Welcome to Coralscaping.com!
Coralscaping began with the fascination and beauty of the wonderous underwater world of the reef tank. To many of us, the fabulous reef tank can be compared to a tidal garden, with intricate underwater aquascapes dotted with the most fascinating, beautiful, and colorful animals ever created. The world of the reef tank is a captivating, endless discovery of a saltwater world.
Coralscaping is dedicated to the aquaculture of corals and live rock, contributing to the preservation of the reef tank for hobbyists and the preservation of the natural reef in the world’s oceans.
What are the advantages of aquacultured coral and live rock?
Aquaculture reduces the demand for coral and live rock that is harvested off of the natural reef. Secondly, aquacultured coral and live rock are “grown out” in controlled environments, thereby reducing the chance of unwanted parasites, disease, and predator organisms. Thirdly, aquacultured coral has a higher survival rate since, genetically, they are already acclimatized to the marine aquarium environment.
From a practical standpoint, there is nothing more frustrating than rearranging the “perfect” aquascape every time a new coral is purchased because of the huge piece of live rock that they are attached to.
Incidentally, that big piece of live rock has a cost to it. With aquacultured coral, we grow them on the smallest plug possible. A little plug is easily added to an existing aquascape without rearranging and upsetting the entire tank’s inhabitants. With a small plug you are only paying for the coral and not a chunk of live rock.
Pulsing Xenia
Visit the coral propagator’s corner for propagating tools and supplies, information on basic techniques, and helpful “how to’s” for propagating individual species.
When I think of this section, I’m reminded of a situation I witnessed at a fish store. My son and I were out on an errand to pick up a few supplies when in walked one of the store’s regular customers with a huge plastic bowl full of beautiful fresh cuttings from a huge overgrown Xenia.
Excitedly, one of the managers rushed the cuttings over to a tank, and I overheard him say, “We’ll just put them in here and see if they attach to a piece of live rock.”
Well, a few days later, curiosity getting the better of me, I decided to pay a visit again to see the Xenia cuttings, only to see a few very sad, almost dead pieces rolling around the tank.
It was awful to see. What a terrible loss. Literally hundreds, possibly thousands of Xenia polyps were lost. With the right technique and the right tools that many more hobbyists could have enjoyed that wonderful Xenia.
There is a happy ending, though. I managed to get a couple of those sad little pieces for half price!
Inevitably there comes the point in every reef tank where one of your coral will have to be fragged; whether it is being cut back to control growth, to maintain health, or just to trade, eventually, it is inevitable.
Only by using the right tools and the proper technique, you increase the survival rate and success rate for your efforts. Happy fragging!
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