superglue -- reef safe?

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xnikki118x

Guest
Heyy everyone,
I fragged a lone mushroom from a large piece of rock and have been trying to get it to stick to a small rock ever since. I've tried securing it there with netting, I've tried rubber bands, I've tried garbage bag ties, I've tried thread....nothing has worked. I used each method for about two weeks with no success.
I didn't try sticking a toothpick through the base and into the rock...just seems cruel to me.
Can I superglue the frag to a small piece of rock? I don't want to hurt it. Has anyone ever done this before? Successes/failures? Thanks in advance! :)
 
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glaekenjz

Guest
I have superglued a few frags to small rocks, following the advice of some friends, these boards, and the lfs. I never had a problem with toxicity, only too much slime on my colt for it to stick. Other than that, it worked out great for me.
 
darknes

darknes

Active Member
Superglue should be fine; Superglue gel seems to work the best.
I've also heard you want to make sure it contains cyanoacrylate, but I think all superglue contains this.
Also, you cannot "hurt" your mushrooms. Sometimes I will take one and chop it into a bunch of pieces, and sprinkle them in the tank, so new ones grow all over the place.
 
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xnikki118x

Guest
Originally Posted by Darknes
Sometimes I will take one and chop it into a bunch of pieces, and sprinkle them in the tank, so new ones grow all over the place.
Are you serious? lol, wow....I have two rather large green ones. I guess I should start chopping, hah....
 
wax32

wax32

Active Member
I litterally just now used superglue gel to attach this frag of Sinularia spp. to a piece of my LR. I just put a bead on the frag, waited a few seconds for the bead to form a skin, then mashed it onto the LR and held it a few seconds. Voila! :D
 
wax32

wax32

Active Member
Yup, in fact the water helps cure the glue up fast. At least it seems that way to me.
 
clarkiiboi

clarkiiboi

Active Member
Yeah, I have tried all the ways also, with not so good success either. You can use super glue gel and it is reef safe. For softies though (like your shroom) it wont adhere well. It may look like it does, but in the morning it pops out of the glue. The only other two ways I have made it work is to shove it into a hole or use a small container with rubble in the bottom and add the shroom. Let that sit in a low flow area and hopefully it will attach to the rubble and then it can be attached easier with super glue gel to wherever you want it in the tank. HTH.
 
gfk

gfk

Member
what brand is this gel stuff. i used regular super glue with a success rate of 1 of 2 frags sticking. just made a mess on my fingers otherwise... this sounds good, my hammer is just laying on my sand right now
 
slowest is fastest

slowest is fastest

Member
Regular glue is to thin IMO a net search for super glue gel or a trip to a hobby shop will provide plenty of options...thicker the better.
All soft coral expand and contract to some degree. While glue alone can work, your success rate will be much higher if you use a thin strip of netting or a loose rubberband to help hold it in place until it attaches on its own. The gravel in a cup/bowl will also work but I like to eliminate the extra step of having to glue later. just my preference.
An important note about using super glue gel...Once you have glued the frag you need to place it into water (either back into the tank or rinse it in a bowl of tank water first) Super glue produces a lot of heat as it cures. If you do not place it in water right away you run the risk of damaging the coral.
SiF
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
I recently used the toothpick and rubberband method on a xenia frag. It attached to the rock within 3 days. Once I pulled out the toothpick and remove the rubberband it was perfect.
 
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