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Today was my first attempt at fragging xenia. I don't have a big tank, and I don't really want the xenia to get out of control, so I decided to cut some out today. I decided to go with the sewing method that I first heard from DRO, then I read a little more about in Anthony Calfo's Book of Coral Propagation. Good book BTW. I'm still a little jittery about slicing and skewering, but if this turns out ok I probably won't be anymore.

The tools I used were simple. Scissors, needle and thread, and some tupperware to keep the cut peices/mucus stuff in.




What I did:
First I grew the xenia. I then used some stainless steel scissors to cut the xenia. I cut 3 stalks off my colony(if you can call it that).



I tossed those into the little tupperware with some tank water in it that I had floating in my sump to keep warm(my house stays a relatively cool 60F in the winter). I also put some large live rock rubble in there as well. Those I will tie the xenia down to.

I took the three stalks that I had already cut from the main display and I cut each in half. I figured "hey, why not get 6 for the price of 3?"

I threaded the needle and wet the thread in tank water - I didn't think they would appreciate me dragging dry thread through their wet tissue. I skewered each peice close to the base,


pulled the xenia half way down the line,


and tied it down to the rock:


I put the peices in the tray to stay wet and warm while I continued with the rest of the peices.

I then placed all 6 peices into the same lighting and water conditions as the mother colony and in a low flow area(which the main colony already happened to be in).


I'll try to keep this thread updated on how they turn out. I plan to keep them for as long as they need to become healthy and attach to the rock. But at the very least I'll keep them 2-3 weeks so they can grow a bit before I take them to the store for .

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Very interesting and nice pictures MBB. Good luck with your endeavor and hopefully all will survive and prosper.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Thanks Jim, they are already coming out and pulsing after 1 day! Some are even starting to attach to the rocks I put them on. I'm pleasantly surprised at how well they are doing.

Here's a pic after 1 day:


I think the next update will probably be about a week from now to see how they are doing then.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

What an amazing difference from when you first put them back into the tank!! I'm looking forward to your updates as to how they are doing.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Nice post Matty...did the thicker thread seem to work ok to anchor them down? As soon as I start to aquire corals again Ill start doing step by step fragging documentation on some of the more tricky corals like plate corals, ridge hammers, echinos, and Acans...whip out the dremel and rubberbands and let the fun begin!

Thanks Jim and DRO. The thicker thread worked great(except when trying to thread the needle ). All six of the frags have entirely attached to the rocks now. I figured I'd still give them some time before I cut the thread off of them though, just to be safe. There's no hurry, I want them to grow a bit before I take them out anyways.

You get the tricky stuff, and I'll do the easy stuff. I've been getting ready to slice up some shrooms. They aren't spreading fast enough on their own.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Welp, all the frags have made it thus far, and I'm assuming will continue to thrive. Aaand a couple pics:

This frag decided that it was going to remove the thread itself and attach in a new location.


This one has already branched, though it's hard to see in the pic:


Group photo:

I hope this helped somebody out there.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients