The Porites Fragging Saga, Updated 3/7/07

[Devilishturtles]

You guys might remember, I got a nice chunk of Porites on the underside of a colony of star polyps that I bought, so I set about trying to figure out a way to get it off. I figured I'd use a knife to cut away some errant star polyps and then dremel away the coral. It was quite a fiasco, but it worked.



Here is my first effort at cutting with the dremel just for practice. I tried to stay clear of the Porites itself because I didn't want it to chip off.

Trying to cut away the Polyps with a knife. I found that prying worked better than cutting. Although they didn't peel off as easily as everyone made it sound.

This is the coral after I finished...broken into 4 pieces which is exactly what I wanted to avoid, but oh well. You can see how bad it looked (it was hanging out under the rock for who knows how long) and I also knicked it with the dremel, as is evident in the white slice across the coral on the right side of the picture. This was taken the day of fragging, January 9.

16 days later, this is what the coral looks like. The "sore" from the dremel has all but healed over. The polyps are out nicely, and the coral is starting to spread.

Overall, a sucessful operation.

 

[Innovator]

Nice job, glad the dremel worked out for you Stubborn lil polyps

 

[roka64]

Nice!

 

[melosu58]

Looks nice Lindsay. Great Job

 

[Devilishturtles]

Thanks guys.

 

[loyalrogue]

Beautiful job, Lindsay.

I wouldn't feel bad about splitting it.
I honestly don't see how anyone would've been able to remove it in one piece on a sliver of rock that thin.

Heck, I probably would've seen it as a mixed blessing, and mounted the frags on 4 seperate plugs.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Thanks!

Heck, I probably would've seen it as a mixed blessing, and mounted the frags on 4 seperate plugs.

If only I had a larger tank...

 

[Devilishturtles]

Heres an updated picture of the Porites, almost a month later from the last update. I've since moved it to a new tank under much higher light (4x39 watt HO T-5) and it's sitting at the top of the tank. I've seen amazing growth in this month, especially considering how bad it looked. It's also starting to change colors slightly, I'm seeing a tinge of orange or yellow in it, and I believe it's trying to also grow up as well as out.

 

[Ziggy953]

I want some I want some!!!!

 

[Devilishturtles]

If it keeps growing this quickly I'll gladly frag a piece for you!

 

[melosu58]

Very nice Lindsay. That speaks volumes about your tank.

 

[Ziggy953]

I agree!!! Very healthy!!!! Beautiful coral too!!!!!!!

 

[Devilishturtles]

Thanks again Mike and Ziggy. I'm liking it more and more.

 

[Devilishturtles]

I noticed yesterday a green tinge to the coral now. It's growing amazingly fast, must be loving to death the T5's.

Concerns/comments/experiences/etc. welcomed.

 

[melosu58]

I noticed yesterday a green tinge to the coral now.

Green tinge is good. They really look good.

 

[MT79]

Polpy extension looks good in the second pic even while being handled , and it sounds like it is starting to color up. Only thing I would suggest is you mount it in it's permanent spot soon. SPS don't really get comfortable until they are in the same spot for awhile. Then they can adjust to the flow and light, and start laying down some base tissue. That's usually when color and growth really take off. Nice job!

 

[Ziggy953]

Wow!! That is looking great!!! Very nice work!!

 

[Devilishturtles]

Thanks guys!

Mike, thanks for the suggestion. I try not to move it at all, but my camera sucks and won't get a good enough shot from far away. I'll try not to move it anymore.

I'm excited.

 

[Ziggy953]

That really is a beautiful looking coral...I bet it is just awesome in person!!

 

[Devilishturtles]

Thanks Ziggy, I can't wait until it gets larger and I'll frag some of it for you.