What Do I Need To Start Coral Propagation/Fragging?

Fragging Essentials Header

Coral propagation or ‘Fragging’ as it is most commonly known is a fun time in your Reefing journey.

Maybe you broke off a piece of coral, or you need to start trimming a colony because it is getting too big, or you are starting to want to sell/give pieces away to your friends. Whatever the reason, you are going to need some tools and supplies to get you started.

To frag a coral you will need safety glasses & gloves, razor blades, side cutters, frag plugs, super glue gel, and a coral dipping solution. Some Tupperware containers will also need to move corals through the dipping process and a towel to help keep the work area clean and dry.

Fragging a coral is a simple task and once you have all the items laid out on a work surface in front of you it can be completed efficiently in a matter of minutes. Once you have it figured out you can soon start selling your frags and making some money to buy nicer corals!


If you are new to corals and have yet to dip a coral you may find the following article a helpful start:

How To Dip Corals – Easy Steps To Success


What Equipment is Needed to Frag a Coral?

You are going to need the following items to get you started:

— Safety Equipment —

When fragging corals, especially Zoanthids and Palythoa, you need to be aware of Palytoxin Poisoning. It is very rare but you need to be aware of it because you could be in contact with the toxin when handing and stressing these types of corals.

Please click & read this article below before you ever go near corals. Awareness is the key here!

Palytoxin-Poisoning Header
Click The Image

Safety Goggles/Glasses

To protect your eyes from splashes containing coral fluids

Latex Gloves

To protect your hands, nail beds from ingress of coral fluids


— Tools —

To make precise and efficient cuts to the coral bone or tissue you need a few simple tools to help the cuts by clean and completed in one go. Clean cuts will help the coral heal faster and prevent infection.

Scalpels & Large Razor Blades

Used to cut the fleshy parts of LPS and soft corals

You can find a selection of Scalpels Here at Amazon.com
You can find a selection of Razor Blades Here at Amazon.com

Bone/Coral Cutters

Used for trimming off the hard skeleton parts of LPS and SPS corals. Be sure to only get good quality stainless steel ones or they will soon begin to rust!

Find Them Here at Amazon.com

Ceramic or Glass Tile

Makes a nice flat, hard surface for cutting fleshy corals like LPS and Mushrooms. It easy & is simple to clean between corals to help prevent infection.

Frag Rack

This is a rack used to store your new coral frags before you place them in your aquarium or sell/swap them

I like the magnetic racks as you can move them up the aquarium glass as they slowly become acclimated to the lights.

You can find a nice selection Here at Amazon.com

Fragging Tool Kit

These great starter sets come with everything you need to start fragging corals. They come in a nice case to keep everything organized and they make a Great Gift!

You can find them Here at Amazon.com

Ultimate Fragging Kit

— Consumables —

You will need a few consumables ready for when you create your new frag pieces. Getting these ahead of time is a great idea then you can just keep them in a ‘Fragging Box’ so you have them on hand if you accidentally break off a piece of coral while working in the aquarium:

Super Glue Gel

Any Gel-Style Cyanoacrylate works great for gluing your frags to a new plug.
If you have any concerns please check out my article on reef-safe adhesives Here.

Frag Plugs

You need something to glue your new frags to. You can buy them in all shapes and sizes to suit your preference.

You can find a larger selection of frag plugs Here at Amazon.com

Dry Rock Rubble works well too if you have a lot of them lying around. A Chisel and Hammer on a piece of Dry Rock works wonders 😉

Frag Plugs
Frag Plugs

Coral Dip Solution

To aid in the healing of the coral it is recommended to dip your corals after they have been freshly mounted to a new frag plug.

I personally use both Coral Rx and Revive Coral Cleaner with great success. You can find them both at Amazon.com below:

Coral Rx at Amazon.com
Revive at Amazon.com

Conclusion

Making frags is a fun process and once your corals begin to grow fast enough you can install a custom frag tank to house more and make enough money to pay for all your monthly reefing costs!

Here is a photo of my frag tank although, I’ll be soon running out of room in that too!

Enjoy and get fragging!