We use the propagation methods such as super glue and netting to increase the stock we have in our reefs. When many of the animals are divided they grow faster than the same size animals that are not divided. Each group of reef animals have certain things that you can provide to increase their growth rate.

Bright lighting and clean water are two of the most important things we have control over in our reef aquariums. The time it takes to grow the broodstock colonies is one thing that we do not have direct control over .

I am often asked what reef animals are the best investment for future broodstock. I have learned that you can never have too many GREEN - green stars. These green polyps come in many colors of green, but almost everything coming in from the wild has been shades of brown. Almost everyone who buys reef animals has enough BROWN. If you see colonies of bright green Clavularia virdis you can not go wrong if you buy or trade for as many colors as you can afford.

Bright red Mushrooms, deep purple Mushrooms, and all types of blue Mushrooms are always a great investment. I will repeat it again - there are three things that sell reef animals COLOR- COLOR- and COLOR!

The best place to start a reef farm is in the reef you have now, the best time to start a reef farm is today, and the best way to learn how to run a reef farm is to do it.

1. The best tanks for production of mushroom rocks are deep tanks with good water quality and medium water flow. We use two Maxi - Jet 1000 power heads in each tank.

2. The best lighting has been florescent bulbs. We have had good production using three 40 watt 4' foot bulbs - two Tritons and one Blue Moon.

THESE RED MUSHROOMS GROW VERY WELL UNDER
TRITON AND BLUE MOON 40 WATT BULBS

5. Use a good carbon in the tanks once every two weeks - We put 4 tablespoons of carbon that has been soaked in fresh water in a nylon bag and hang it in the corner of the reef behind a powerhead for one week. This removes toxins that these animals release to slow the growth of other reef animals.

SOFT CORALS SUBCLASS - ALCYONRIA - OCTOCORALLIA ORDER - ALCYONACEA FAMILY - ALCYONIDAE

• Soft corals need Iodine - we use SeaChem Reef Plus on all soft coral tanks
• Soft corals release toxins that slow other corals growth - USE CARBON -
• Many people report the phosphate removers can slow these corals growth
• Bright lights and good water flow will help these corals grow
• You can glue cuttings of leather corals underwater to increase colonies

Tank raised Green soft coral originally from Palua

METHODS FOR ATTACHING BRANCHING SOFT CORAL

• Hold the cutting in place with bridal veil
• Sew the cutting to rock with fishing line
• Place the cuttings in Gravel Bowl
• Pinch the cuttings between two rocks
• Hold the cutting down with toothpick

Tank raised gold crown coral-Sarcophyton glaucum

The process for making mother colonies for finger leather corals is a bit different and they are slower growing. Once again, get a real pretty variety of sinularia. There are numerous varieties. I'm sure you can find one that either has unique coloring or is very fluffy or with some other desirable characteristics to start your collection of mother colonies.

Cut off all the branches leaving just a quarter inch or so of polyps on the remaining branches. Attach these branches to plugs or more rocks using Super Reef Glue or fishing line to tie them down.

After they attach and get comfortably established, three to four weeks after making cuttings, you can now re-prune branches from each of these new mother colonies to make even more mother colonies. Some people just cut the branches up into inch long segments right from day one and attach them all at once.

Simple, isn’t it? Just make sure that you provide good growing conditions. Both star polyps and finger leathers grow best with good water current and bright lighting. After establishing these initial mother colonies, they can now be pruned for cuttings to sell or to make more mother colonies about every three months if growing conditions are good.

The more you subdivide the branches the more total combined growth you will get out of the original mother colony. The original mother colony can also be further divided too. A whole 55-gallon tank full of mother colonies on cement plugs, cement no-bake coral cookies or rocks could be very useful in helping a coral farming project get off the ground.

These anemones require bright light and strong current. Place these cuttings at the top of the reef aquarium. We have had the best growth in tanks with at least 5 watts per gallon of VHO lighting. Most of our production tanks have 3- 4 foot 40 watt bulbs - Two Tritons and one blue Moon.

These anemones do best when they are fed several times each week. The food that has produced the best growth is made up of blended fish and shrimp meat that has been mixed in SeaChem Reef Plus This red mixture has vitamins and iodide. We use four tablespoons of Reef Complete to one tabespoon food.

SEA MAT PRODUCTION TANKS

The best lighting is florescent bulbs. We have had good production using 2- 40 watt 4' Triton and one 40 watt 4' Blue moon on our 55 gallon test tanks.

XENIA AND OTHER PULSE CORALS

IMPORTANT

It is important to develop some good mother colonies of your most desirable and best selling corals.

It's easy to sell your cuttings of a fantastic looking coral and end up continually telling anxious buyers or traders that you just ran out of that one, or that the last two you have left are not for sale because they are your only brood stock to make more cuttings from.

When you have a real "hot" coral it's hard to say "no" until you’re down to the last couple of specimens. The solution is simple but sometimes hard to carry out. Keep your hottest mother colonies in a back room and don’t let anyone know you have them until you have multiplied them enough to keep a non-depletable supply growing for sale.

This may mean not selling ANY of your most coveted specimens for a few months or more while multiplying them, making mother colonies that you will not sell. You will eventually use your mother colonies to make sellable cuttings from.

COVER AND INDEX

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