I've just bought a colony of green star polyps. I've notices that there is a small fragment of rock attatched to the main piece by the mat of the polyps. Is it OK to cut the mat to detach the small fragment and start a new colony?
Yes it is, but give the coral some time to settle in before attempting this. The stress of the move, even a short one, from a LFS or IMO to your home, is quite harsh so propagating it at this point would only stress it more which you don't want to do. Let is sit awhile and forget about it. Once you remember go back and cut it.
green star spread so rapidly that you don't really need to worry about cutting. just place a rock next to it and it will grow all over it. then move that rock to wherever you want. i got so much in my tank once that i started trading pieces of rock covered w/ it w/ the lfs
FYI be careful what you let the stuff spread onto. i got mine as my first coral and was exstatic when it started to spread and prosper, but 8 months later every rack its on in the tank was ruined and had to be flipped and covered in gravel till it died. the stuff is like a weed. Sorta like bamboo in the garden
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Lynn:
<strong>How do you get them started on the side?</strong><hr></blockquote>
I superglued a small portion to the glass. Put the glue on the back of the polyps and then hold it to the glass for 30 seconds or so.