How to Coral Fragging for Beginner Reefers - Step by Step
Step-by-step guide to Coral Fragging for Beginner Reefers. Includes time estimates, tips, and common mistakes to avoid.
Coral fragging can look intimidating at first, but beginner reefers can do it safely with the right tools, stable water parameters, and a simple plan. This step-by-step guide walks you through how to frag beginner-friendly corals, mount them properly, and help them recover without turning your first attempt into a tank crash.
Prerequisites
- -A stable reef tank with salinity at 1.025-1.026 SG, temperature 77-79 F, alkalinity 8-9 dKH, calcium 400-450 ppm, and magnesium 1250-1400 ppm
- -Beginner-friendly corals to frag such as zoanthids, mushrooms, green star polyps, Xenia, or branching hammer coral
- -Safety gear including nitrile gloves, eye protection, and a clean work area, especially for zoanthids because of palytoxin risk
- -Coral fragging tools such as bone cutters, a scalpel or razor blade, reef-safe super glue gel, tweezers, and a frag rack
- -Frag plugs or small rubble rock, plus a small container or bowl filled with tank water for handling corals outside the display
- -Iodine-based coral dip or coral disinfectant for reducing infection risk after cutting
- -Moderate understanding of coral placement, flow, and lighting so new frags can be acclimated to lower PAR and gentler flow during recovery
- -A turkey baster or small powerhead to gently remove slime and debris from freshly cut frags
Start with hardy, fast-growing corals that tolerate handling well. Soft corals like mushrooms, green star polyps, and Xenia are usually easier than SPS, while branching LPS like hammer or frogspawn can be fragged if you cut only the bare skeleton between healthy heads. Avoid trying to frag expensive acropora, thin-encrusting montipora, or stressed corals as your first project.
Tips
- +Pick a coral that has been growing steadily for at least a few weeks in your tank before cutting it
- +If a coral is closed up, receding, or recently added, wait until it is fully settled and extending normally
Common Mistakes
- -Starting with a difficult coral just because it looks valuable or popular
- -Fragging a coral that is already stressed from transport, parameter swings, or aggression
Pro Tips
- *Frag only one or two corals during your first session so you can focus on clean technique instead of rushing through multiple species
- *Keep alkalinity stable within about 0.3-0.5 dKH day to day, because fresh cuts heal more reliably in stable systems than in tanks with big swings
- *For branching LPS, always cut farther down the skeleton than you think you need, because damaged flesh near the cut line often recedes if the cut is too close
- *Label your frag plugs with the coral name and frag date so you can track healing time and growth rate accurately
- *Wait to trade or sell a frag until you see clear new growth, attachment, or full polyp extension for at least 2-4 weeks depending on the coral type
Keep a clean backup log for test day.
The Printable Reef Logbook gives you water testing, dosing, maintenance, and livestock worksheets you can print or save as a PDF.