propagating montipora capricornus ?'s

[mikestod]

just wondering what is the best way to grow M. Cap....does it make that multi'layered cup shape on its own or do you have to frag a piece and arrange it?

I have a piece wedge between rocks now...but it doesn't seem to be growing much.

Should I bust it up into a few pieces and stick it randomly in a glob of epoxy putty?

[spyro]

glue the whole frag to a rock and it will shape itself in time...

[mikestod]

its a frag thats almost shaped like a piece of pie...should I glue it flat or vertically or at an angle? is there any good way to do it? if I do glue it flat, how will the glue hold?

[moe_k]

don't worry too much about the shape.
the coral whorls all by itself as it grows. just make the frag secure and provide plenty of calcium and carbonate. the thing should grow well.
if the growth is slow try testing alk and calcium.

[mikestod]

I think that answers my question...i had it jammed between rocks, but it wiggles like a loose tooth and some of the bigger critters constantly nudge it out of position. I'll take the initative and use the epoxy putty. Once I get my reactor built and tuned into the system it'll probably take off like a rocket!

[moe_k]

i'd use super glue, rather than the putty.

but maybe you can't remove the base rock, huh?

[drmooncricket]

What kind of supper glue can u use again? I got an orange cap from stangs a few months ago and tripled in size and ended up breaking away from the mount (I think he super glued it to a clam shell) so I am going to remount it tonight or tomorrow... what is the process / how should I do it?

[Pen Man]

Use the gel type super glue it works the best. I have been told that the thicken agent is just baking soda. I put a few drops on the cap and on the rock or the shell. I put one piece into the water to make the glue skimmer over. Then put the frag on the rock. The super glue sets up quicker with the moisture. The gel does take longer to set that the thin.

[Brimarbio]

Just the super gule brand works fine. I'm gonna butcher the spelling here but anything that's cyano acolate works fine (I think that's the name of it isn't it?) any ways, the one that's called Super glue is certain to work, and I'd go with the gel type if you can, much easier to work with.

[drmooncricket]

so dry off the shell, remove the cap from the water, aply glue to the shell and the cap, push together, wait a minute?, put back in tank... does that sound right...

[mikestod]

I tried super glueing, but it just kept getting broken off. Maybe I'll glue it to a rock fragment, then putty that in place (that way if I ever have to move it I might be able to pry the rock fragment from the base rock slab)

[Brimarbio]

Many different ways people do it, here's my way though FWIW:
Dry piece that will be the base with a paper towel, dab away any goop on the area of M. Cap to be attached (you want to pick a part of the M. Cap that will provide a good surface area, i.e. not some tiny little point) put an ample ammount of glue on the rock, place frag in glue, arrange how you'd like it to be, hold just below water surface for a few seconds (helps set quicker) after maybe 15-20 seconds it should be go to go.