Fragging Bubble Coral

[Wolf]

Hi there!
I would like a bubble coral when I get my tank setup and was wondering how to frag bubble coral. I know someone who has a thriving one. It's a normal and about 5-6" in diameter. How do you frag this coral and how do you feed them and what do you feed them?

Thanks a lot,
Will

 

[BBReef]

its actually not probable to frag a bubble coral. you can, but the its not exactly easy. the easiest way is to let the bubble develope buds and grow them out, but this doesnt really happen all that often, and take a long time to happen. if you really want one, id just go buy one, or try to find one for trade in a club or something. if you really want details on how to frag it, just ask, ill try my best to explain it.

 

[Wolf]

Thank you for your response. I'm new to the saltwater hobby and don't really know a lot about fragging corals. What exactly makes bubbles so hard to frag? Can you do something to help it produce buds? Wolf

 

[BBReef]

well most non branching LPS coral are hard to frag because they have one mouth, and to frag them you have to split the mouth in half, which leaves you two halves, which arent very pretty to look at, have a greater risk of getting an infection, and take a long time to grow the other half back.

there are ways to get them to bud, but its not going to unless it is a mature adult. so unless its been established for a year or so, it may not anyway. coral will either reproduce in this way either when stressed, creating clones that can adapt easier or get swept away to better place, or because of natural seasonal changes.

one way to stress the animal safely is to shade it. although this method can be very slow, and if not mature yet, can cause the animal to slowly die. some seasonal changes would lunar cycles, or temperature fluctuations with increased food (plankton blooms).

if you are a new aquarist however, i would still recommend just buying or trading for one, as most aquarists dont want to wait that long for the animal to reproduce and grow.

i hope this helps

 

[Wolf]

Thanks for your info. Wolf