Reasons why you frag

[civics14]

Just wondering why everyone frags their corals...

• Recouping some cost
• Control growth
• Share the wealth
• Other?

What got me in this hobby is seeing those amazing full tanks of corals, specifically acros. I been to a number of member's home to pick up frags and most systems I see are mini colonies and I always wonder why.

For me, I hate fragging and only do so when corals grow into each other. I strive to become one of those tanks that are jam packed with acros that inspired me to get into this hobby int he first place.

 

[bhodges82]

One reason is to insure that you don't lose a whole colony, make a frag and give it to a buddy just in case something happens to the original colony.

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[enderg60]

Trimming so corals dont touch or overgrow, banzai tree treatment.

I love growing a coral out for a year or two and selling frags for half what I paid and still recouping the cost of the coral and giving others a good deal on something that is in my eyes overpriced.

And lastly, to offset the operation costs of the system.

 

[civics14]

One reason is to insure that you don't lose a whole colony, make a frag and give it to a buddy just in case something happens to the original colony.

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Yeah. Friend of mine brought this up as well. Good point.

 

[ActiveAngel]

I agree. I’ve only seen one personal tank with full colonies in the past decade or so. It’s was a 600g with 1-2 dozen acros that were each between 18”- 24” across, plus other large corals. The layers and flow was mesmerizing every time I saw it; and the tangs, leopard wrasses, and fat mandarins were just icing on the cake!

For this reason, I’m not fragging much for my first 1-2 years since I moved here from Chicago. But usually my primary motivations are:
•share the well
•giving a friend a backup just in case

Another reason, if you no longer want a coral, is it’s easier to sell several frags than to sell a large colony. That, and gradually selling frags helps to slow a colonies growth, and prevents having to do any major fragging overhauls.

 

[jcook54]

I agree with everything that's been posted but another reason for me is that I really like watching coral grow. It's so much easier to see growth on a small frags than it is on a whole colony. I know my larger colonies are growing and have pictures to prove it but it's not something I notice. One of my favorite frags is a Tyree Idaho grape that I got from @hankhill31 It was a small piece attached to some epoxy and when I went to re-mount it the epoxy basically shattered and I was left with 2 tiny pieces the size of pinheads. Seriously small. I glued them to a frag plug and have watched them grow these past few months. Have all my other corals grown? Absolutely. But those tiny pieces of monti have grown in to a respectable frag and I just love it.