rubberband to a new rock. One caution though, it can seperate from the glue and get lost. I recently fragged some of mine by super gluing them, but, a few seperated and were lost-I thought at the time I was fragging that they might do that and I should also 'clamp' them in place until they attached to the rock. (idiot me!) You can use a rubberband or glue a thread across the coral and glued at each end to hold it in place. Needle/thread and superglue work wonders when fragging softies. BTW, if yours is white it may be bleached. These gorgos do bleach easy if exposed to fluctuating water quality or changes in lighting. Good news is that they usually make fast full recoveries. Good luck!]
 
[Thank you, Kerry. Thought that was probably the case.

Could you id it from this picture? Maybe it is not Encrusting Gorgonian. It has been mainly white for 5 months now, and if bleached, would the next step not be death? Is this Encrusting Gorgonian?

Thanks again.

Encrusting Gorgonian?]
 
[You can also just set some rock rubble up against it and it will encrust over in no time! Then all you have to do is cut between the two.]
 
[It is kind of hard to say for sure, but it does look like encrusting gorgo. What is the mat like with the polyps retracted? It should not be bumpy like star polyps. Gorgos have a smooth surface with only slight dimples where the polyps are. The mat should also be the same color as the polyps. It does look bleached but if it is growing then I would not worry about it. If it is receding, then it is dying back and you might try moving it to another location in your tank for a while.]
 
[Thanks for the info. The mat is smooth and I think the coral is healthy, noticed it is moving bubble algae in its path while expanding. Went to LFS and they had some like it which was labeled encrusting gorgonian.

Attached a small portion to another rock and the polyps have already came out.

Thanks]
 
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