pufferman
Aquarium Advice Freak
I wanted to know how to frag corals like soft leather corals, polyps and mushroom polyps
P-Man
P-Man
Fragging Corals
- Thread starter pufferman
- Start date
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loganj
Aquarium Advice Addict
First, I would suggest buying a copy of "The Book of Coral Propagation" by Anthony Calfo. Also, do a search on the site on coral fragging. That will probably give you more info than you wanted 
.
The best way to frag poylps...I'm assuming you mean zoanthids...is to put several rocks around them and let the poylps grow onto them.
You can do shrooms the same way or you can cut them. Cut the shroom like a pizza and leave it alone for about a week. Then, finish dividing it and try to get some of the center with each piece. Put the frags on some rock rubble in a low flow area and they will attach on their own...usually within a week or less.
For the leather corals, cut off a piece at least 2" long. Do this in a bowl outside the tank. Then, you can either lay the cut frag on some rubble and let it attach or you can attach it to a rock. One way to do this is to glue 1/2 of a plastic toothpic to a rock with gel type super glue. Impale the frag on the toothpick and bend the end over so the frag can't slide off. It will attach to the rock and tpick. Or, you can attach it to a rock with bridal veil and super glue. The toothpick method works better IME though. I like to dip the frags and donor colony in some Kent Tech D before returning them to the tank.
.The best way to frag poylps...I'm assuming you mean zoanthids...is to put several rocks around them and let the poylps grow onto them.
You can do shrooms the same way or you can cut them. Cut the shroom like a pizza and leave it alone for about a week. Then, finish dividing it and try to get some of the center with each piece. Put the frags on some rock rubble in a low flow area and they will attach on their own...usually within a week or less.
For the leather corals, cut off a piece at least 2" long. Do this in a bowl outside the tank. Then, you can either lay the cut frag on some rubble and let it attach or you can attach it to a rock. One way to do this is to glue 1/2 of a plastic toothpic to a rock with gel type super glue. Impale the frag on the toothpick and bend the end over so the frag can't slide off. It will attach to the rock and tpick. Or, you can attach it to a rock with bridal veil and super glue. The toothpick method works better IME though. I like to dip the frags and donor colony in some Kent Tech D before returning them to the tank.
pufferman
Aquarium Advice Freak
barnes and noble.com was the only place i could even find the book by anthony calfo, but a used copy wasnt even available, do you have any other sources
P-MAN
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steve-s
Guest
pufferman
Aquarium Advice Freak
well by fragging i mean not to grow another animal but to control the growth of the zoanthids and polyps. and do you cut the leather coral with scissors of a blade of somekind? and is there any special place you cut on the leather.
P-MAN
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loganj
Aquarium Advice Addict
Growth control is hard to do with poylps...anywhere you cut them off, if you leave even the tiniest piece on the rock, another one, usually larger and stronger, will grow back.
I like to use a single edged razor blade to frag soft corals. It does a little less damage that scissors. If you have a really good pair of scissors, they would probably be OK though. I always try to make cuts at the base of a branch. Try to cut only branches that have 2-3 extensions already growing on them. You'll have a better survival rate and it's a lot easier to attach the larger pieces. If you get any super glue on the coral, immerse it in water as quickly as possible because the glue gets hot as it sets and can damage the coral tissue.
I like to use a single edged razor blade to frag soft corals. It does a little less damage that scissors. If you have a really good pair of scissors, they would probably be OK though. I always try to make cuts at the base of a branch. Try to cut only branches that have 2-3 extensions already growing on them. You'll have a better survival rate and it's a lot easier to attach the larger pieces. If you get any super glue on the coral, immerse it in water as quickly as possible because the glue gets hot as it sets and can damage the coral tissue.
pufferman
Aquarium Advice Freak
how do you frag a soft coral such as a toadstool, when it doesnt have any branches
loganj
Aquarium Advice Addict
Cut the head off of it. Put the stalk back in the tank...it'll grow a new head. Take the head that you cut off and cut it in to pieces...whatever size you want the frags to be...I usually cut it like a pizza. Lay the frags on some rock rubble in an area where the flow is light enough not to blow them away. Or, pin them to a piece of rock with the plastic toothpick. Or, cut some thin strips of bridal veil and strap them gently to a piece of rock. Use gel type super glue to secure the veil to the rock. Try to make sure the cut edges are exposed to water flow and not jammed against the rock...this cuts the chance of infection.
