REEF AQUARIUM CORAL PROPAGATION LAB
SUPER GLUE RESEARCH PROJECT

Geothermal Aquaculture Research Foundation, Inc

REEF AQUARIUM BREEDERS GROUP - CORAL FARMING RESEARCH PROJECT


LIVE ROCK REEF RESEARCH PROJECT
1726 Merrill St.

Boise Idaho 83705
U.S.A.
Email: leroy@garf.org

- GROWING LIVE ROCK FOR PROFIT -

Please print this page for later use!

NEW

FREE ONLINE CORAL FARMING SCHOOL
REEF AQUARIUM CORAL FARMING SCHOOL
This site will teach you to grow many types of reef aquarium corals

ALGAE CONTROL CENTRAL
REEF JANITORS ALGAE CONTROL CENTRAL
Use this site to solve your reef aquarium algae problems, and help support our research!!!



GEOTHERMAL AQUACULTURE RESEARCH FOUNDATION HOME PAGE

Super Glue evaluaton page

ALGAE CONTROL ORDER PAGE
Your low cost source for reef janitors


This is the data collection page for the

CAPTIVE REEF BREEDERS GROUP SUPER GLUE RESEARCH PROJECT


THESE PAGES WILL INTRODUCE YOU TO MANY METHODS THAT WE USE TO PRODUCE INVERTEBRATES IN CLOSED SYSTEMS.





Please help us with our continuing research by keeping track of your experiments. Any data that you can supply will increase the rate that we can speed the marine hobby toward PROPAGATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE HOBBY. You can report any findings directly to GARF by visiting our home page at . If you do not yet have internet access you can mail your findings and questions to
GARF, inc. Captive reef breeders group 1321 Warm Springs Boise, Idaho 83705

Keep cutting them up and spreading them around!


Super glue is used to attach many types of marine invertebrates to base rock. Several members of the Geothermal Aquaculture Research Foundation, Inc. are conducting research to improve the production of aquacultured live rock. The foundation is developing a "cookbook" method for land based live rock aquaculture. Using traditional methods of attachment, it is very difficult to clone many slow growing red and brown Macro algae. Some soft corals that grow in branching forms are cut in half by rubber bands when this technique is used. Very small polyps, such as Zoanthids, are often lost or damaged. To overcome this problem we use several types of Super Glue to attach clones to base rock. This method has increased the success rate of creating clones of many delicate species.


Our research on live rock production in closed systems started in 1973. When aragonite base rock is placed in a closed aquarium the only organisms that usually grow on it are coraline algae. This is because systems have not been developed that can support the total life cycle of many marine invertebrates. One type of live rock we are growing is a mixed species rock with five to seven invertebrates on it. We are testing many methods of attaching cuttings to base rock material at the live rock laboratory. These cuttings are attached with rubber bands, netting, fishing line, epoxy putty, and by holding them in place between two small stones.

Each of these methods work very well on some cuttings. Several methods work on Sarcophyton and other rigid type soft corals. Sinularia and Lytophyton type soft corals that grow in branching forms have been more difficult to attach. Polyps of colonial anemones can be attached to base rock with rubber bands. This method is difficult to use when small polyps are attached. The rubber bands have to be stretched tightly across the polyps to hold them in place. This method of attachment often cut the small zoanthids in half. Pipe coral sections such as green star polyps have to be held tightly in place so the section can bond to base rock. The rubber bands can cause the polyps to die where they cover them. This problem can be treated by using Hydrogen peroxide, but on small specimens the success rate is low.

Many red and brown algae are very slow growing, and they are difficult to attach to base rock. Acropora and other small polyped stony corals can be attached with epoxy type glues. We experienced the loss of the polyps covered with the epoxy and several rows of polyps above the glue. Goniopora and other corals produce offspring that tend to get lost in the aquarium. It was difficult to attach these poylp balls to a base rock. Many members of the foundation are growing live rocks. This diverse group is always trying new methods of attaching clones to the base rock.


For the last two years we have been using several types of super glue to attach these and many other cuttings to base rock.