Montipora capricornis: Propagation Guide
How to propagate Montipora capricornis, a plating SPS coral: cutting plates into chips and gluing to plugs, plus the Montipora-eating nudibranch you must watch for.
Overview
Montipora capricornis is a plating small-polyp stony coral of the family Acroporidae. It forms flat, plating colonies that expand by adding to their foundations and spreading outward, with the surface covered in small bumps that are the individual polyps. It lives in the Indian and Pacific oceans and the Red Sea, occupying the top half of the reef where photosynthesis can occur, and comes in color variations including red, green and orange.
Reproductive Mode
Montipora reproduces both sexually and asexually. For aquarists the reliable route is asexual fragmentation, which clones the parent colony; sexual reproduction follows the broadcast-spawning pattern typical of the family Acroporidae.
Fragging / Asexual Propagation
- Select a healthy plate with good color and active growth at the margins.
- Cut the plate into chips with a band saw, tile nippers or a cutting tool.
- Glue each chip flat onto a plug or rock with cyanoacrylate.
- Return the frags to medium-high light and flow so the margins encrust and resume plating.
Conditions for Propagation
Montipora capricornis naturally lives in the upper, well-lit half of the reef, so provide bright light and moderate to strong flow. Stable parameters with regular calcium and alkalinity dosing support fast recovery of cut margins and continued plating growth.
Sexual Reproduction
In the family Acroporidae, reproduction occurs through broadcast spawning, in which colonies release gametes into the water column for external fertilisation, producing larvae that settle to found new colonies. In aquaria this is uncommon, so fragmentation remains the standard propagation method.