PULSE CORAL PROPAGATION PAGE
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LIVE ROCK REEF RESEARCH PROJECT
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Boise Idaho 83705
U.S.A.
TRUE WHITE FIJI POM POM XENIA
BALI TWO COLORED XENIA
POM POM AND BALI XENIA IN REEF
ALGAE
CONTROL
CENTRAL
REEF JANITORS ALGAE CONTROL CENTRALUse this site to solve your reef aquarium algae problems, and help support our research!!!
This page will teach you to propagate Pulse corals and related soft corals
research data entry form
CONTENTS
IMPORTANT
1. Keep the Iodine level up by using Sea Chem Reef Plus at twice the regular dose.
2. Keep the reef below 76 degrees.
3. Move the Xenia into as many tanks as possible.
4. Keep cutting and trimming the colonies.
PULSE CORALS
SUBCLASS -Alcyonria -Soft Corals
ORDER -Alcyonidae
FAMILY -Xeniidae
THIS IS THE PAGE THAT WE NEED THE MOST INPUT AND HELP ON!!!
Please add your findings to the data that we are making available on this page.research data entry form
PROPAGATING XENIA CORAL
Xenia sp.
Most of the Xenia that have in the unconnected genetic bank have large polyps with pinnated tentacles that move in a rhythmic motion. These polyps are connected at the base. The colors we have are cream, biege, and light brown. We have just received a new colony from Bali that is cream with brown edges on the polyps. This Xenia is growing very fast. It is the finest looking pulse coral I have ever seen!
NEW
We have been able to propagate this Xenia by cutting off one polyp and placing it on a reef plug under a piece of fine netting. The best way to remove one polyp is to suck the polyp up into a air line tube and snip it off with a pair of scissors. The embossed type of fine bridal veil has worked very well for this type of production. We hold the netting in place with a rubber band.
Xenia elongata
This Xenia is much more branched than the other species. It is growing three inch long branches that are connected at the base.
We have been propagating all of our Xenia by placing them next to the rocks we want them to grow on. After they have spread to the new rock it is moved to a new location.
Fiji Pom Pom Xenia
This xenia can be grown using the single polyp method. The safest way to produce this xenia is to place small rocks around the colony and remove the ones that the xenia attaches to.
Here is a E-mail message we received from Jason Kim.
Subject: propagation of pulsing Xenia corals
FromUser: Jason Kim
CommentType: Invertebrate cloning research input
MessageText: I have found that the soft coral known as "pulsing xenia", which tends to ship very poorly, does amazingly well once settled into the aquarium.
This coral can be stimluated to grow and divide rapidly under certain conditions, I have found. One must provide them with intense light (a period of adjustment up to high levels may be required), a very strong current, and daily iodine additions.
As new "heads" grow off the central "stalk", one can simply pull apart the newborn "heads", and place them in other areas of the tank.
When physically removed in this manner, the coral heals rapidly, and my observations suggest that it actually responds by growing at an even faster pace.
Over the course of two months, by following this regimine, My beginnning coral colony (the size of my thumb) divided and grew so that now I have four coral colonies, each the size of the original cluster.
We received this E-mail from Mike Christesen.
Dear Garf,
Thank you for putting a free coral propagation workshop on the web. I
had my corals almost growing out of my aquarium (actually the fire coral
did!) and had to do something to spead them out. Your webpage was
very informative and taught me other techniques besides the typical
rubber bands technique and has prduced spectacular results.
Now for the good stuff: I purchased a single specimen of Pom Pom
Xenia that over the last 5 months has grown from a single colony and
inch tall to over 24 pom-poms! These have grown so well that I've had to
continually 'thin out' the clusters. (I believe that this is the key to why
they have grown so well and have yet to crash out like other people
have reported.)
The easiest way I have found to propagate this coral is
to use a razor blade to trim off the taller pom-poms and thin out the
colony. By trimming the corals in this way and placeing them between
two rocks, the corals will attach w/in two or three days.
One of the best
rocks to hold down these corals is a broken piece of 'Plate coral.'
The shape of the skeleton firmly holds the coral in place but has a small
surface area that forces the coral to attach to the larger base-rock.
Then in a few days hold the pom pom so it will NOT separate from the
base rock and carefully pull off the plate coral.
Propagation by this manner is a much more reliable method than just placing
base rocks next to the xenia. This method removes the problems of
large rock placement in an already established reef and the annoyance
of the placed rock shifting or falling away from the xenia.
PROPAGATING WOODS POLYP CORAL
Anthelia glauca
This soft coral has large polyps that grow from the base rock. Small polyps spread out around the original polyp. Anthelia species grow very rapidly when they are kept under intense lighting. The colonies will grow fastest if the current is fast enough to blow the polyps around.
This is a very easy coral to propagate using the super glue method.
- Remove one or more polyps from the base rock with a sharp chisel.
- Apply a drop of glue to the base of the polyp
- Hold the polyp on the rock for 10 seconds and place the cutting in the water
MARKETING NOTE
This coral is a very popular cutting for beginning reef keepers. Woods Polyps have been one of the best selling corals in our marketing tests.
This is one of the corals that will sell best if it attached to a larger base rock. We have found that by attaching one poylp to several sites on a base rock you can grow a
valuable live rock with several small colonies of this coral.
PROPAGATING WAVING HAND CORAL
This is problem coral to propagate using the super glue method.
- Remove six or more polyps along with a piece of the base rock with a sharp chisel.
- Apply a drop of glue to the base rock holding the polyp
- Hold the polyp on the rock for 10 seconds and place the cutting in the water
This polyp needs more Iodine than the woods polyp type corals. We use SeaChem Reef Plus on all cuttings.
PROPAGATING CLOVE POLYP CORAL
THE CORAL WE HAVE RECEIVED AS CLOVE POLYPS SEEMS TO BE A CESPITULRIA.
This coral looks like a robust Anthelia. The stocks of the polyps are jointed, and the polyps do not retract all of the way in.
This is an easy coral to propagate using the super glue method.
- Remove one or more polyps from the base rock with a sharp chisel.
- Apply a drop of glue to the base of the polyp
- Hold the polyp on the rock for 10 seconds and place the cutting in the water
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Research page for Xenia and related soft coral propagation Learn to propagate xenia. Please enter any data you have about these corals.
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55 Gallon reef aquaium with 6 species of Xenia that are being used for propagation.
Email: pollywog@cableone.net
