Zip Tie Method for Propagating Soft Corals

[FragOutpost]

I heard about this method some time ago and decided to givve it a try. This method works for propagating branching soft corals like leathers, sinularia, etc. Basically what you do is wrap a zip tie around a branch and tighten it every couple of days. Eventually the branch will seperate from the main colony and grow a new foot. Using this method virtually eliminates the slime that is associated with the cutting soft corals and can potentially decrease the amount of time that it takes the frag to grasp a footing on a piece of rubble.

Here are the corals that I used the method on. A blushy leather and a sinularia.

[FragOutpost]

The corals will retract making this method a little tricky to get the zip tie in place. Try to get the zip tie as far down on the branch as you can.

[FragOutpost]

Zip tied the sinularia.

[FragOutpost]

Place the colony in an area of low flow to prevent the frags from drifting away when detached. I tightened the zip ties a click or two every few days. After about 10 days the branches had detached.

[FragOutpost]

This photo show the root like protusions that extend from the foot used for attaching to rocks.

[FragOutpost]

Here are the frags after being superglued to some rubble. Normally I wouldn't use superglue to attach to soft coral cuttings because of the slime that is usually generated during cutting. I made the exception this time because the cuttings had developed a hardened foot and I predict that they will attach rather quickly.

[FragOutpost]

This method also works well if the corals are attached to rocks that can not be removed from the tank without too much disruption.

[D12monkey]

:cool: Very cool. Awesome info. :director: