A Coral Balancing Act? (how to place)

[QuAcKeR]

This is probably a question with a very obvious answer, but I'm asking it anyway!

What do you do with a new coral frag that is mounted? How do you go about placing it in your tank? I got 3 new corals today ( GSP, Pocilliapora, and Xenia) and right now the GSPs are just sort of balancing on the side of my LR (middle of pic, purple). The Xenia sits up top alright, but I think a snail could knock it off. I put the Pocilliapora directly on the sandbed. Is this how it's done?

None of my books say what to do... and it never really crossed my mind until now. The only other coral I have is some button polyps, and they were on a pretty big rock so I left 'em on the sandbed.

If the frag is unmounted it is my understanding that you'd glue it to a small piece of rock... but then how do you secure that small piece in your tank?

My current setup:

[cyberchef]

You can use epoxy (2 part) stick or super glue gel to secure the frags to your LR or try to find a nook or cranny that they will naturally sit in... BTW, the GSP will eventually cover that whole rock... If you choose to leave the Pocilapora on the SB you will need to eventually attach it to a larger piece of LR or it will be top heavy (once it starts to grow... )

[QuAcKeR]

Well look who dropped by to answer my question! Thanks for the frags cyberchef! I finally have some real life in my tank.

Yesterday I bought some super glue 'just in case' (Loctite Quick Tite Super Glue), I just wasn't sure if it would bond underwater.

Thanks!

[RWD]

I like using the two part epoxy stick to mount frags. It forms a putty-like material that is easy to mold. The nice thing is in a short time it will be covered in coraline and you won't see it. Bob

[Buzz_Hog]

Be careful of those Polyps on the right side. I have some that look very similar and they are Palythoa caribaeorum... It's sting can be lethal...

After doing some research, I've found out that they contain Palytoxin, which is claimed to be the most potent natural toxin in the world. a dose of 5 micrograms is lethal to an average size man.

[QuAcKeR]

My LFS sold me poison?!
Seriously... thanks for the word of caution!

My online searches can only find the picture below as being called Palythoa Caribaeorum. ...but most of the polyp scientific names I'm seeing to have "paly" in them. The story I found on Palytoxin is rather interesting though! LINK

Then from here I found this quote: "I must mention the fact that zoanthids are quite toxic. They produce a substance known as palytoxin (Mebs, 1989) that is one of the most toxic naturally occurring poisons known. This substance was first discovered associated with Palythoa spp. in Hawaii, but has since been found in Zoanthus as well (Fosså and Nilsen, 1998). Palytoxin is apparently produced by bacteria that live in association with zoanthids."

After that came the shocking news!!

A strange side note to this is the anecdotal observation I reported in my column Reef Notes in FAMA magazine that this toxin or another one associated with zoanthids may be able to be aerosolized. An aquarist trying to rid his live rocks of a species of Protopalythoa decided to remove the rocks and spray boiling water on them to kill them. A friend of his contacted me after the aquarist was in the hospital and in serious condition, the doctors unable to determine what had caused a serious reaction and respiratory distress. I pointed out the possibility of a palytoxin reaction, but was skeptical about the aerosol or "toxic fumes" that the aquarist believed made him become ill suddenly. The aquarist later recovered, but slowly. In any case, one should be extremely careful when handling zoanthids, Protopalythoa and Palythoa spp., in particular. Rinse your hands thoroughly with soap and water immediately after contacting them.