"fragging" bubble coral?

[astroboy]

I've got a bubble coral with six heads, two of which have died. Is it possible to snip a bit of the living coral and superglue or rubber band it to the skeleton heads? And have it live, that's sort of important...

[menglish]

I think you can do this. However, i have never done this. I do remember a video from MileHigh reefer where he fragged his and the pieces were all doing well

[ReefdUp]

I've fragged various bubble corals, and different species frag better/worse than others. Can you post a photo?

 

Me personally, I'd rather just cut off the dead heads and let the coral continue growing naturally than trying to cut some off to reglue onto the dead spots. Typically the dead spots are dead for a reason (getting stung, high light/water flow, etc.), so the new frags won't have a good chance there. If it wasn't one of those similar reasons, I find that the new bits take forever to rejoin with the old bits, so the coral looks awkward for a while.

[astroboy]

I should have been more clear. Is it possible to snip of a piece of the actual tissue (no skeleton) and superglue it, etc. I'll post a picture this evening. 

 

Thanks. 

[DaJMasta]

Haven't tried, but I would doubt it.  That sounds basically like a more traumatic version of polyp bailout in other LPS, and it's quite rare for another coral that bails from its skeleton to be able to live, let alone one that was cut out of it.

[ReefdUp]

37 minutes ago, astroboy said:

I should have been more clear. Is it possible to snip of a piece of the actual tissue (no skeleton) and superglue it, etc. I'll post a picture this evening. 

 

Thanks. 

 

No. I've never seen this work, and I rehab corals extensively. It would be like taking a slice off your leg and sticking it to your arm. The bubble coral needs its skeletal structure, its digestive system, etc. It's possible with other corals, but not with a bubble coral.

 

When a coral self-propagates, it includes a start of skeletal mass.

 

During polyp bailout, the tissue leaves intact but without the skeleton. These have atrocious survival rates, as they are missing the skeletal structure. They can live for a while, but it's rare for them to survive long enough to regenerate a skeletal structure.

 

As mentioned, cutting a piece of tissue off would be the non-survival version.

 

Recommend a hard "no" on this.

 

Post a photo, and we'll see if we can find other ideas for you to consider.

[astroboy]

Thanks. The heads died a few years ago, I think because the MH lights were going bad after just a few months (?). It would make for more complete coverage, so to speak, if I get tissue growing on them but not a big deal at all. I was thinking that for sexual reproduction new corals have to start from basically nothing and perhaps could regenerate. I remember a few years back Doug Arthur table sawed anemones in half and they did OK, just wondered if anyone had ever tried something like that with LPS like bubbles.

[ReefdUp]

Sawing LPS in half is much different than just taking a tissue sample. You'll need a substantial portion of the gastrointestinal tract, some skeleton, etc. You could frag off a piece of your bubble, depending on the species.

 

Again, there are some corals (the ones without skeletons), where just taking a piece of them is likely viable. Bubble corals need a portion of everything to heal and regrow.