So I was inspired by Anthony's Propagation Demonstration...

F

feasible

... and decided to try for my self. (No, no, no... my RTBA is safe. At least until it splits natrually... and then the clone is fair game :D )

I was especially intrigued by his talk about SPS propagation. For those that were not there, Anthony stated (in a nutshell) that placing the frags of SPSs in an upright position is not natrual. Frags in the ocean do not natrually end in an upright position, in fact they end up most rather on their side. It is in this position that the frag can have a greater chance of creating more branches. He further went on to say that even a small disk of the coral would grow into a multi branched colony far quicker that a single up-down frag (This I did not do tonight).

So here is the patient:
A Rose Milipora frag I purchased from GraviT (Thanks Kevin!)
DSC02749-small.jpg
alt="">

After aclimization, I placed the coral in tank water in a small bowl.
DSC02754-small.jpg
alt="">

Using chicken shears, I snapped a small cylinder off the frag.
DSC02755-small.jpg
alt="">

I then placed the smaller frag on it's side on a rock in the tank. I placed the other larger frag in an 'un-natrual' position next to it so they can receive the same light and flow.
DSC02757-small.jpg
alt="">

Now it's time to just sit and wait to see what happens. I will post up pictures in the future as they grow.

Right now they will only be receiving light from 1/2 of a 4 x 65W 10k/Actinic PCs. Later this week when I finish my canopy they will start receiving light from 1/2 of a 2 x 250W 10k XM bulb setup.
 
Me too! That rose is an extremely fast growing coral so you should see results pretty quickly. It will be much happier under halides though. 8)
 
This isn't really a new idea. In my experience, you'll get many more growing points on the frag that's laying down as opposed to the upright colony. However, in most cases it takes much longer to get the flat frag to grow out. Once it gets going though....

This principle is also pretty common in horticulture.
 
Anthony explained this concept to me a couple years ago, when he was here for MACNA. I've tried it with a green slimer, and had wonderful results.

However, I didn't think to document the progress - great idea! Looking forward to seeing what happens.
 
Well I thought I should update everyone on the experiment.

Unfortunately the side frag died. I think the stress it received from being covered for a short time by cyno(?I think?) I am battlling (damn Kent) and the epoxy it was mounted to falling a couple of times did it in.

The other 'un-natrually' mounted frag is doing great.

I hope to repeat this experiment again soon and kind have by placing several small (1/8" -1/4") frags I received from TJay & WaterBug in natrual positions. They seem to be doing well except one. I will try to take pics later.

Cheers
 
Sorry the experiment didn't work out, but I'm glad to hear the other frag is still going strong! The parent colony has completely recovered from being fragged..in fact, you can't tell by looking that it ever happened at all. :D
 
Well the last and final update to this thread.

The 'un-natrually' mounted frag RTN'ed last week. We noticed a slight discoloration at noon when the lights came on and when I looked at it again in the evening (when we came back) it was ALL GONE! :cry: White as a bone!

We were really saddened because we wee starting to notice new growth on all the branches and from where it had encrusted.

Oh well. I wish I knew what happened to prevent it but we have no clue. All parameters are fine and all the other corals are doing great.

I hope to get another frag of a Rose Millipora again soon and maybe get a Green and Blue one while we are at it.
 
Ah, what a bummer! I'm sure I can get you another frag sometime. The colony isn't quite as pink as it used to be (think it's about time to change my MH bulbs), but hopefully it will color up again some day.

I have some blue millepora, but it's got quite a bit of growing to do before I can share. :twisted:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top