Splitting Cespitularia

A

alanbetiger

Membership Expired
So I thought I was buying a xenia and was pleasantly suprised to be told it was actually ORA Blue Cespitularia about 1.5 months ago. Since then the small plug has grown twice it's original size and started attatching to a neighboring rock and slowly walked up the rock away from the original colony. They physically were about 1 inch apart and are now about the same size but were still attatched by a tiny cord of tissue about 2mm in diameter. I thought they would split themselves but decided to help them along the way (since I'm thinking of bringing one to the frag swap in August) so in the past 2 weeks I've little by little moved them apart so they are now 3 inches apart. The cord has stayed the same thickness and won't get thinner. Now there are multiple stems coming out of the cord and they won't split on there own. I've heard that they don't cope well with actual fragging so was scared of losing both if I use scissors and cut them.
What do ya'll think. Am I being impatient or should I cut the cord...literally :)
Thanks
Alan
 
@alanbetiger wrote:
So I thought I was buying a xenia and was pleasantly suprised to be told it was actually ORA Blue Cespitularia about 1.5 months ago. Since then the small plug has grown twice it's original size and started attatching to a neighboring rock and slowly walked up the rock away from the original colony. They physically were about 1 inch apart and are now about the same size but were still attatched by a tiny cord of tissue about 2mm in diameter. I thought they would split themselves but decided to help them along the way (since I'm thinking of bringing one to the frag swap in August) so in the past 2 weeks I've little by little moved them apart so they are now 3 inches apart. The cord has stayed the same thickness and won't get thinner. Now there are multiple stems coming out of the cord and they won't split on there own. I've heard that they don't cope well with actual fragging so was scared of losing both if I use scissors and cut them. What do ya'll think. Am I being impatient or should I cut the cord...literally :-) Thanks Alan said:
This sounds like a great question that can be answered tomorrow at the prop workshop. James from Lonestar Aquacultue will be doing the presenting, and I would definately classify him as an expert in xenia, and things of that nature.
Click to expand...
 
Unfortunately I won't be able to make it. Just joined a few months ago and was looking forward to the workshop until I found out I have to work. Do you mind asking him if you get a chance? No worries if not.
Thanks
Alan
 
Hey Alan,

I guess James hasn't seen this yet, but I can answer your question. I am the operations manager of the farm. First, Can you post a pic? If it's the Metallic Blue Cespitularia I'm thinking of it is the same stuff that we raise at the farm. Check out our pics here http://www.lonestaraquaculture.com/ You should have no problems cutting that to make two Cespitularias. Make sure you disinfect your scissors with alcohol before you do. Most Cespitularia and Xenia is easy to frag and recovers fine as long as you disinfect your instruments properly and have good water quality to begin with. We rarely lose any frags at the farm. If you're worried you can do a Lugols or Coral Revive dip briefly to further disinfect the corals following fragging--if there on rocks that allow you to take them out of the tank. Make sure to follow label instructions and not leave them in too long. Good luck.
 
Really sorry for the late reply, I've been horribly busy.
Here's some before pictures from right after you replied. Randomly the one day I took pictures there was some white fuzzy stuff on one of the stalks but I just flicked it off with my finger and it hasn't returned in about 3 weeks. As you can see I tried my best to stretch the dang thing! The green rock was placed there after the stretching to try and get it attatched but didn't work. I took your advice and used a autoclaved scalpel blade and just cut it. About three weeks on and both the colonies are twice the size. Thanks for ya'lls help. I couldn't make it to the frag swap yesterday so I'll be putting one of these on the trades list soon with one or two more things.
Thanks again
Alan
Mother colony
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Stretched approx 4 inches
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with flash to show true blue cespitularia
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Hey Alan,

Sounds like you got it figured out well. Just make sure you sterilize tools before you use them to frag and you shouldn't have any problems! Nice job!
 
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