What Glue Is Safe And Good At Sticking Frags To Rock?

[simonas]

Ive been trying to use the reef putty etc but I think its rubbish, what glue are people using for their frags? I have loads of xenia floating around and zoas that have broken off in the move that i need to glue to rock?

Simon

 

[Donya]

Are you trying to glue actual coral tissue to rock? That pretty much always fails because of the corals secreting slime; they just wiggle free in a few days. In those cases it's better to stick the loose bits in with some rubble in a basket for a while to let them attach on their own. If it's just rubble bits with frag that need gluing to something larger, you can use super glue (anything that is cyanoacrylate; you can even get fancy/expensive versions designed to look like coralline when cured). I've found gel versions to be the easiest way to go under wet conditions. Just dry both surfaces, glue & stick down, and then dunk it back in the water to finish curing. Just don't put the uncured bit where a critter can get at it or little crabby feet and such may get stuck where they don't belong.

 

[lljdma06]

I used Coraffix made by Two little fishes, retails for about $12 US. It's a Cyanoacrylate adhesive. You may have to find the UK equivalent. Haha, just got it all over my hands attaching my acans. Hopefully you'll be less clutzy than me.

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

Chuck a link up when you get a good 1 simonas, got a feeling I'm guna need some in a few months

 

[ainsy]

I always used thick gel type superglue. It does work even if the coral isn't attached to any rock. Make sure you dry the target rock as much as you can and place the coral on some kitchen towel and (very gently!) pat it dry. Glue on rock, place coral in glue and a light misting of water from a spray bottle (I used a brand new plant/garden spray that was sterilised before use) and leave it to sit for about 5 mins before you put it back in the tank. If you put it back in too soon it will fail and float away.

 

[shelaghfishface]

i always used locktite gel

 

[Donya]

I always used thick gel type superglue. It does work even if the coral isn't attached to any rock. Make sure you dry the target rock as much as you can and place the coral on some kitchen towel and (very gently!) pat it dry. Glue on rock, place coral in glue and a light misting of water from a spray bottle (I used a brand new plant/garden spray that was sterilised before use) and leave it to sit for about 5 mins before you put it back in the tank. If you put it back in too soon it will fail and float away.

This sounds exactly like what I did that had no success. What corals did you do this way?

I found that drying that way triggered lots of sliming on many of the softies I tried it with, so there was no way to get a clean tissue-rock connection. After hearing complaints about the same thing from other fraggers, I went the bucket-of-rubble rout for a week before any gluing. It was worst with mushrooms (notorious for being total slime balls), Anthelia, and stray Zoanthid polyps (no mat, just severed polyps). All cases would hold for a few days and then the corals would wiggle free and attach to something else, often directly beside whatever I was trying to glue them to. There would be a slimey layer left attached to the glue that the coral had shed. Flow wasn't a factor as the corals were first in a bucket like you described and then placed in a protected refugium-like environment to avoid further disturbance.

Just remembered this morning though that I forgot a couple of successes I had some time ago: star polyp mats were ok (the mat didn't slime) and I had a ~50% success rate with something that I think was a Nephthea. The Nephthea would succeed if the glue caught quite a few sclerites and not just soft tissue. If it didn't catch enough sclerites though, the coral would still pull free from contracting and expanding over a few days. Still was less hassle though to toss them in a basket of rubble for a few days before gluing.

 

[ainsy]

I used that method with all types of softies - although you are right about the shrooms - I was just persistent with them, after two or three goes they finally got the idea and stayed put!

It may be that you are putting them back in the tank too soon. When I just put them straight back in they would always be floating away within a few hours. I had much more success when I started to mist them with water and leave them out of the tank until the glue was sufficiently cured that it wouldn't stick to my finger! (at least 5 mins - sometimes up to 15)

HTH

 

[steelhealr]

I love the putty. It takes patience. The key, I think, is you have to hold it in place until it hardens. I've found that eventually, it will even get covered by corraline algae and be 'invisible'. I've had frags held in place for years. You can try silicone but I think this is harder to work with. SH

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

I've seen epoxy putty in my LFS stores (the 1 were you have to mix the two blocks together to activate it) which I was going to try as my zoanthid is in abit of a awkward place ATM.

 

[SaltNoob]

I have just used the locktite cheapo gel kind. It sticks my frags, and I don't even dry anything out. I stick it to my frag in a heaping blob where it will touch the rock, dip it into the tank and press and hold for one minute and VOILA! Stuck. Its soft for a an hour or so, but I just make sure no crabs walk near it. The duncan frag in my tank is done this way, and the glue is covered in corraline. Can't even tell it was glue now.

-Tyler