Eric Borneman's Pocillopora Breeding Log

[Eric Borneman]

A thread to get mine started. I'll leave everyone else's breeding logs alone now.

I have a 2x4x1 tank with a single Tunze 6060 and a 1000watt halide illuminating several similar size tanks. I will provide details of the Pocillopora colonies shortly. Right now, my wife is trying to razor blade off approximately 100 primary polyps and juvenile colonies off the Tunze which I suppose I will spend part of tonight using tiny forceps and super glue (not gel) to attach them. I need to get some very small tiles for grow out. These are incredibly productive corals. If had 100% survival and enough room, I could probably provide half the country with these corals out of the one tank.

Photos and records coming shortly.

[Eric Borneman]

I have 29 recruits on the Tunze bracket.

Nine on this piece of PVC support.

[Eric Borneman]

Fifty or so more from off the tiles of about 1/3rd of the Seriatopora forest. I haven't even started on the eggcrate yet. I'll mount them in the morning. Whew. Being a father is tiring!

[Eric Borneman]

Add another 78 babies.

I now have 1/3rd of the breeding tank done, with approximately 150 juvenile colonies in culture. I figure by time I finish picking them off the eggcrate and existing tiles, it will be time to start all over. This time, I put the broodstock on small 12" tiles of acrylic, hoping the babies can be easily scraped off the acrylic and only entailing removing the few brood colonies on top of them.

This could literally be a full time job if one were to have a couple hundred gallons of Pocillopora.

Photos tonight

[Redstratplayer1]

About what survival rate do you get?

[Eric Borneman]

Please excuse my absence for unforeseen circumstances.

I have over 100 colonies in the breeding tank and there were so many juveniles that it became unfeasible to try and capture larvae from that many colonies. I spent the better part of a week just reworking the display and removing babies from eggcrate, tank walls, powerheads, etc. Of those, I have had 100% survival. I lost about 60 due to my own negligence of leaving them in a tray of water for 36 hours without attaching them and getting them back in the tank. We have around 300 juveniles right now, and I have rearranged the tank so that the larvae will just settle on marble chips and I can just remove the chips to a rearing tank. I am finding they are also going through the overflow and settling on the eggcrate of the tank below, as well. I will probably take a few colonies and use larval collectors just to start getting more quantitative data, but time is a limiting factor for me right now.

[Jen]

If you want some help with rearing some of those babies let me know. I have my 12 gallon rearing tank up and cycled. It is waiting for some inhabitants. I have not tried to start collecting from my colonies due to the two wild caught new colonies still settling in. I do not want to stress them right now. Hopefully they will start breeding in the tank and I can collect some. I would also love to get a few more digi frags from you. I really want another of the purple with tan colonies. The one I had was caught in the global warming incident of 06. The funny part is the green and orange colonies came through it just fine.

Let me know

Jen

I can come down to U/H and pick up

[Redstratplayer1]

I this tank Set up as a Reef tank or as a specialised Propagation tank?

[Jen]

Specialized grow out tank. Right now I just have some corraline covered live rock in there with a shallow sandbed and two conches (don't ask). I am preparing for when my pocilloporas are breeding.

[Eric Borneman]

Pocillopora on powerhead