Xenia Fragging Question

[CarmieJo]

I have some xenia growing on the rock that my BTA lives on. I want to frag the xenia but can't remove the rock from the tank. I've watched the video and read through the other threads and want to make sure that I have this right. The xenia is growing in a band perhaps 3/4 inch wide. I thought that I would make a cut with an exacto knife about an inch down from the leading edge and then use the blade of the knife to peel the xenia off the rock. Do you think that this will work?

[wwest]

there are a few ways of doing that. the way you discibe would work but if you do "cut" them that close i dont know if the juices would do anything. however if you could find a way to scrape them off i dont think any juices would extrude. but like i said i dont know if they are harmful that close to something esle or not. i have done both ways and worked out well..

and remember if you have a breathing mask wear it if you plan on taking them out of the tank. they stink!! :)

[CarmieJo]

I don't want to remove them from my tank entirely, just try to take some to a frag swap next week. So should I try to scrape them off first then cut when I get as many as I think I want? This part has to be done in the tank because of the anemone. Then I'm planning to ziptie them to a piece rubble. I'm thinking that I'll have to take them out of the tank to do this part. :)

[wwest]

i would just scrape them. if you can of course. if you cut them and you have perfect xenia water levels the base will grow back within no time. if you scrape them they might not grow back...

[V]

Propagating Pulsing Corals
What you need:


Substrate
Scissors / Scalpel
Needle & Thread
Superglue

Method

Step 1 - Select a healthy parent coral to propagate from. You should look for an animal that is growing well, showing good polyp extension (and pulsing well!), displaying good colouration and is generally in an all round healthy condition.
Step 2 - Select the branch / section of coral you wish to remove and cut it from the parent animal cleanly, with a pair of scissors or a scalpel. The cutting will shrink a little, as will the parent. The parent coral should recover from this within an hour or so, and the 'wound' should completely heal within a week (maximum).
Step 3 - There are two ways of attaching Pulsing coral cuttings to their substrate:
Firstly you can use a needle and thread to 'stitch' the cutting onto the substrate (if you are using a Milliput 'plug', punch a hole for the threads at either end when you prepare it!). The stitching should be fairly tight, but not excessively so, as this will damage the tissue. As a rough guide, you should not be able to see "daylight" between the cut base of the cutting and the substrate after you have stitched it. It is best to use two "loops" of thread, in case the cutting tries to 'escape' from it's new home!
Alternatively you can place the cutting on the gravel bottom of the tank, in an area of low water movement (you may need to setup a shallow plastic bowl filled with gravel for this purpose). After a few days the cutting will attach itself to one or more grains of gravel. At this point you can superglue these gravel grains onto a suitable substrate, which the cutting will then completely encrust within a matter of days.
http://www.coralgarden.co.uk/images/prop-pulsing1.jpg

Gold Pulsing Xenia frags "growing out" in

my home coral farming system.

Step 4 - Place the new frag in a suitable position in the tank - preferably with the same amount of water movement and light as the parent coral was in. Within a week the cutting should have encrusted the substrate completely, and be growing well! If we leave Xenia frags in place in our systems for too long, they tend to attach to the shelving (see picture above!).
Step 5 - Rinse any equipment you have used in freshwater, to remove any coral mucus and saltwater. Wash your hands thoroughly!


hope it helps carmie

link1 (http://av.rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0Je5XSRWt5EHiEALSqDBqMX;_ylu=X3oDMTBwMjNqdWV sBHBndANhdHdfd2ViX3Jlc3VsdARzZWMDc3I-/SIG=12ip0721p/EXP=1155509265/**http%3a//www.reefsuk.org/articles/coralpropagation/propxenia.pdf)

link2 (http://www.ctsa.org/upload/publication/CTSA_137631672857511427488.pdf)

[CarmieJo]

Good info, thanks Wesley & V.