Transplanting coral into the wild!

[nobdoor]

I've been seraching online for any material on this subject, but haven't found much. So I registered here hoping to find some guidance on methods and techniques for transplating home grown coral into the wild.

My parents live in the Florida keys and have their own boat basin. I want to start growing coral at home in Boulder CO, and transplant it on my bi-yearly trips out there.

The boat basin that they have is not used, so there's no risk of damaging the coral with the boat. I just want to start a coral garden in it, and hopefully propogate it and attract native fish from around the area.

The average water temperature ranges between 69 and 87 degrees F, which is approximately within the desired range of 61 and 86. Knowing that the keys are islands made of coral, I'm strongly assuming that any transplants that I make into the water will survive.

Has anybody done this before? Any advice for techniques (such as lighting) that I can use in Colorado, before I transplant the frags into Florida?

Thanks in advance.

[dbosman]

Ignore any of these you've seen already.

http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/coral-transplant/

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/06/transplanting-coral-as-a-cheap-easy-way-to-restore-reefs.php

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/world/asia/15coral.html

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article600937.ece

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100603193925.htm

http://www.innermaldives.com/coral.html

http://www.oceandocs.org/bitstream/1834/849/1/T10_CoralTransplantation%26Restocking.pdf

[nobdoor]

Thanks so much for those articles dbosman. Was it a google search that brought you to that information, or do you also have a personal interest in this subject?

I've read all the articles except for the last one that you posed. The last one is a real scientific paper, so I'm going to take my time to ingest it. So far I've gathered that there is a lot of failure in this field, but also success. It's not going to be easy.

It's exciting to see that this is an undeveloped field of science. I was hoping that there would be online guides on how to do this, but the fact that it's unexplored makes it even more interesting.

These days it's very rare to find something that can be pioneered.

[Fisharefriends27]

He said to ignore them. They must have some kind of bad info.

[Goes to 11!]

He said to ignore them. They must have some kind of bad info.

Read that seven word post again, That's not what he said.


Ignore any of these you've seen already.

[Cliff]

I read a article once about plans to repopulate the ocean with green palau nepthea that has been grown in tanks. One of the identified obsticles to completing this was trying to match the conditions of the trageted reef in the ocean to the tanks the frags were being grown in.

I would guess you would have to do some work to carfully observe the envirnment your transplanting these corals into so you can replicate that in your tank.

Interesting project tho

[Fisharefriends27]

Sorry. Must of read that a little fast. Don't pay attention to my previous post
Nobdoor. Sorry.

[FishyPastor]

Question. Would you also have to investigate laws that a person might violate for placing species not native to Florida? Florida has had a serious issues with this in the past. Just wondering????

[dbosman]

Question. Would you also have to investigate laws that a person might violate for placing species not native to Florida? Florida has had a serious issues with this in the past. Just wondering????

Interesting question.
Definitely worth asking.

I think if you could find a coral that would grow fast enough to become a problem, a lot of people would be interested in it.

[FishyPastor]

I am strictly freshwater and do not know anything about salt, at all.

[nobdoor]

Question. Would you also have to investigate laws that a person might violate for placing species not native to Florida? Florida has had a serious issues with this in the past. Just wondering????

Intersting question. Never thought of that before. Invasive species are a problem here in CO, and I'm sure the concept applies in tropical environments too.

I think that any coral habitat would be good for their ecosystem. The keys are a beautiful place, but sad at the same time. It seems like its been very exploited in terms of its natural resources.


I read a article once about plans to repopulate the ocean with green palau nepthea that has been grown in tanks. One of the identified obsticles to completing this was trying to match the conditions of the trageted reef in the ocean to the tanks the frags were being grown in

This is huge. If you guys are familiar with gardening, you'll know about the concept of hardening off your plants before an outdoor transplant. I'm positive that the same principle applies to coral. I'm having doubts that I can grow coral in Coloraodo, and successully transplant it into Floirda. I don't feel confident that I can replicate the growing conditions.

However I'm happy to consider growing frags on a metal table in florida, then transplanting them onto the boat basin when the time comes. I'd just like to have more contact with the growing experience than twice a year:)

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Growing corals in an outdoor aquaculture environment is entirely possible. Again, you face the challenge of adapting any frags taken from an indoor reef to an outdoor environment. The other issue that I see facing a project is that you would need some corals that are a good size. Just like any other animal on the reef, corals face predation as well. A large healthy Acropora is going to be much more likely to survive having a couple of branches bitten off by a hungry Princess Parrot then will a small one. You also have to consider the aggressive nature of many corals, particularly the soft ones who employ chemical warfare to "make space" for themselves. Transplanting such corals into an environment could set you back from your ultimate goal.

As to the issue of introducing an invasive species of coral, I would think that is something that is rather unlikely. There are some fast growing corals, but most coral predators are not species specific. If it is a coral, it will have natural predators. Large Angelfish abound in the Gulf of Mexico and the tropical Western Atlantic in general and would do a rather good job of keeping many soft corals at bay. While there are some fast growing SPS like Staghorns, they are not so prolific as to take over an entire ecosystem such as the Atlantic reefs.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Upon further thought, another potential issue came to me concerning a project such as this. Coral reefs develop naturally, they have been for years. Corals that settle these reefs do so because the conditions for their survival, and continuing health are prime. All corals have specific light and flow needs, along with availability of food. Selecting the proper depth at which to place a coral can be tricky. There are many factors that play into this, not the least of which is water clarity. Sedation is, in fact, one of the largest threats coral reefs close to land face. Excessive logging inland leads to excessive silt in the rivers, and that silt and sediment is carried out to sea where it often settles on the reefs. Even if it doesn't settle on the reefs and stays suspended in the water column, it serves as a filter to filter out that precious sunlight the zooxanthellae so desperately needs. Suddenly, corals that have thrived for eons in a given location find themselves in less than ideal conditions, and the conditions have deteriorated so much that they cannot survive. While coral seeding is certainly an option, the real problem must be solved at the root; proper management of natural resources. If this is not done, the seeding a corals such as being proposed here will all be in vain as they will face the same environmental threats as the corals that have already been killed off.

[nobdoor]

There's nothing in what you said that I can disagree with Barb.

The foremost information I'm trying to aquire right now (after the helpful insight from this forum) is on what kind of native species exist in the immediate area from the boat basin. Even knowing the native corals, the conditions in the basin may not condone the coral's survivability, for reasons you listed above. One concern of mine is with silt. I think that the gulf side of the Keys accumulates more than the Atlantic, and that's something I'll have to work with. I know that some people keep bubblers in their basins to repel debris, so that might help.

Currently my biggest cantidates are of the Acropora and Montipora varieties. I've read that Elkhorn has been successfully transplanted in the Keys.

I've abandoned the idea of growing coral in an aquarium in Colorado because I think it's unrealistic. These things are sensitive, and I don't think they would survive a transplant into the wild after I've babied them in an aquarium.

However this entails the biggest obsticle I have yet. Since the likelyhood of growing them at home and transplanting them is so low, how am I to aquire native wild coral? It is clear that there will be legal issues that I need to assess here.

[William]

I would refrain from it. A coral does not need to grow fast to be a biological problem, It just need to grow faster than native species that want the same spots. Corals can spread quickly and over large areas with current so it is far from unthinkable that real problems could be the result.

[EmmanuelJB]

I would definitely check if it is legal first. There are lots of laws that say you can't place aquarium species in the wild (especially if the coral isn't native)...

[nobdoor]

So there are legal issues with doing this - in particular, finding a source of natural coral in the keys.

Legality regarding reefs is explained here:
http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/regs/welcome.html

Elkhorn coral is listed as a protected species. At the same time, it has been successfully documented in transplantation here:
http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/coral-transplant/

Permits do exist, which grant exceptions to the laws in the Florida Wildlife protected areas. I'm currently contacting NOAA and the USGS about this.

[Cermet]

Instead, try raising and breeding a popular fish (salt) that has never been done and in this way, prevent damage to the world's oceans - now that is something anyone can do and the results would have a good use in the world and help us save species and the environment!