From ReefPedia

[edit] Sinularia Difficulty: Easy Light: Adaptable to any normally acceptable for corals Aggression: Not aggressive. Hardiness: Mostly hardy Growth Rate: Medium to fast, depending on conditions Availability: Common, depending on species and variety

Introduction

Introduction to the coral goes here

Common Names

• Leather Coral
• Finger Leather
• Rasta Leather (Sinularia Flexibilis)
• Cabbage Leather (Sinularia Dura)
• Lettuce Coral (Sinularia Dura)

Scientific Names

There are several species of Sinularia as follows-

• Sinularia flexibilis

Slender branches off of a central stalk(s)

• Sinularia dura

Wavey curved form, reminiscent of leaves or cups.

• Sinularia abrupta

Very short branches on a flat, stretched out base

• Sinularia brassica

Similar to dura, but with more extended branches

• Sinularia mollis

Similar to flexibilis, longer extentions of branches

• Sinularia polydactyla

As the name suggests, stubby, finger like branching form.

• Sinularia spp

Catch-all name for species not yet scientifically classified

Hardiness

Sinularia run on the hardy side of corals. Exstensive stress or damage can cause a rapid decline however.

Flow

Medium to High. You do not want the branches to whip about, but they should sway gently in the current(excepting the short branched forms) Curent should not be a tight stream directed on the coral. Random current patterens will be appreciated by the coral. Proper flow helps ensure removal of excess mucus and aids during shedding.

Lighting

Sinularia can adapt to all ranges of lighting that are considered acceptable for corals. Medium lighting produces better results then low however. Adjusting the coral to high lighting should be done slowly. Colors, such as green, in some species are more pronounced with actinics.

Placement

Can be placed anywhere in the tank that is pleasing to the eye. Take into consideration current, room for growth, proximity to aggressive corals, ect...
Since the branches will catch the current, take care that it will not eventually tip over.

Feeding

Direct feeding is not needed, persay. Sinularia contains symbiotic algae cells that asisst in feeding, and particles will be captured from the water stream. If attempting to induce faster growth, direct feeding may help, if the right type of food, and the right particle size is given ((anyone know exactaly what that is?)

Propagation

Sinularia is very easy to propogate. It heals fast, grows fast, and it's branching form lends itself well to cuttings.

Setting up

You will want the following items

• Two shallow contaniers of tank water. Enough water to stay at a stable temp while you conduct the propagation.
• A fresh razor blade
• Undyed, unscented paper towels
• A way to mount the coral, see below for choices
• Clean hands, or if you want to make sure of everything, latex gloves.

Mounting options

• Rubble tray with small/medium gravel peices-

For this method, you need a shallow plastic tray, filled with small peices of course gravel. Think pea sized to nickle sized. This should of course be reef-safe.

Since your Sinularia cutting will not lay flat, while this method is simple, it can be hard to keep them from being swept out of the tray. you willneed to carefully place rocks around the base of the branch cutting. Kinda like planting a plant

• Base rock and rubber bands

In this method, you take the split coral and use a rubber band to hold it agaisnt the base rock until it attaches. While this sounds simple enough, it can be a tedious battle to get the rubber band snug enough to hold the coral in place, while keeping it loose enough to prevent it causing damage to the coral. Also if the coral is aggravated by the rubberband, it may take a long time to attach to the rock

• Base rock and wedding veil/netting

In this method, you lay the frag on the base rock, then lay netting over it and use rubber bands to secure the netting onto the rock, without the rubber bands touching the coral. While this method works well, and is a good choice if you do not want a tray sitting in your tank, it can take a long time for the coral to attach to the rock. It is also hard to tell if the coral has become attached or not, without undoing the whole thing.

• Base rock and toothpicks

For this method, you take round plastic toothpicks and shove them through your coral frag, and into the base rock. You then place a dab of super glue onto the toothpick just a bit above the coral to keep it from slidding up and off the toothpick.

This method can work very well, and is the least noticable, however, it is very hard to get the frags to attach. They tend to slide off the toothpick, even with the blockade of superglue. Do not use wooden toothpicks.

• Other methods

Spot for other methods to be added

Splitting the Coral

Remove the coral you wish to make cutings from, from your tank and place it into one of the containers of tank water.
Using the razor blade, cut through a branch in one smooth motion. You want to get a single clean cut. It may take a bit of pressure, as the calcium sclerites give the coral it's rigidty. Take care not to crush the tissue of the coral while you are holding it
Take the cut branches(it's best not to take more then one or two cuttings at a time from a mother coral, unles it is very large) and place them and the mother coral into the second container of tnak water. They will be extruding a very thick, very slippery slime. This is normal.
Take one of the branches from the secondary container, and gently blot it off on the paper towel. You are not trying to dry off the coral, you are just trying to blot off the slime so you can work with the coral piece. You do not want it to become fully dry. Mount the coral as described in your chosen method. Place each coral into the main/propagation tank as soon as it is mounted, and return the mother colony to the spot where it was taken from. This is important to ensure that you do not add any more stress factors to its recovery then nessecary
When finsihed, throw out the water in both containers.

Over the next couple of weeks, you will want to check your frags daily to ensure that they are not becoming infected. Infection tends to look like thick white stuff clinging to the cut edge of the coral. If infection if noted, increase the water flow to the coral. Also, somtimes Sinularia may start to 'peel' or lose flesh around a cut, resulting in a rough/hairy look as only the sclerites are left behind.((Best thing to do in this case?))
Read below for some notes what size peices to cut the coral into.

What size pieces can I cut my coral into?

• Large(four inch or larger) sections

Good choice for if you just want a second coral in your tank. Choose a large-ish branch. Try not to split the coral down the middle.

• Two to Three inch sections

Both a good, and common, size for larger scale propagation, or if you don't mind waiting a bit for it to grow out. Helps if you can cut just below a Y shaped branch. this makes the finished frag look nicer, and makes it easier to mount

• One-inch sections

Can work. May be hard to mount. Long wait for them to get to a nice size

• Smaller peices

Read:lost coral. Can be done and all, but not really worth the effort. Hard to mount

Common Problems/Diseases and how to solve them

Predators

Any known natural predators of this coral to look out for?

Additional Notes

• Sometimes(not so often that you need to be paranoid) Sinularia are dyed bright colors to make them saleable. To determine if a Sin. is dyed or not, you can excise a sclertite from the coral, carefully of course. If it is colored, the coral has likely been dyed. Or preferably, your LFS guy is reputable and will just tell you.
• Nepetha Trees are not Sinularia.

FAQ

Commonly-asked questions regarding the coral.