How to Coral Fragging for Reef Keeping - Step by Step
Step-by-step guide to Coral Fragging for Reef Keeping. Includes time estimates, tips, and common mistakes to avoid.
Coral fragging is one of the most rewarding skills in reef keeping, letting you multiply healthy corals, manage colony growth, and create backup frags in case something goes wrong in the display. With the right tools, stable water parameters, and clean technique, most common reef corals can be fragged safely and healed with minimal stress.
Prerequisites
- -A healthy donor coral that has shown consistent growth for at least 4-8 weeks
- -Stable reef parameters - salinity 1.025-1.026 SG, temperature 77-79 F, alkalinity 8-9 dKH, calcium 400-450 ppm, magnesium 1250-1400 ppm
- -Coral dip such as iodine-based dip or a trusted pest-control dip for post-cut sanitation
- -Fragging tools matched to coral type - bone cutters for SPS and LPS branches, scalpel or razor for soft corals, coral saw or rotary tool for encrusting or massive LPS
- -Cyanoacrylate gel glue, reef-safe epoxy if needed, and clean frag plugs or frag disks
- -Protective gear - nitrile gloves, safety glasses, and good ventilation, especially when handling palythoas or zoanthids
- -A clean workspace with separate containers of tank water for cutting, rinsing, dipping, and recovery
- -Moderate-flow frag rack space in a quarantine, frag tank, or low-stress area of the system
- -Basic coral identification knowledge so you can adjust technique for SPS, LPS, soft corals, zoanthids, and encrusting species
Start with a well-established, pest-free colony that is fully extended, feeding normally, and showing active growth tips or new tissue spread. Avoid fragging newly imported corals, recently stressed colonies, or anything showing recession, brown jelly, flatworms, nudibranch damage, or bleaching. For branching SPS, target outer branches at least 1.5-2 inches long. For LPS, identify natural skeleton divisions between heads to avoid cutting through living mouths whenever possible.
Tips
- +Frag fast-growing species like green slimer Acropora, Montipora digitata, birdsnest, mushrooms, or pulsing Xenia first if you are new to coral propagation
- +Take smaller frags from multiple spots instead of removing one large section from the colony
Common Mistakes
- -Fragging a coral that has not recovered from shipping, parameter swings, or a recent move
- -Cutting too close to the base and removing tissue from the colony's main growth margin
Pro Tips
- *Frag one coral type at a time and disinfect tools between species to reduce cross-contamination from mucus, pests, and bacterial films.
- *Do not frag immediately after dosing major chemistry corrections - wait until alkalinity, calcium, and salinity have stayed stable for several days.
- *For SPS grow-out, leave a small section of bare skeleton below the tissue line when possible, which gives the glue a stronger hold and reduces tissue contact with adhesive.
- *Keep a dedicated healing rack in an area with stable 78 F temperature, moderate random flow, and easy visibility so you can catch recession early.
- *Label each plug with species name and frag date, then compare healing speed and survival by coral type to refine your propagation technique over time.
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.