Calling all Zoanthid Fraggers.

juice_1080

juice_1080

Member
I have been trying to figure out how you frag a colony of zoas on a rock that cannot be broken. How do you successfully "peel" them off the rock without destroying them. I have read alot of threads that make it sound like you can either shake or peel them off the rock but none of these methods seem to work for me. They do not just fall off when I shake them and when I try to pry them off by lifting their pads I end up completely hacking them apart. The only ones I have been able to successfully frag have had polyps that where growing unattached to the rockwork or where on rock that was easy to break.
Anybody that knows a really good way or maybe a tool that is perfect for prying them up would be very helpful. Thanks alot for the help. I am addicted to fragging.
 
isistius

isistius

Active Member
you can use a butter knife to pry up one polyp and start peeling it back from there. it's worked for me in the past
 
grabbitt

grabbitt

Active Member
Originally Posted by Isistius
http:///forum/post/2516339
you can use a butter knife to pry up one polyp and start peeling it back from there. it's worked for me in the past
+1
If you need any more of an edge to get the peel started, a razor blade will do the job.
 
juice_1080

juice_1080

Member
The problem I am having is that as soon as I touch them they basically retract into the mat and when I use a razor blade it just slices them up. Maybe its just because I am still new to the process and maybe I will catch on to it after a couple tries. I am just really afraid of killing them. I was also curious about Clove Polyps as well. The guy I bought the frags from attached them to ceramic so I can't just take some of the ceramic off with the polyps.
How do you get a hold of the single polyp? They are so small....or do you just continue with the edge and lift with that?
 
bronco300

bronco300

Active Member
find a nice edge of the matt and take the razor blade or a tiny screwdriver(like for glasses) and usually what i find is right under the mat of zoos the rock is usually crumbly some...so you can actually dig into the rock just a bit to get below the mat and pull up ever so lightly...dont try to hold onto the polyp or you might bust it...just keep prying up...then once you get however many cut the mat between the polyps....i like the screwdriver because its not nearly as sharp...but if you can dig into the actual rock then its much easier to get under....of course it makes everything harder if you're doing this in tank...which seems like you may since you say it cant be broken?
 
S

saltycrab

Guest
What bronco said. Prop plugs, tiles, and other man made items that zoas are grown on are usually flat so a sharp edge can easily peel the zoas off. Just do it slowly and be observant of how the zoas are coming off. Wear eye protection and gloves and don't get the zoo slime on you. Wash your hands afterwards too. Most LR is fairly soft and can be cut and chiseled easily. For this I use a pocket knife, exacto type pen knife, a

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driver, hammer, and EYE protection. Have some tank water nearby so that you don't have the zoas out of the water for so long. This will cause them to open and attach to their new home faster.You said you are trying to get one polyp or something. I usually frag at least 3 so that they can be attached with less chance of latter detaching from the superglue.
 
bronco300

bronco300

Active Member
Originally Posted by SpiderWoman
http:///forum/post/2518442
How long can you have them out of the water?
they can be kept out quite a while...i think i've accidently forgotten some of my frags i've cut out of water for 20 minutes or so,lol...but you have plenty of time...and you could always get a little bowl to dampen it and put any polyps in until you're ready to glue.
 
iusetablesalt

iusetablesalt

Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2518535
Gloves and glasses are a good precaution here. (doctor's gloves)
Yup, thank spanko i forgot abou how to prevent it
. Yeah, I've seen too many fellow reefers forget and get really sick (as in vomiting uncontrollably, passing out, and even death
). My motto is: don't let your own hobbie kill you

Fun Fact: ancient hawaiians dipped their

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w/ palytoxins to poison their enemies/hunt
 
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