Nicks Posted October 20, 2004 Report Share Posted October 20, 2004 Just to help my fellow hobbiest I was wondering what methods are being used to frag corals. I know the usual thing of acro,s and aqua-kneedit (the quantity of acro frags aroung at present is great and sales of selleys epoxy putty must be at record levels) wondering what you guys all do to frag corals, split anenomes, mushrooms and fancy softies. I am thinking along the lines of How do you cut them? How do you attach them Best water quality for softies and sps .i.e. nutrient rich vs nutrient poor.? Light levels ect??? Just a bit more indepth that CHOP THE BUGGERS IN HALF AND GET THEM ON TRADE ME BEFORE THE GLUE SETS I found a while ago when I had lots of softies that a frag that was cleanly cut with surgical scissors. a tooth pick inserted through the frag and used to attach the cut face to a coral chip worked well. Also nutrient rich water iodine supplements and 6500K lights worked wonders for softies. I am interested in fragging large quantities of Acro's and Monti's and I was wondering if anyone has seen any info or links to good sites that deal with this. Nicks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted October 20, 2004 Report Share Posted October 20, 2004 Acros easy - Aquaneedit and a rock. Most people think that horizontal 'planting' works better than vertical. Most stoney corals the same as above. Softies/Xenia - Use a super sharp razor blade (e.g. new, buy 10 from the $2 shop). I usually chop of 2 branches and use a cable tie to hole it to the rock through the Y branch. Mushrooms - Never 'fragged' one before, but I have real problems 1. getting them off the rock 2. getting them to stick to a rock. My soultion, no more mushrooms in my tank, moving them out. Nothing to exciting there. My biggest tips are use a very sharp blade and if possible do it all while keeping the coral underwater. I have fragged leather corals and had them continue to stay open whiles being choppen into 4 pieces. Happy fragging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted October 20, 2004 Report Share Posted October 20, 2004 A toothpick worked great for a xenia for me. Except the nasty little bastard snotted all over the rock, my hand, the tank, every where while I was trying to get it stabbed with the toothpick and cable tied down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RnB Posted October 20, 2004 Report Share Posted October 20, 2004 i am doing the mushroom thing this weekend. 1. cut off the main body of mushroom leaving the stork attached to rock. 2. chope up mushroom and place over large rock chips in a shallow petri type dish 3. cover with fine netting and place into low flow rate area of tank..... 4. Leave for 3-4 weeks. Glue the new little mushie frags onto a piece of LR. 5 wait a while and flog on trademe 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 chuck soft coral frag of choice on a rock & cover with a hair net, sweet as! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicks Posted October 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 What about LPS and anenomes???? Anyone chopped these babies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 I don't know how easy it is to frag the LPS type corals. I have been given some 'frags' from green hammers etc. The branching ones are easy, chop of a branch. The shelled ones however, not so easy. I've been given a pearl bubble frag, hammers etc. All survived but the amount of die-off was mega. Anemones - I have Apstasia and Majrno sorted but its a trade seceret I don't want to share. Otherwise no experance. Piemania Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 I'm just a learner at this, but so far I think that for most species the particular technique for dividing is not that important, the main thing is the aftercare, giving the frag an environment suitable for it to recover in. To me it seems the biggest killer of new frags including anemones is infection, if that can be dealt to success is very likely, so a clean environment with better than normal current is good, to blow away slime etc. Second in line is securing the frag well or allowing it to secure itself, so it will not fall off and otherwise have to be handled more than once or generally jerked around with. Each time that happens the chances of losing it are increased. Course, non of this really applies to SPS, which are too easy, just break off, stick somewhere else, watch it grow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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