Welcome to Day 19 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Saltwater Aquarium Challenge. Thanks for sticking with me so far. I can’t believe we’ve reached Day 19 already. How do you feel about the aquarium you’re building?
Today’s Challenge
As your tank matures, the corals in your aquarium will begin to fill in all available space. But as they grow larger and closer to each other, turf wars will begin.
LPS corals will send out sweeper tentacles. Encrusting mat species like green star polyps will try to overgrow anything and everything in its way. Other corals will release toxins to retard the growth of rival coral. Fast-growing branching corals will reach up and hog the light, shading out other corals below, or they will extend out so far you may notice the are burning (or being chemically burned by) neighboring corals.
Or maybe the coral is growing so well it just has a wild, uncontrolled look to it and your tank would look a bit nicer if it was tamer.
Whatever your objective is, whether your corals have overgrown their space or starting to get close to another coral, today’s task is to take a few minutes to trim overgrown corals. Think of it like pruning a hedge in your landscape.
If you have trimmed back and fragged your corals before then this will be no big deal. If you have never fragged a coral you may want to do some more reading to get more comfortable first. You can learn more about how to frag corals here.
Don’t take your clippings to the compost bin, like you would with your garden or landscaping. Those clippings (frags) will regrow into new coral colonies. If you know how to frag corals, create some coral frags today. If you don’t know how to frag corals yet, it’s time to learn today.
While you are waiting for those frags to attach and heal, give your local fish store a call, tell them what frags you’ve created and inquire if they would be willing to pay you or give you a store credit for them.
Another option is to hop on your local club forum, craigslist and post the frags for sale (or for free) there.
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