To the fraggers in the lot

[snowmansnow]

hey guys.
normally when I do a frag i take the cutting and sit it vertically on the frag plug.
how many of you make a habit of laying it horizontally ?
wouldn't a horizontal placement allow for more growing area being exposed to light?
does it really matter?
B

 

[dball711]

Yes but I think it comes down to presentation and what looks more appealing to the buyer. I think most folks prefer a pretty looking right side up frag.

 

[snowmansnow]

dball711;1094593 wrote: Yes but I think it comes down to presentation and what looks more appealing to the buyer. I think most folks prefer a pretty looking right side up frag.

Long term vs short term vision?


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[dball711]

Most folks I see buying frags go for the "looking good" now frag, very few will buy with "vision" but I will/do...

However, gluing a frag horizontally covers up some of the growing surface in your original example so not sure it will have a higher growth yield vs if it was glued from a spot it was cut at.

 

[snowmansnow]

Been doing some old thread reading. I'm not the first to ask this haha.
Seems a horizontal frag encrusts the base faster (which makes sense) and forms a rounder colony, growing vertically slower.

 

[snowmansnow]

dball711;1094596 wrote: Most folks I see buying frags go for the "looking good" now frag, very few will buy with "vision" but I will/do...

However, gluing a frag horizontally covers up some of the growing surface in your original example so not sure it will have a higher growth yield vs if it was glued from a spot it was cut at.

The reason I'm asking this isn't to figure out what people will buy. I'm after a sps that are hardier. Besides a thicker wider base that a horizontal placement encourages, you also have more surface area for the coral to feed / photosynthesize . overall it seems you would end up with more coral area. Bigger corals = stronger corals (ok so there are some holes in that blanket statement) but they aren't as easily overtaken by algae outbreaks and offer the opportunity to frag more if worst comes to worse.

 

[bwilliby]

Funny timing on this discussion...earlier today I read an article about fragging by Mike Paletta. He said his experiments show sps corals mounted horizontally encrust the base 3-5 times faster than those mounted upright. And after a year they produced nearly double the amount of branches. His theory is that in nature, if a branch gets knocked off the mother colony it is more likely to fall flat to the substrate, so it would be beneficial for its survival to produce tissue faster when it is in that position. Hmm, something to consider?? It's definitely different than what you see all over in the hobby.

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[snowmansnow]

BWILLIBY;1094599 wrote: Funny timing on this discussion...earlier today I read an article about fragging by Mike Paletta. He said his experiments show sps corals mounted horizontally encrust the base 3-5 times faster than those mounted upright. And after a year they produced nearly double the amount of branches. His theory is that in nature, if a branch gets knocked off the mother colony it is more likely to fall flat to the substrate, so it would be beneficial for its survival to produce tissue faster when it is in that position. Hmm, something to consider?? It's definitely different than what you see all over in the hobby.

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exactly .
link me that article if you don't mind and can find it again. I love reading about corals, even the articles I don't understand the science behind haha.
love it all

 

[snowmansnow]

I think that we, as humans, subliminally want to reproduce a forest of trees in our tank rather than replicating a coral reef.

 

[snowmansnow]

going to do some sideways mounting on some of those giant coral domes (provided I can find some I don't have to take out a loan to buy) anyone have some to donate? will trade sps frags for big coral domes ..

see my post that got accidentally posted in the FS section

 

[bwilliby]

Here's the article...https://reefbuilders.com/2015/07/25/fragging-phenomenon-part-deux/">https://reefbuilders.com/2015/07/25/fragging-phenomenon-part-deux/</a>

It makes me want to try it for sure!

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[snowmansnow]

BWILLIBY;1094605 wrote: Here's the article...https://reefbuilders.com/2015/07/25/fragging-phenomenon-part-deux/">https://reefbuilders.com/2015/07/25/fragging-phenomenon-part-deux/</a>

It makes me want to try it for sure!

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nothing else to do here.. i'll try it haha

 

[snowmansnow]

thanks for the link. will stuff my mind with it tonight

 

[bwilliby]

SnowManSnow;1094607 wrote: thanks for the link. will stuff my mind with it tonight

No problem! It's got some pretty pics too.

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[picoreefguy]

hey brandon i remember seeing a video a couple years ago talking about this and the guy said that the most effective method he has come across is to cut the frag in half length wise so you get essentially 2 frags out of each and since you glue the flat part down you get the most surface area touching the frag plug which gives you the best/fastest encrusting. i think it would only be effective on a flat plug though and not on those hemisphere ones.

 

[snowmansnow]

Would need to be a thick branch. And you'd need a saw


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[picoreefguy]

yea true the saw would be a deal breaker for most. ive heard of people do it with a dremel and a diamond disk but idk how flat of a surface you could get with that.

 

[danh]

Do it Brandon. Cut two similar pieces from the same mother colony. Mount one each way, sit them beside each other in the frag rack and take monthly pics.

I'd do it if I had anything I could frag.

 

[lsu_fishfan]

Would also like to see this tested. Would this only work for acropora and montipora? Or do birdsnests, pocilliporas and other SPS encrust?

 

[brandonmason]

I'll test it

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