Taking cuttings from my colt?

[marley]

I have a colt coral that has doubled its size since i bought it 4 months ago. I wouldn't mind taking cuttings from it and giving it to my friend; however, i read that they might release toxins in the water after they are cut. I can't take it out. It is too big and it is also epoxied down. Is it safe to cut or no?

 

[predator]

I would'nt chance it.Not that you could'nt have success but it is true they can release toxins.

 

[wetone]

I have cut my Colt about 8 times and all frag pieces did great as did the "mother" piece.
I take the Colt out of the tank and put it in a small bowl with tank water, slice a piece at least 1-2" with a new, sharp razor blade. I then pierce the piece with a plastic toothpick and elastic band it to a small piece of rubble rock. Put it in the tank with good current and in about two weeks it should have attached itself to the new rock and you can remove the elastic. Make sure you do not put the water from the small bowl you do the cutting in back into the tank as the coral may release some toxins during this process.
Works great....good luck

 

[wamp]

I make cuttings of me red colt monthly. The best way I found to do it is in the tank. I know most people say take it out but this stressed mine out big time. Anyway, leave it in tank and take a zip tie, like you wrap cables up with, and put it around the piece you want to cut. tighten it down just were it barley is tight aroud the piece. Every day or every other day click it once or twice. Eventually after about 6 days it will start to break off.. When it does rubber band it around a small rock and give it about 3 days to root to the rock and presto, your friend has a colt. By the way, in case you did not know the red colt is a hard one to keep so I guess this method would work good on any colt.
Good Luck

 

[marley]

thanks for your help. But, will the coral release any toxins that will harm any other corals after it is cut? Also, a little off topic, bt i noticed that on a couple of its branches its polyps are turning white. Do you have any idea what's going on with it? My percula lays in it every night. can it be getting stressed out?

 

[marley]

Wamp,
One more thing i forgot to ask. Why do you use a zip tie over a few days as oppossed to just one clean cut with a razor?

 

[predator]

Yes, The colt can release toxins in the water!!!I pesonally like the idea of the clean cut myself.I mean why risk it?If you don't take it out of your tank and frag it and it does release toxins you could have big problems.Is it really worth it?I would' nt chance it if I were you.

 

[wamp]

By using a zip tie and slowly cutting the frag off you are causing less stress on the coral. As you all know corals like fish can also be dammaged by stress. The reason behind this is by slowly doing this you are allowing the coral to heal while you cut and no toxins will be released in the water. As far as the Toxins are concerned they are VERY mild and usually do not affect anything in your tank. By giving it a whack you are allowing bacteria and parasites to enter the coral where it is most at risk.. The center or as I call it the life Line. I am currently working on a downloadable video of me doing this and showing step by step instructions on this method. I have shown many people and they have all had success. I will let you know when I get my website up and you can download it. By the way, Rubberbands work to but not as good if you ask me.

 

[jmsullivan]

Do you think this method with zip ties would work on zenias?

 

[wamp]

For cuttin zenia i the a rock and put it next to the "mother colony". ONce they are touching i take a rubber band (loosley) and band the stalk down to the new rock. Most of the time it takes about 4 days and it attatches to the new rock. After it attatches I take a blade and cut the connecting piece and move the new rock. By the way. A friend of mine has a zenia tank. I will tell you how he propagates but I do not reccomend this! But it works like crazy for him. Take an 802 powerhead and remove the bottom screen and throw a stalk of zenia in. It cuts it up and spits it out. In one week it is all over the place.He does this in a tank dedicated for growing this weed called zenia. i cant spell

 

[saltydog]

I've taken three different cuttings from by colt over the last 6 months. I've used a clean sharp razor blade without removing the coral from the tank. I then rubber band the cut coral to a piece of rubble rock. In about 1 week they have taken hold. I've given these pieces to friends for their tanks.
I have not had a problem w/ toxins in the tank. Maybe I've just gotten lucky?

 

[wamp]

Not lucky Salty, Just the fact that the toxins are so mild. I think alot of people think they are really strong but they are not. The only reason for this is to ward of parasites and bacteris from an open wound. Not to kill other animals.

 

[indy1]

Make the cuts. i hvae made several cuts on my sacrophytons and kenya tree coral. No problems and all cuttings have lived. Use sharp scissors or a new razor blade.