Fragging leather

[calvertbill]

I went to this forum expecting to find several pre-existing threads on this subject (like Hippo questions in the fish forum) but after going back 5 pages decided to start my own.
I'm anticipating the day when I'll need to frag my leather as it's getting rather big at around 7" from foot to lip.
1. How do you do it? It seems to me that if i just cut a 1-2" chunk out of its edge it'll look like a very large fish took a bite out of it! Does anyone cut a 1' ribbon all the way around the lip so you're left with a uniformly cut back edge?
2. I sort of remember having heard or read something about cut leathers releasing toxins into the water?

 

[scopus tang]

Bill, I would suggest looking under the fragging techniques forum, I'm sure that reefkeeperZ or someone has a thread on there somewhere.
What I've always done, is cut around the head, so you cut it back even with the stalk. Then take the piece you cut off, cut it into pie-shaped pieces and superglue the pieces to you frag rock. replace in tank and let grow.
I've seen them fragged both in tank and out of tank, if fragging in, I would make sure you are running carbon when you do - personally I prefer to frag out of the tank. HTH.

 

[lordlion]

Yes they do release toxins in the water all soft corals do if you touch them you need to wash your hands if you don't and touch your eye you have to go to the hospital for temporary blindness.

 

[nycbob]

whats the link for? ur router setting? when i fragged my leather (toadstool), i just take my scissor and start cutting away under water since the leather is so huge and it attached to multiple rocks. i dont cut it in any particular shape or form. the leather recovers quite fast after a few days and will look great again after 1-2 weeks. i hv sps, lps and clams in my tank and havent noticed any adverse effect.

 

[wilsonreef]

I would leave it alone for a while. I have one I've had for a couple of years and this thing keeps dropping "babies" left and right. It looks like it's dying and a piece the size of a silver dollar just comes off the mother toadstool. Mine has done this so many times I have probably 20+ Leather Toadstools all over my tank. some are the size of quarters some are 4" in diameter. I have never fragged this my self though. See if mother nature interveins.

 

[reefkprz]

leathers exude turpenoid compunds when stressed in large amounts as well as small amounts continuously to inhibit the growth of competing corals. the blindess thing mentioned is very unlikley though you might get a really cool infection from touching your eye after touching a leather from one of the many thousands of bacteria that live on the surface of the coral....
here is a short vid of fragging a leather in tank, as always I recommend when ever possible to do any fragging out of tank, but well sometimes you just cant.
scroll down to post number 6
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=272990