How to Cut Lavender Mushroom Coral

This corallimorpharian's pedal disk is hidden underneath the fully expanded oral disk.

Found in any color combination imaginable, mushroom corals delight reef aquarists with their hardy nature, steady reproductive rates and relatively low cost. Technically called corallimorpharians, these animals live independently, and for the most part, reproduce asexually in the home aquarium. Their lack of a hard skeleton makes reproduction easy. These animals handle cutting very well and heal from almost anything. Propagation of these animals requires little investment aside from a propagation tank and cutting tools.

Things You'll Need

• Razor blade or sharp scissors
• Rock substrate

Instructions

1. Wash and thoroughly rinse anything entering the aquarium. Ensure the equipment used contains absolutely no copper to avoid fatally poisoning the entire aquarium.

2. Locate the pedal disk of the corallimorph. The pedal disk is the mushroom coral's "stalk" and functions to anchor the coral to rock or other substrate.

3. Slice quickly and cleanly through the pedal disk as close to the substrate as possible. Razor blades make the best cuts, while scissors can pinch or crush the coral, slowing down the healing process.

4. Slice completely through the disk to remove, or alternatively, partially slice the disk to encourage asexual fission. Partially slicing the disk will not immediately produce a clone, but over several days, the parent coral will detach itself and float away, looking for a new attachment location. Meanwhile, the section of pedal disk left behind will grow a new trunk and oral disk.

5. Place the freed coral cut-side down onto a new substrate for attachment. Keep water flow around this area low for several days while the corallimorph attaches.

6. Wash and thoroughly rinse anything used in the propagation process.

Tips & Warnings

• Invest in a good propagation tank to increase the productivity of the corallimorphs. Trying to do everything in the display tank is difficult.

• Perform a water change afterwards if the coral expelled a significant amount of mucus.

• Monitor the protein skimmer for increased production after propagation.

• Corallimorpharians exude a powerful defensive chemical known as palytoxin when handled. Do not expose any of your mucosal membranes to this substance. Take great care to avoid cross-contamination with towels and anything else that may harbor residual amounts of palytoxin. Washing any cloth items associated with the propagation is a very good rule of thumb.

• Handle all cutting tools very carefully.

References

• "Book of Coral Propagation, Vol. 1, Version 1.0;" Anthony Calfo
• "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist"; Bob Fenner

Resources

• Reefkeeping Magazine: Home