Devil's Hand Leather

tj51

Member
I bought what I believe is a devil's hand leather; it is a yellowish brown with smooth "fingers" about 1" each. (if I'm wrong on the ID please correct me).
Anyway it is growing out of sight and I was wondering 1) if it is in fact a devil's hand, and 2) how to frag it It's probably about 8" long with tons of "fingers"
Thanks
 

wfd1008

Member
if you had a pic, it might help. i bought one several years ago and every now and the one of the fingers would start to "drop". i just chalked it up to either the crabs or the shrimp were taking it upon themselves to enjoy a light snack. the little pieces that would fall off did grow. one night i did cut a couple of the fingers off and they made it, but after reading some threads on here, it sounds like that's not a smart idea to do in your DT due to possible chemical release
. as far as is it a devil's hand, well since i bought it i've seen several different leathers that were called devil's hand, but after doing some research, i don't think that what i have is a devil's hand. i would post a pic of it if i knew how, but oh well. so, the best thing i could tell you is google devil's hand coral and see what pops up.
 

gurgle

Member
If it's a devil's hand, I can tell you it does it's own multiplying. It drops off it's babies,or fingers & then all you do is place them on a rock ,white edge to the rock where you want it & within a day or 2 it will stick itself to the rock. When it starts to drop babies the fingers will look as if something is tearing the flesh or cutting the finger off, this usually takes 2-3 weeks ,or longer once you see the cutting of the finger start. I have one,about 12 inches round that's out of control, babies everywhere!!!
 

tj51

Member
Cool, at what point do they start dropping? Is it when it reaches a certain size?
Thanks for the reply!
 

gurgle

Member
I believe mine started around 8-10 inches, and yes it will start once it reaches a certain size. And no problem, love to give info. when I can, usually its myself that needs it!
I'll get a pic of mine on over this weekend, to show you what they look like dropping off.
 

nycbob

Active Member
if u cant wait, u can just cut a 1 inch piece off the main coral. devils hand is very hardy. just make sure to cut it outside the tank. try to get a clean cut. i cut my toadstool every 2 months and give the frags away. leathers can grw fairly fast.
 

tj51

Member
Mine is getting close to that size, but I have it mounted on a rock (poor rock) and "hangng" over a bunch of live rock. I wonder if that will keep the rascal from reproducing? Only problem is I have no room to put him on the sand
 

gurgle

Member
When it starts they will drop, they hang on for a couple of days, so you can cut them off easily. Mine is actually mounted sideways in the rocks & it hangs over the sand. If it gets any bigger I'll have to sell or trade it off!
 
S

saltyshogun

Guest
What a great looking leather! Any pics scaled back to better get an idea of the size? Thanks for the good tips on fragging these.
 
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