Fragging large leather coral

[davjbeas]

I have a large leather coral which I believe is a "Sarcophyton"

It has grown in my tank for years. It is very big and has several babies. I am not sure how to go about cutting it and mounting cuttings on frag plugs. I have plugs and super glue.

Here are some pics of how the coral looks

 

 pic 2 by David Beasley, on Flickr

 

pic 1 by David Beasley, on Flickr

[TylerZinck]

I've fragged mine a few times, all you need is a very clean sterile razor blade, you simply cut around the outer rim so you'll get a long "ribbon" if that makes sense, super glue typically doesn't work because this coral will release a lot of slime which is a healing defense mechanism, so what I've done is take 2 rubber bands and create a X over the chunks on top of the frag plugs and the leather will actually grow its own stalk again in a few weeks. Some people have taken a plastic toothpick and speared the leather to get it to stay on the frag until it grows but I prefer the rubber band method. 

[wildcrazyjoker81]

Leathers are fairly forgiving. I just cut it with my tank only scissors in the tank most times. A sterile razor blade is probably a better option. Mounting is definitely the hard part. I tried rubber bands and sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. I now use fishing string to sew mine to a plug or just put the frags into a mushroom cage/cup with some rubble and pray it attaches.

[lynn.reef.nerd]

A video that I really do enjoy:  

 

[davjbeas]

Thanks for the replies. I really appreciate the info.

 

David

 

[Origami]

Moving to propagation forum.