Goniopora Fragging 101

Discussion in 'Frags' started by mikejrice, Dec 21, 2013.

to remove this notice and enjoy 3reef content with less ads. 3reef membership is free.

Have you owned a goniopora, and what was your experience with it?

  1. No, I haven't owned one.

    6 vote(s)
    42.9%
  2. Yes, I owned one, but it died within six months.

    1 vote(s)
    7.1%
  3. Yes, I've owned one, and it lived longer than six months.

    2 vote(s)
    14.3%
  4. Yes, I've owned one, and it's still alive!

    4 vote(s)
    28.6%
  5. Other. Details in the comments below.

    1 vote(s)
    7.1%
  1. mikejrice

    mikejrice 3reef Affiliate

    Joined:
    May 24, 2009
    Messages:
    5,926
    Location:
    Colorado
    Methodology:

    The method I use for fragging the majority of hard corals is primarily the same with the cutting tooling being an Inland band saw.

    Cooling liquid used is fresh mixed saltwater with enough iodine to color it a light amber. This helps to disinfect cuts as they're made which has shown to greatly increase frag survival.

    All corals are stored during cutting in a small bucket holding water taken directly from their home aquarium. This water is used both to keep them wet as well as for rinsing any flesh away from cuts while I'm working on them.

    All finished, and rinsed, frags or trimmed colonies are soaked in Brightwell Aquatics Restor dip to insure that minimal flesh is lost.

    Both soak buckets are rinsed and replenished between colonies to reduce the risk of interactions between loose flesh of different coral species.

    Notes about Goniopora:

    In order to keep goniopora colonies that I frag display worthy, I cut a thin slice directly from the bottom of the colony. This piece is fragged while the remainder of the colony can go back in a display, cut side down to grow back out.

    Goniopora should be fragged with caution! Their skeleton may appear dense, but they are actually made up of tiny slivers. When cutting with tools that may throw waste material, be sure to cover all skin.

    Learned that one the hard way!

    I'm sure you would probably be better off if you could devise a way to miss all the polyps when cutting goniopora, but they still fair really well even if cut in half. For this reason, I make strait cuts and grow out the half heads later.


    Cuts sped up 4x.

    If there's a specific species you would like to see fragged, leave a comment below.

    Post pictures below if you've got a nice goniopora in your tank.
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Dec 21, 2013
  2. Click Here!

  3. oldfishkeeper

    oldfishkeeper Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2012
    Messages:
    7,660
    Location:
    Cincinnati
    I bought a small frag to see how it would fare and it never really opened up. It lived a while but never did fully open up and it fell down and grew a bunch of algae on it until I finally removed it.....
     
  4. Va Reef

    Va Reef Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2010
    Messages:
    3,627
    Location:
    Chesapeake, Va
    Never kept one simply because of how difficult they can be.
     
  5. mikejrice

    mikejrice 3reef Affiliate

    Joined:
    May 24, 2009
    Messages:
    5,926
    Location:
    Colorado
    Got a new goni for aquaculture.
     

    Attached Files:

  6. Va Reef

    Va Reef Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2010
    Messages:
    3,627
    Location:
    Chesapeake, Va
    Nice, did you get the colony and the frag? Or just the frag, but showing the colony?
     
  7. mikejrice

    mikejrice 3reef Affiliate

    Joined:
    May 24, 2009
    Messages:
    5,926
    Location:
    Colorado
    Got the colony and made the frag.
     
  8. Click Here!

  9. skurious

    skurious Sailfin Tang

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2009
    Messages:
    1,720
    Location:
    Cedar Rapids, IA
    I have a green goniopora currently. I believe I have had it for 2 years this coming spring. Its not the best looking thing, its almost a flourescent green, its very light in color. I find that it fluctuates in size quite a bit. I'm trying to get better about feeding to help improve its health and hopefully keep it for quite some time.
     
  10. mikejrice

    mikejrice 3reef Affiliate

    Joined:
    May 24, 2009
    Messages:
    5,926
    Location:
    Colorado
    Frags are plumping up nicely.
     

    Attached Files: