Over the last year or so, there has been a surge in the number of people keeping coral in their aquarium tanks and the popularity of keeping corals just keeps on increasing.
Although some people are adding coral to their regular marine tank, many people are trying their hand at a dedicated reef tank or a coral only tank like a zoa tank.
This has resulted in a number of questions being asked by people looking to start keeping coral each month and no matter the type of tank you want to keep, the actual glue that you use to secure your coral frag is more important than most people think.
Due to this as well as the number of people we see asking, we have decided to publish this article going over the best glue for coral frags to try and help our readers avoid some of the common mistakes that we see people make.
We chose to publish this article as so many people new to keeping coral fail to realize just how sensitive some coral can be and then they use glue that will cause problems by releasing toxins into their aquarium.
We go into this in more detail in our article on the best aquarium glue and our article on using Krazy glue for aquariums but in short, you need something that will be fully inert when fully cured to make it as safe as possible for use in a tank with coral in it.
Why Do You Need Glue For Coral Frags?
The first question that we need to answer is why you actually need glue for coral frags in the first place.
This is a valid question as some people do just added their frags to the rock work or plug they are using and let them attach themselves.
While this can work, it takes a lot longer than gluing the frag in place and if you are looking to add a frag to an area with high flow, it can be very difficult for the coral to actually attach and stay in place.
Gluing coral frags is not only quicker but in many cases, it will actually lead to a stronger attachment as the coral will have something to grip on to as well as the rock work or plug.
This is especially important with zoanthids and palythoas as they have very small foot holds and are often blown around in high flow tanks.
By gluing them down, you can help to keep them in place and stop them from getting damaged by being moved around too much.
Another reason that you might need to glue coral frags is if you are fragging a coral that does not attach well to the rock work or plug.
Coral like this can be very difficult to frag as when you cut it, it will often just fall off the rock work or plug and float around in the tank until it dies.
The Best Glue For Coral Frags!
Technically, there are a number of glue products on the market that are “safe” for use in an aquarium when fully cured but only Seachem Reef Glue has been fully tested by a reputable company within the fish keeping space.
In our opinion, you should not be taking risks when it comes to your corals and you really should be looking to use Seachem Reef Glue for your coral frags if possible.
Not only will it be able to secure your coral frag in place with ease but when cured, it will not release any toxins into your aquarium water that may cause problems with your water parameters.
In reef tanks or coral only tanks, even a small change to water parameters or a low level of toxins being released into the water can cause serious problems.
Not only is Seachems Reef Glue cheap while offering excellent performance, it is very beginner friendly too allowing coral keepers of all skill levels to use it in their tanks without issue.
Still, even though we do feel that Seachems Reef Glue is the best glue for coral frags on the market, we do commonly see people asking questions about various other types of glue so we will touch on them below.
Can You Use Gorilla Glue For Coral Frags?
Gorilla glue is currently the most commonly used glue in the world and although it has been popular in North America for decades, it is rapidly expanding in Europe too.
This means that a large number of people who are keeping corals in their aquarium have been asking if they can use Gorilla glue for coral.
In short, you technically can and many people do but we usually don’t recommend it unless you have the time available to let the glue fully cure for your coral frag.
Depending on the type of coral you are using, the cure time for Gorilla glue may be too long for the coral to stay out of water without having serious problems too with this often being overlooked.
We have a dedicated article going over using Gorilla glue in aquariums that goes over these points in far more detail though.
Can You Use Hot Glue For Coral Frags?
The number of people using hot glue for their aquascapes within the aquarium keeping hobby has sky rocketed recently.
With the spike in people looking to keep coral in their tanks, it’s only natural that there would be a number of people reaching out about using hot glue for coral frags.
This can work and hot glue can be a great way to secure coral frags but it’s not for everyone and there are definitely downsides.
The initial costs tend to be higher when looking to use hot glue so we don’t usually recommend it unless you will be using hot glue for other things too.
Many hot glue sticks are toxic too and depending on where you live, it may not be easy to find non-toxic glue sticks to use in your aquarium with coral.
Still, we have an article going over using hot glue for aquariums that goes into more detail on this as well as points out how you should go about using hot glue in an aquarium safely no matter the task.
Can You Use Regular Super Glue For Coral Frags?
We usually don’t recommend that you use regular super glue for coral frags as the normal super glue products tend to be cheap with low quality, potentially toxic ingredients that make it highly likely that the super glue will cause problems in your aquarium.
These products are not designed for use in an aquarium so they don’t factor in the unique requirements of an aquarium safe glue during their production.
You also have to realize that many of these regular super glue products don’t like their cure times making it difficult to know when the glue can be submerged with water.
You then have to factor in the potential risks of salt water breaking the regular super glue down over time so in general, it’s just not worth the risk for using regular super glue with your coral frag.
