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MAKING CORAL TREES TO INCREASE SMALL POLYP STONY CORAL (SPS) PRODUCTION
A HISTORY LESSON
BOISE GEOTHERMAL PUBLIC RESEARCH AQUARIUM UPDATE

ISSUE # 20 page 3 AUGUST 1998

MAKING CORAL TREES TO INCREASE SMALL POLYP STONY CORAL (SPS) PRODUCTION

This month we will explain how we use coral branches from the live rock shipments to support our small polyp stony coral brood stock colonies. The branches are mounted standing up and they take up VERY LITTLE room in the reef aquarium. We are able to glue many frags to each branch and then we can harvest new frags after the corals have grown into colonies.

WE NOW CUT ALL CORAL HEADS THE FIRST DAY WE RECEIVE THEM

THIS IS THE BASE OF A NEW CORAL HEAD WE PURCHASED
WE REMOVE AS MANY OF THE BRANCHES AS POSSIBLE WHEN THE CORAL FIRST ARRIVES

WE CHOSE THIS COLONY FOR THE FINE COLOR AND WE ARE VERY PLEASED WITH THE RAPID GROWTH

This is a very good way to treat a small head of coral that you have just purchased. We have many reports from people who have brought home very healthy coral heads from the local pet shop only to have these corals start to die from the bottom up. We had this happen several times when we imported these corals. We would try to place the heads so they received good lighting and strong water flow, but often the shaded part of the head would turn white and die. Several times the entire coral would then slowly do the same. We noticed that if we took frags from this coral and attached them to rocks they would often start to grow.

Coral heads grow to fit their environment and there is no way to match this set of ocean conditions in an aquarium. By starting frags in our reef aquariums we allow the new coral heads to grow to match these conditions. We have been bringing in some large heads of captive grown sps corals from the members of our unconnected genetic bank, and we have not had the same problems.

THIS CORAL HAS BEEN CUT TWICE SINCE WE PURCHASED IT

The research we have been doing at Geothermal Aquaculture Research Foundation Inc. GARF during the last three years has produced several new methods of propagating and displaying small polyp stony corals. The one hundred twenty plus types of sps corals we are working with are almost all from captive grown stock. These corals come from all parts of the World and are all being data banked and numbers will be attached to each animal so we will be able to tell you what generation of coral comes from us as well as the species and origin.

We keep these corals in several types of systems with many types of lighting. There are many ways to do coral propagation, and the methods and products discussed in this article have worked the best for us. We will be very careful to not say that one way will work in every situation. These methods are listed so researchers can duplicate this research.

This article will explain the Super glue method we use to attach sps corals, new display methods for creating coral aquascapes, and several ways to produce sps corals for sale. We will explain how to increase the growth rate and sustain their incredible colors. Polyp extension is one way of telling how healthy the animal is and whether or not it is happy in its new environment. We will also explain how we grow these corals in an inexpensive system using VHO lighting. Water quality and flow will be discussed. The most recent research we are embarking on has to do with the feeding of these animals and the zooxanthellae that lives within them.

THIS PICTURE SHOWS SOME OF THE CORALS
WE ARE PRODUCING USING SUPER REEF GLUE.

NOTE THE CORALS GLUED TO THE OVERFLOW BOX

BASIC SPS CORAL PROPAGATION

The corals we are working with are listed below starting with the ones that we have found to be the most hardy. These corals need to be kept in an aged, well established system. We tell our students that their reef aquarium is ready for the first sps corals when the coralline algae spots on the power heads are the size of dimes. We have found that by the time the reef aquarium is growing coralline algae of this size most of the other invertebrates are doing well. We have them start this project by gluing several small fragments of Montipora and Pocillapora to the live rock in the center of the reef. We place these frags about one half way down in the aquarium.

THIS IS ONE OF THE SIX MONTH OLD CORAL TREES
WE MADE THIS TREE BY GLUING THREE DEAD BRANCHES TOGETHER

WE GLUED A DOZEN ONE HALF INCH FRAGS OF THE GREEN SLIMER TO THE BRANCHES.

Most corals have a much easier time adapting to lower light. We will explain how to glue the frags underwater in the next section of this article. Underwater gluing allows us to place the frags anywhere in the reef aquarium. The glue allows us to move the frags up toward the light as they start to grow. Most sps corals are heavy and the glue allows them to stay in place until you decide it is time for them to move up closer to the light or once they have grown out of the water to cut the top off and reattach them in your system.

THIS PICTURE SHOWS ONE OF THE NEW CORAL TREES
WE MADE FROM THE CORAL HEAD SHOWN IN THE FIRST PICTURE

Before placing the sps corals in your established reef system you must make sure to make room for them. This method allows you use space that otherwise goes unused. Although most sps coral frags are small they will grow fast if given the right conditions so it is important to take into consideration the amount of room they will need for future growth. We have learned that it is best to place the sps corals from each colony on a different branch . The coral frags will soon grow together and form a colony.

SMALL POLYP STONY CORAL MONTIPORA - POCILLOPORA - SERATOPHORA - HYDNOPHORA -- PORITES - PAVONA -STYLOPHORA - ACROPORA - ANACROPORA -

PROJECT #1 - GLUING FRAGS TO CORAL BRANCHES

WE USE THIS METHOD ON CORALS OTHER THAN ACROPORA
THIS IS A PAVONA SPECIES We often receive sps corals that look brown and once they are placed in our systems for a month the color changes to green, pinks and even purple. We use VHO's over most of our systems. We end up with at least 10 watts per gallon of light, doing this gradually so as not to shock any of the tank mates.
We have worked with some wonderful people in this hobby who provide incredible propagated animals to our genetic bank. Some of our prized corals come from Steve Tyree, Mike Paletta, Dick Perin, , and many individuals who trade their propagated coral for a new one that they do not have yet.
We have taught several of the larger coral farmers this method of attaching sps corals. They have reported that they can now propagate these corals with a savings of two thirds on labor. These farmers had been using epoxy to attach the corals before.

Before using the super reef glue we did our homework and tested the different glues on the market and found out that the Army was using glue on humans when they were wounded during the War. Note when you glue your fingers together it doesn1t hurt it just sticks. Since then we have over used way over 1100 grams of glue in our systems. Sometime it is found to be on my cloths or on my hands. I even accidentally glued my dog to the floor (some glue had dripped on the floor and my dog is always under foot and she stepped on it and could not figure out why she could not move). Fragments of sps corals do extremely well when glued with thick super glue. Only the center skeleton is attached at first. These cuttings have been very strong even before the tissue grows down onto the base rock. In a very short period of time you will notice that the animal begins to grow right over the glue and unto the rock itself. We learned that when we use this method for attaching corals the cut heals right away, and this allows the animal to recover from the propagation immediately. Several fragments have fallen in the aquarium.

We have noticed that once the animal has grown over the super reef glue and unto the rock you can pop off the original frag and place it on a new rock with the glue and have the old one that attached to the first rock continue to grow and develop into branches and soon be ready for fragging in the future.

One of the reasons we did not like the epoxy is that it took a very long time for coralline algae to grow on it. It also takes a long time for the epoxy to set, and what we can do in a short period time takes hours with the epoxy method. The sps coral covers the super glue in a few weeks in our systems. We are now buying many of our new frags unmounted so we can glue them in our systems. This way of purchasing sps corals can often save money because the grower does not have any time in the grow - out. If you purchase frags this way be certain that each type is bagged in a separate bag. We only put corals together that came from the same colony. We often receive three to five frags in one bag and they all do fine. We float the bag until the water is the same temperature as the reef aquarium. These corals can be mounted the same way as the freshly harvested ones from your aquarium. Small pieces of small polyp stony corals can be glued to branches by breaking off small pieces from the colony. These frags are glued one inch apart. The bases grow together and the coral forms a natural looking head very soon.

The most interesting thing is that none of the polyps around the base die. When we use epoxy some tissue always dies. I love to watch the polyps grow down onto the base rock. They form a circle of polyps around the fragment, and then new branches start up from this base. Some of the bases are now over four inches wide. We have removed the original cuttings, and the bases are growing several new branches. Some of the colonies have been cut four times and they now have over sixty branches. It seems the more attention you pay to these sps corals the better results you will see. We tend to propagate them often and spread the risk to different systems in the Foundation to make sure that one animal will survive. We honestly have loss more animals due to freight than any other reason.

TOOL LIST

1/2"wood chisel

Small wire cutting pliers

Tweezers

two small bowls full of reef water

Cutting board

Small plastic pans
MATERIAL LIST

glue type Super glue

Reef aquarium safe coral branches - Coral rubble - thin Aragocrete^TM branches

Coral to be cut

Paper towels
Make sure to have a towel in place to wipe your hands and to clean up spills.

THIS METHOD WORKS VERY WELL ON CORALS THAT PRODUCE SMALL FRAGS SUCH AS THIS HYDNOPHORA
Prepare the fragments by breaking a small branch from the parent colony. This can be done by using a small pair of pliers. We use side cutting pliers to snap the frags from the colony. The coral will break rather than cut. Grip the branch firmly and twist it gently.
These frags are placed in a plastic pan of reef water. If at all possible it is best to make your cutting outside of the reef tank so that the toxic slime released when propagating is not left in your system. I always treat with the Sea Chem Reef Plus after propagating both the sps corals and the soft corals.

Choose the branches and prepare the attachment sites.

Place the fresh cut frag on the paper towel for 10 seconds. Apply the thick super glue to the prepared site on the base rock. One drop is usually sufficient. Pick up the cutting and press the newly cut fragment to the prepared site. Making sure that you pay attention to which side you glue down to the branch. The freshly cut frag should be attached right where you made your cut. It is harder to tell which side you should glue when receiving coral frags from a dealer but usually the side that is widest is the side to place the glue and adhere to the branch.

If we have a problem with any algae we place a handful of our Reef Janitors in these grow out systems. Our newest finding is the remarkable bubble algae eating Emerald crab that eats several kinds of algae that the other Janitors won't touch.

- NEW -
WE NOW PUT A SMALL DROP OF GLUE ON OUR FINGER AND THEN WE TOUCH IT TO THE SITE UNDERWATER WHERE THE CORAL WILL BE ATTACHED
We have been gluing many frags to coral branches underwater. When a new colony comes into the lab we break off several of the lower branches. We apply a small ammount of glue to the branch first so the frag sticks in seconds. We then apply glue type super glue to the broken part of the coral. A ball of glue the one half the size of a used pencil eraser will hold most frags in place. We pick a spot in one of the show tanks, and quickly push the frag against the small ammont of glue we have just applied. A slight twist to spread the glue on the surface of the live rock helps. Count to 6 and release the frag. Not only does it hold the new cutting in place it gives you the freedom to move it when you need to. Just pop the animal off by the glue and reglue it to the next location.

- Research update -
We have been doing tests to determine the best size of frags to use to produce cuttings for sale. It seems that with many of the species of Acropora the smaller cuttings grow faster than larger ones. Smaller cuttings are often less than 1/4 inch long. The larger cuttings are over 1 inch long. Many of the small cuttings have grown much faster.

We have noticed that the sps coral will grow right over a snail shell if the shell stays in one place too long. You can notice this in this picture. This coral has been in Sally Jo's system almost two years now and has found new homes all around the US.

WE WILL PHOTOGRAPH THIS CORAL OFTEN AS IT COVERS
THIS SHELL WITH TISSUE.
snail coral

THIS CERITH SNAIL IS AN IMPORTANT REEF JANITOR^TM
THESE ARE ONE OF THE ONLY SNAILS THAT EAT HAIR ALGAE.
ALGAE CONTROL IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE HEALTH OF SPS CORALS
coral

You need to have a system in place that does not have algae problems. Once an algae gets on your sps corals you will probably loose the coral. If you look closely at all the pictures of my systems you will not see any algae, that is because I place the reef janitors in my system and make them part of my monthly maintenance schedule. These janitors do very well in captivity and are tested by our research Foundation to be the best mixture to provide your system with the perfect balance you need to grow these corals. However some do die off from time to time and need to be replaced. Because of all the skimming we do and the other fish we have in our systems these janitors tend not to reproduce or the larva gets skimmed out.

THIS ACROPORA IS GROWING OVER THE SNAIL SHELL.
WE HAVE NOTICED THAT THESE CORALS GROW OVER
SHELLS VERY FAST.
THE NEW TISSUE IS OFTEN VERY BRIGHT COLORED
snail coral

NERITE SNAILS FROM THE REEF JANITOR^TM PACKAGES
EAT DIATOMS AND RED SLIME BEFORE THEY
CAN OVERGROW THE YOUNG CORAL FRAGS
nerite

We look at these reef systems as a continually changing life form. The more your corals grow the more water movement you will need to provide. We never start out a new reef system with intense lights so as to enable my newly set up reef to grow coralline algae and once that has taken hold on all the rock then we begin to increase the lighting gradually over a period of time until it is up to over 10 watts per gallon. In our show tanks we use the VHO's and there absolutely has been NO coral that we have not been able to grow. We have a two year old baby flower pot that came from captivity. The mother had thirteen babies in one year.

SOME NOTES FROM SALLY JO

We are a research facility in Boise Idaho and our mission is to - To provide the citizens of Idaho and the World a showcase collection of aquatic plants, fish, reef animals and products. To stimulate interest in, appreciation for and an understanding of these collections. To be implemented through plant records, public displays, collections, applied research, publications, internship programs and sales of quality products.

Having dedicated our Foundation to this mission we are a Non-profit organization that provides all of our research material to everyone. We post this monthly newsletter on our site www.garf.org. We have published articles in SeaScope, FAMA and Marine Fish Monthly.
We host seminars at our location at least three times a year, with the pioneers of the reef hobby sharing all of their knowledge. We also have an annual reef tour when our members open up their homes and share their reef results with the general public.
We have our next seminar scheduled for Oct. 24 and 25 1998 please call 1-800-600-6163 for details.

We appreciate any feedback from individuals who practice this new method or any other method. This allows us to provide information and status reports on our site.

We add supplements to all of our systems and all of our makeup water. As well as we feed our systems rotifers and green water. Strong light, good water movement and room for them to grow is a must for these special animals.

GARF WILL BE PURCHASING MANY MORE AQUACULTURED CORALS
FROM AS MANY GROWERS AS POSSIBLE. WE WILL MAKE THESE STRAINS
OF CORALS AVAILABLE TO AS MANY NEW FARMERS AS WE CAN.
GARF IS MORE CERTAIN THAN EVER THAT THIS HOBBY WILL GROW
TO SUPPORT ANY REEF FARMER WHO PRODUCES A QUALITY PRODUCT.

I also have found that some of the more brightly colored sps corals do not always like to be right on the top of your system and tend to color up more in lower light so move these corals around until you feel you have given them the best spot in your system. We continue to learn more about the sps corals and are commited to share our knowledge with everyone.

A HISTORY LESSON

Yaacov Y Levi

What has history got to do with marine reef propagation?

Good question, maybe a little, maybe a lot.

I was born and grew up on a dairy farm in upstate NY. I have lived much of my life, by choice, on farms, and so have kept generally abreast or at least aware of what is going on in the dairy industry, it has had a lot of ups and downs in my lifetime(five decades) and seems to be stabilizing, in a negative position relative to what it was in my childhood.

Back in the 1970s the industry went through an interesting phenomenon, that had major adverse effects on it, and caused the bankruptcy of a great many long established farm operations, farms that in many cases had been in the same families for many generations.

The problem began from two basic causes, or at the least, major influences: first of all was low interest , easy credit, and, secondly, much influence on the part of the state and federal government for farmers to expand and to 'take advantage of economy of scale', that is, bigger dairy herds, high tech modernization and larger and more expensive machinery. Much of the influence came through the federal cooperative extension system, and much of it through the Land Grant colleges around the country. Farmers were daily hearing how they should increase in size to be more efficient, and the banks and lending system were telling them how easy it was to borrow to finance this, and of course the equipment dealers and feed companies were all singing the same siren song to increase sales.

Bottom line, tens of thousands of good, sound, solvent, farm operations went into heavy debt to expand, 'modernize' and take advantage of the economies of scale. In the mid 1970s interest rates went up, drastically. A great many of the existing farm loans had been tied to a sliding interest scale, loans taken out at 10-12% were now 16-18%. No amount of increased milk could now pay for the $80,000 tractors needed to make feed for the 100-300 cow herds, and, one by one, then ten by tens and then by the hundreds, good farmers were forced out of business, in either bankruptcy, or selling farms that their grandfathers had passed down to them in order to pay off the huge loans that the governments, lending institutions and vendors had talked the formerly solvent farmers into taking on. The dairy farm industry in this country has still not recovered from this a generation later.

The American dairy farmer will never be the same, EXCEPT, for one small segment, almost totally unnoticed and completely ignored by the 'experts' who led so many astray, and into bankruptcy.

For this one tiny segment of the dairy industry, the siren call of bigger and better, expand and modernize had no appeal, and, their culture made them deeply distrust and suspect the sales pitches of banks, extension agents and salesmen alike. Some of you may have guessed who I am referring to by now.

I refer to the Amish and Mennonite farmers, who were farming as their fathers had, and now, as their grandchildren are, with, family operated, low capitalized (low debt) farms. Some of the farms have a total value less then many of the 4 wheel drive articulated monster tractors sold to the poor souls who bought into the 'expand and modernize' craze that hit the dairy industry in the 1970s. These folks know that handling a lot of money, as in a milk check, does not mean KEEPING a lot of money, there is a big difference. I have had a long contact with many Amish and Mennonite farmers through an interest, lifelong, in draft horses, and was a long time subscriber to the Draft Horse Journal a quarterly publication devoted to the Draft Horse and Draft Mule. It carries many interesting articles of general interest also to the small farmer.

In the early 80s there appeared an article, a reprint of a study done by a graduate student at Ohio State University on the economics of the 'old order'(Amish and Mennonite) farms compared to their neighbors who farmed 'conventionally'. It had a great number of fascinating revelations. The big one of course, which was expected was the overall capitalization or debt load of the old order compared to non Amish farms, more then 10 to 1 , on STARTING farming and it escalated after that. One of the interesting side lights, to me, was the amount of time available after work was done in the two styles, the non-old order farmers were working 65-80 hr weeks on average per week, and never catching up, the old order farmers had almost double the spare time in the weekly schedules to spend after all work was done in social activities, and did. The non-old order farmers were too tired to engage in social activities, even when they had time, they were often out working in the fields late at night when the old order farmers were often in bed after a full day doing what they enjoyed in work and then socializing with their community.

The popular image of the struggling, work- oppressed, horse-drawn farm operations was shown to be a total reversal of the actual true situation, the old order farms, with family labor and operations, were solvent(paying their bills), and had ample leisure time to spend in the ways that they chose to spend it, while their large, over capitalized neighbors were literally working themselves to death trying to pay for and just meet their monthly bills and still going broke by the thousands.

The moral of the story: heavy debt is the kiss of death to a farming operation.

Success lies through low debt load, lots of involved family labor, and careful attention to cost control while producing a good product.

Now, again, what does this have to do with aquaculture, and marine reef propagation?

In the early 80s I lived in southern California, was involved in aquaculture and the aquarium fish trade there, and had contact with many new aquaculture operations in southern California, and in other parts of the country. I saw many programs started by universities that were costing in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, that were pilot projects for aquaculture that soon floundered, not enough competent help, and also other factors.

I saw some of the people involved with these operations, or, who were knowledgeable of them go out into the business world and launch heavily capitalized foundations or commercial ventures with mega bucks financing, and watched them fail. Too much debt, not enough knowledge of the species, and poor marketing.

About the same time I saw an increase in interest in captive marine species propagation operations, and, many have failed, and others are struggling.

Time to start drawing this all together: farming to be successful is a heavy personal involvement activity, without it farms fail, the best example of this is the Russian Soviet mega farms, in which there was little to no personal interest on the part of the workers, each did their small part, and by the 1000s these collective farms failed miserably, it takes personal interest in the whole thing to make farming successful, few employees will show the interest as the owner. Factory farms are proven to be the most inefficient operations in all of farming.

Heavy debt is an anchor around the neck of any farm, whether it is milk cows, draft horses, or raising guppies. High costs of operation are the quicksand in which the debt sinks, pulling the farmer down with it.

Learn from the lessons of recent history.

Set up your reef propagation enterprise with little or no debt, if you can handle the payment of maxing out your credit card, without hurting the other aspects of your life, then go with that, but, be super cautious of taking on any debt that is over what you can handle out of 'petty cash'. The smartest path to take is to 'pay as you go', grow something out, sell it and buy more equipment. You will find plenty of places to put the money that you take in just in buying more equipment and livestock without also making loan payments. Once, you have enough equipment, livestock, and, a MARKET for what you produce, then, and not before it MAY be time to think of a small loan to increase your operation, but never before this. Your income at this point should be at a minimum of equal to your regular income from your day job. by that time you probably have at least a dozen big tanks and numerous vats growing out cuttings and corals and you have established a good relationship with a number of stores and wholesalers for your products.

Then, consider, and only then, consider if you really need a loan, to expand, or, should you just continue as you have to reach that point. I would continue on, and, that is exactly what I intend to do.

Bottom line, learn from, and emulate the Amish and Mennonite farmers, keep your operation simple, do a few things well, and make a good product, take pride in what you produce, and market it well, and, enjoy yourself , and the world that you live in all along the way. Help your neighbors throughout the week, share what you are blessed with, and give a portion back to your Creator who has let you do it all . This is what he has placed you here for, if, we do not enjoy this, then its time to leave it.

FUTURE HOME OF THE BOISE GEOTHERMAL PUBLIC RESEARCH AQUARIUM

The new Aquarium will be constructed in the same manner as a Chambered Nautilus grows. Each section will make the building larger, but the shape of the structure will be the same after each addition.

We are doing the research needed to build the first public aqaurium in the world that will be dedicated to the study of geothermal water and how it can be protected. Many of the nutrients and minerals needed for a healthy ocean come from geothermal sources. Geothermal springs both in the mountains of Idaho and in the deepest parts of the ocean may hold the cure for many diseases. Bacteria from geothermal springs are now being used in new medicines and in modern laboratory methods. The rapid cloning of DNA would not be possible if it were not for some bacteria from Yellow Stone Park.Every year thousands of geothermal springs are dried up because of poor irrigation practices.

This public aquarium will be the only aquarium in the world where you will be able to see cross sections of the many types of thermal springs. These displays will allow study of the habitats and the animals that live in these unique and secret places. Many of the endangered species will be able to be reproduced so they donot become extinct before we even have a chance to name them.

We are proud to announce that we are starting a new project that will allow us to teach at six public aquariums during the next 12 months. We will host weekend seminars on coral propagation and reef rock building. These seminars will be open to the aquarium keepers who work at other public aqauriums in each region. Garf will supply the host aquariums with several dozen free captive raised corals so they can build a display using aquacultured animals. If you work at a public aquarium and you think that this project might fit into your education program please feel free to call us toll free at 1-800-600-6163. There will be no cost for this series of seminars. We have started to data bank corals that many public aquariums have an excess of and we will help them trade these corals with other aquariums who need them and may have too many of some other species.

GARF IS TEACHING PUBLIC AQUARIUMS AROUND THE WORLD TO PROPAGATE CORALS. WE WILL SOON BE STARTING OUR NEW PROJECT TO BRING THE PUBLIC RESEARCH AQUARIUM TO THE CITIZENS OF IDAHO

WETLAND RESEARCH

REEF PROPAGATION RESEARCH

GEOTHERMAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

More later - LeRoy