thought you guys might be interested.....


http://www.coralmagazine-us.com/cont...-smarter-frags

Relevance for the reef-aquarium hobby
As far as the reef-aquarium hobby is concerned, the results of Lirman et al. signify mainly that:

1) 1.75 inches (4.5 cm) is a good size for a stony coral fragment. This will result in an adequate growth rate and a very low mortality rate compared to smaller cuttings.

2) Fragments with a length of 1.75 inches (4.5 cm) or more can be glued in place out of water with only a minimal risk of loss. If you want to avoid this risk, then it is advisable to perform the procedure underwater.

3) In the case of small donor corals and very slow-growing species, it may be necessary to take smaller cuttings, and these should always be glued in place underwater.

4) There is no likelihood of losing the donor coral.



Outlook
The study discussed here leaves a number of questions still unanswered—for example, whether the results of Lirman et al. can be applied to other small-polyp stony corals. I assume that they will apply to the majority of species. Nevertheless, there may be exceptions—for example, in the Acropora speciosa complex, whose cuttings react very badly to fragmentation, growing exceptionally slowly and exhibiting high mortality rates. Another interesting open question is how many fragments can be harvested from a donor coral at a time and how long the subsequent rest phase should be. However, the authors mention relevant ongoing research in the paper cited here, and we can eagerly await further findings.

References
Lirman, D. et al. 2010. Propagation of the threatened staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis: methods to minimize the impacts of fragment collection and maximize production. Coral Reefs 29: 729–35.
Wabnitz, C., M. Taylor, E. Green, and T. Razak. 2003. From Ocean to Aquarium: The Global Trade in Marine Ornamental Species. UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge, UK.
Online: http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/people/fa...p=diego-lirman