11 October 2003
Anthony Calfo__Coral Propagation
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Anthony Calfo was farming corals more than 10 years ago in a greenhouse in Pittsburg PA. He had a semi-tractor deliver 48,000 lb of aragonite sand and set up 20 240 gallon tanks. Surprisingly, too much heat was the concern even in the more northerly climate, but evaporative cooling was sufficient. Even hobbists with no intention of commercial sales should know haw to fragment their corals in order to prune and groom them. We all know the conflict waiting when corals grow too close to neighbors. Allelopathy is the chemical warfare between competitive animals. Divers and experienced aquarists recognize the crowded conditions in most reef tanks is not a natural situation. This invisible chemical warfare can take as long as three years to claim victims and could well be the cause of many problems experienced 2 or 3 years after setup. Another conflict occurs when corals from different depths are placed together. At 60-80 feet of water the light is only 1% the strength at the surface. The situation is many hardy corals will survive but not thrive. Educate yourself to the natural habitat of your corals.
In the wild corals use fissionary growth to expand their dominance. Storms may fracture branches or rip encrusting corals. These are the techniques we as hobbyists can use. Always wear gloves to prevent infecting your animals and to prevent their occassional venom from affecting yourself.
Anemones and Corallimorphs
Superglue only works for dry stoney corals and sill not work on a mucous coat. Cut anemones with a scapel into half by starting in the middle and slicing outwards towards opposite sides. These animals are aggressive and shed irritants. Always feed small bits of meat at least 3 times a week and within two weeks, their wounds should be healed. Anemones are not sustainable in nature and do not repopulate and area scoured of specimens. They have a natural long life without predators and are not geared up for breeding. Our in tank cultivation is the only responsible choice. The common white anemone is in fact starving and has expelled its natural brown zooanthellae and is in deperate need of of forced feeding with zooplankton the size of mysis shrimp. Most corals want meat. Be careful that if feeding frozen food that all pack water is disposed of and not allowed into the tank. Except-- it helps put two drops into the tank 10-15 minutes before feeding to trigger a feeding tentacle response. You should also pause the pumps, but ensure they automagically restart. Target feeding is possible with a syringe attached to rigid airline tube with a short flexible tubing joint.
Ricordea
These are corallimorphs from the shallow water and do not feed on particles, but rather by absortion of nitrogen. This means the pristine zero nitrate environment often sought after will cause this coral to suffer. Divide it by cutting in half but be warned, they usually are slow to heal. Be sure to keep your animals moist while slicing and you can use an Iodine solution as an antiseptic. It is critical that temperature of any holding water is stable during the prodcedure. Most necessary is to return the coral to the exact location spot where it was thriving before the surgery. Water changes can replace most necessary nutrients except for calcium, iodine, and perhaps strontium.
Finger, Colt, Leather corals
First wave the polyps shut so that no soft tissue is trapped between your hand and the skeleton. Holding the coral upside down, cut circumference slice like a "donut". Move back to the original location but ensure the fragments are lower and further from the light.
Open Brain
Cut along the septa ridges with a diamond saw.
Turbinaria, Cup coral
These are from deeper water requiring modest light while the Pagoda species is from shallow. They are among the most hardy of all corals to damage and come closest to being a true "beginner's coral". Simply break apart.
Galaxea
These corals have long
sweeper tentacles and are aggressive. Cut with bone shears.
Planulation [ larval clones ] & Anthocauli [ budding ]
Many corals, Hammer, Torch, Bird's Nest,
Pocillopora Damicornis, if feed with fatty acids and lipids such as Selcon and allowed to reach critical mass will drop planula. It takes 2-3 years and a size the volume of a small melon in a favorable low stress environment. Neptheids will internally brood spawn planula. During these events the ample mucous being shed needs to be removed by protein skimming. It is letal to other neighbors.
Neptheids
These are juicy and soft and it is important not to let them droop from loosing this internal fluid. It is also irritating to other tank neighbors. The best way to divide is to use a constriction like two plastic tie wraps. You can then cut between them.
Fungiidae
These are the mushroom disc corals. They are an LPS and can regenerate from what even seems like dead skeletons. When healthy they use anthocauli budding to reproduce.
A few notes on tank setup:
Anthony feels the combination of a deep sand bed at least 4" deep and a refugium as a food source are both essential to long term coral health. The sand bed provides micronutrients for absortion out of the water column by corals. If a minumum depth of 4" is maintained you also get the benefit of anerobic nitrate conversion. He also mentioned that after 18-24 months, half of all the original aragonite will have dissolved. This also needs to be a consistant sugar fine sand.
Lighting can be very sucessful over a shallow tank without the expense of metal halides. In fact greenhouse and garden shed natural light is his preferred method. If using artificial lights, he suggests looking into the growers advertisements in "High Times" magazine for the same manufactureres at half the cost. There is no need for 400W or 1000W lamps on the typical 24" deep hobbyist tank. In fact most corals need more food in the form on tiny meaty particles to supplement what might already be adequate light. Use of a PAR meter is the only sure way to know if adequate light is reaching your corals. Even the tiny algae floating in the tank or yellow dyes seeping from calurpa can cut the light transmission severely. Polish your water with either carbon or ozone. Newly cut corals can be shielded from the lamps by placing a grid of fiberglas window screen above them in multiple layers. Then remove a layer each day to slowly acclimate them to full spectrum light.
A refugium growing a macro algae is highly desirable for the food that will reproduce in the fiber matrix. Avoid Calurpa but try Chaetomorpha [spaghetti algae] or Gracilaria or the beautiful purple Ochtodes.
Final Advice:
Always be aware these animals survive by being toxic to their competition. Wear gloves and even use face shields if necessary. And remember your contaminated skin could be just as toxic to them. Propagation ensures the continuation of our reef culture.
