Aussie Pink Cynarina Propagation Guide
Propagating the Australian pink colour form of Cynarina lacrymalis: a solitary single-polyp cat's-eye coral that is hard to frag and increases mainly through natural budding and spawning.
Overview
The Aussie Pink Cynarina is an Australian colour form of Cynarina lacrymalis (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848), a stony coral in the family Lobophylliidae and the type species of Cynarina (Brüggemann, 1877) according to the World Register of Marine Species. The bright pink flesh is simply pigmentation: the animal remains a solitary cat's-eye coral, a single polyp with translucent vesicles around one mouth, not a colony.
Reproductive Mode
Being a single-polyp Cynarina, the Aussie Pink form cannot be multiplied by dividing a shared-wall colony, as a meandering brain coral can. Under aquarium care it increases only through slow natural budding and tissue regeneration on its single skeleton, while wild populations are renewed by sexual reproduction.
Fragging / Asexual Propagation
Reef Builders places single-polyp corals such as Scolymia, meat corals and Fungia among those that do not respond to ordinary fragging, since separate polyps share no skeletal wall to cut along. Sectioning a solitary Aussie Pink would mean cutting through its one polyp and risking a high-value specimen, so it is normally kept whole and allowed to bud naturally rather than being sawn.
Conditions for Propagation
Where tissue is cut or divides naturally, healing depends on gentle, stable conditions. Reef Builders advises basting mucus off the coral carefully and keeping flow low while tissue recovers; the thin translucent vesicles are easily torn by strong current. Clean, steady water lets the polyp re-cover any exposed skeleton and protect the prized colour.
Sexual Reproduction
Like other members of the Lobophylliidae, Cynarina reproduces sexually by broadcasting gametes into the water, where fertilisation forms planula larvae that drift, settle and grow into new solitary polyps. Colour forms are not reliably passed on through this route, which is the natural means of producing new corals rather than fragmentation.
Common Challenges
The inflated translucent vesicles are fragile and, in a single-polyp coral, any tear endangers the whole specimen. The tissue swells and deflates strongly, so handling must be gentle, and exposed skeleton or receding flesh can deteriorate quickly in poor water. Keep the soft tissue clear of sharp rock and strong flow and limit handling.