Pectinia lactuca Propagation Guide
Propagating Pectinia lactuca, the broad-lobed lettuce coral: cutting between skeletal blades, keeping a mouth per frag, and healing the thin foliose skeleton.
Overview
Pectinia lactuca is a foliose large-polyp stony coral in the family Merulinidae, distinguished from P. paeonia by its broader, less spiky lobes. As with the rest of the genus, it grows as thin radiating plates of skeleton, and that architecture governs how it is fragged.
Reproductive Mode
These corals reproduce sexually through spawning and asexually through fragmentation. Aquarium propagation of P. lactuca is carried out by fragmenting the foliose colony.
Fragging / Asexual Propagation
Like other Pectinia, the colony holds fluid-filled flesh suspended between parallel skeletal blades that radiate from a central point. Cuts are made parallel with or perpendicular to those blades so they stay in groups and continue to support the tissue. A band saw cooled by iodine-tinted saltwater disinfects each cut and raises survival, and every fragment should retain a mouth.
- Map cuts so each fragment includes a mouth.
- Cut along or across the radiating blades to keep them grouped.
- Use iodine-tinted saltwater as coolant to disinfect the cuts.
- Finish with an iodine dip to prevent infection while frags heal.
Conditions for Propagation
P. lactuca favours low to medium light and gentle flow. Frags recover best in those conditions with stable, clean water that lets the cut edges close.
Common Challenges
The thin skeleton is fragile and the cut margins can be invaded by bacteria as they heal. Disinfected cuts and a finishing dip, plus low-stress placement, give frags the best chance to recover.