How to frag corals (make sticky please)

blackjacktang

blackjacktang

Active Member
Mushroom Coral
Unlike what many people might think, the propagation of soft coral and polyps is a relatively easy thing and can still be performed by anyone with limited time and resources. Below I have documented the process I have followed to propagate mushrooms in my main tank. Note, this write up is the process I follow, I will not be held responsible if you try this and damage or somehow spoil your tank or livestock. It is meant to be used as a guide in your endeavors to propagate and cultivate your own mushrooms.
Before I start, let me tell you about my main set up and my prop tank. I live on the 6th floor of an apartment building. As much as I would love to have a 100+ gallon tank, I drew the line at a 72G Bowfront. I was running a 40G with a 30G Refugium/Sump before that. The tank I have used as a prop tank until now is the cheapest set up possible, in other words, a 10G tank, with some sand at the bottom, a NO Fluorescent tube, and a small Whisper filter. Nothing more, nothing less. Sure, this is not the best of setups to do this, but I, like most people, did not have much money to spare and what little extra money I did have was going into my show tank. I have since moved up mostly due to size limitations with the 10G tank. My boss at work tore down a turtle tank he had and kindly donated a 20G long tank, which I have converted to my prop tank. I have set it up with 2 Lights Of America power compacts for lighting and a small Rio powerhead for circulation. Skimming on the 20G is provided by a RedSea Prizm I used to have on my 72G which I replaced with a AquaC EV 150.
Now that you have an idea of the setup you will need to maintain the frags, let's make the frags! Prepare for the day that you are going to frag.
This includes the following:
Have base rock or reef plugs to mount your frags on
Have 2 small tanks or containers big enough to work in. ( I use a 10G tank and a small Rubbermaid container)
Sharp scissors (Toxin free, oil free, rust free)
Paper towels (Bounty)
Super Glue Gel (Keep it in the freezer to thicken it)
String/Rope/Nylon filament to tie frags to rocks
Tweezers
Water – I usually use about 5G of water, so what I do is use the occasion to do a small water change in my show tank, and use the water I have taken out to do my cutting and chopping in.
Tank to put the frags in. (This could be your show tank but it’s not recommended as frags emit a lot of mucous and other toxins in the water that could affect your other livestock)
Once you have all your equipment ready and are psychologically prepared to cut your livestock up, get ready to get your hands wet and slimy :)
 
blackjacktang

blackjacktang

Active Member
Step 1) Pick the mushroom that you are going to cut. This should be a healthy big mushroom with a base that you can cut. If you are dealing with a mushroom that has a big base, you can still do it, it’s just more of a pain. Pull the rock out of your tank if possible and place it in the tank where you are going to cut. In my case my rock had several mushrooms I wanted to frag on it, so I pulled the whole rock out and placed it in the smaller tank.
Step 2) Use the scissors and make a clean cut at the base of the stem of the mushroom. Be careful to try avoiding cutting the disc at the top. The mushroom will most likely make it if you cut the disk but it will be harder to splice afterwards.
Step 3) If you want to frag the mushroom more than just once you can cut the crown up like you would a pizza. You will quickly notice that this is a lot easier said than done. As soon as the mushroom is cut it will start releasing a very slimy substance which makes it hard to handle and cut accurately. From personal experience just about every piece, big or small, no matter how lopsided the cut has grown back into a full mushroom, including the original base. As you cut up the rest of your mushrooms, you can place the cut pieces in a cup of tank water or let them float in the tank.
Step 4) You will then want to dab the little pieces of mushroom on a paper towel to remove some of the slime and make the frag more maneuverable. Here, depending on the size of the frag you have several options as to how to secure the frag to the rock or reefplug.
Super Glue – If the piece is small you may want to superglue it onto the rock. This is relatively easy. Place a drop of glue on a rock where you would like to secure the frag and gently press it onto the rock. If you are gluing several little pieces at the same time, it might be easier to put all the drops of glue first and then start pressing the mushroom cutouts onto the rock. Try to keep the mushroom cut ups out of water as little as possible. The fact that you are chopping them up is traumatic enough to the organisms.
String/Rope – If the frag is big enough you can use a rubber band or string to tie it to the rock. If you are using string or rope, make sure you soak it in water first. I use 100% cotton string so as to make sure there are no dies or bleaches in the string that might affect the tank. Tie the frag securely to the rock. Keep in mind that the frag will expand with water and swell during the healing process, and coupled with water current may come loose.
Wedding Veil- Some people use wedding veil as a net to keep the frag in place. I have never used this method, but I wanted to mention it in case you might be interested. This is more common for Sarcophyton (Leather Corals).
Step 5) Place the rocks in water, you may want to use the second tank as a temp holding tank while you finish the other rocks, or you may put them into your propagation tank or show tank.
I personally place them in my 20G propagation tank. Make sure to run carbon and a skimmer for the time directly following the fragging. It’s important because of all the toxins released into the water where all the cuts are healing. This will clean the water. Water changes would also bee good if you are able to do so.
Step 6) Be patient. It will take 1-2 weeks for the frags to grab onto the rock and slowly start growing. Depending on water quality and lighting conditions, your frags may grow very fast. That’s it. You can now call your friend up and offer a new frag for trade and get some more new distinctly colored frags.




 
blackjacktang

blackjacktang

Active Member
Xenia Coral
Xenia spreads like a weed!!! You do not need to throw it away the unwanted ployps.
Matrerials:
*Plastic mesh bag with small holes no bigger than this O (one you would buy a sack of onions or lemons)
*Sharp razor blade or scissors
*rubber bands
*1-1/2 to 2 inch pieces of rock, coral chucks, snail shells, anything really.
*A dish, tupperware ect w/ your tanks water in it.
Procedure:
1. Locate a larger established ployp. (pick the one you dont want to see anymore, not your awesome show one)
2. Cut close to the stalk's connection with the rock.
3. GRAB IT BEFORE IT FLOATS AWAY!!!
4. Put the cutting into the dish.
5. Take the cutting and cut it half into smaller pieces (a two inch colony would be cut four times.)
6. Take the mesh and cut it to an aporpiate size to the rock enough to rubber ban the mesh to the rock.
7. Take rock and the xenia colony and put the mesh over the colonies, make sure the polyps are facing up through the nets.
8. Rubber ban the mesh around the rock.
9. Quickly take your new colony and put it back into the main tank.
Note: It will look bad for a while, brown and purple pale look to it, give it about two weeks or more and you will have a two inch tall stock and ploylps pulsing!!! Make sure you only trade healthy polyps use your best judgement!!
 
blackjacktang

blackjacktang

Active Member
Ricordea Coral
Materials Needed
The ricordea corals to be propagated
Scissors or comparable cutting tool
Live Rock Rubble
Small Section of Mesh from a bag of oranges
Rubberband
Here is the ricordea colony that I am going to frag a polyp off of.
The tools that I use to propagate ricordea polyps include clean, sharp scissors,a piece of the mesh bag that oranges are commonly packaged in, rubberbands, the ricordea polyps to be propagated, and some live rock rubble or shells. Various materials will work in place of the mesh including bridal veil and garden netting found at the hardware store.
First start by using the scissors to cut the head of the polyp off of the stalk.
Then place the ricordea polyp onto your piece of rubble.
Then take a small piece of mesh and wrap it around the rubble a few times to hold the polyp in place. Use the rubberband to secure the mesh to the rubble. Try not to wrap the rubberband so that it is applying too much pressure on the ricordea polyp itself, instead try to wrap the rubberband around either side of the polyp. Place the rubble back into your tank and check the polyp after one week.




 
blackjacktang

blackjacktang

Active Member
Goniopora Coral
So you want to frag your Goniopora huh? Just to be clear here, there is a difference between fragmentation and propagation. Fragmentation doesn't necessarily mean that there will be MORE total volume of coral created. If you frag a Goniopora colony and a couple of the frags die, you end up with less coral than what you started with.......and unfortunately, Goniopora are not the fastest growers. Propagation, on the other hand, is an increase in the total volume of coral either by enlargement of the colony or by the production of offspring. Ideally, it would be best to allow the coral colony to increase in size before fragging it, but since things don't always happen that way the next best scenario would be to at least make sure the coral is healthy first before cutting it up.
A Purple Goniopora sp.
At the moment, this coral is not the healthiest specimen to fragment. Notice how short the polyps are (they should be longer) and how the tentacles surrounding the mouths look like little nubs (they should be longer and thicker too). When the coral is retracted, the perimeter tissue doesn't appear as if it is growing. In fact, it appears to be receding. To fragment this coral now would not be a good idea. How can a coral regenerate tissue to heal itself if it isn't even growing? A very good way of losing a whole Goniopora colony to Brown Jelly infection is to fragment it when it is unhealthy. It needs to be fattened up first.
Exactly one month later:
I fed the Goni regularly and then quit feeding two days before fragging. The polyps and tentacles look much healthier now. The polyp stalks have become more brown and the tentacles have become more purple. There is new growth around the coral's perimeter too, which is probably the single most important occurence to look for when preparing to frag Goniopora.
I have noticed when Goniopora contracts a brown jelly infection, feeding the coral makes it worse. So, to reduce the chance of infection, I stopped feeding a few days prior to cutting and resumed feeding a few days after cutting.
Tools of the trade:
It's pretty simple: A coping saw, a bowl, and a block of wood. The saw cost around $5 or $6 and came with a fine toothed saw blade. Due to the growth form of Goniopora, a coping saw is much easier to use than a dremel and cuts more cleanly than a chisel....and doesn't create as much mess either. The bowl is for keeping extra tank water in to rinse off the pieces after the coral is cut and the block of wood is to keep me from gouging my table.
Capturing the victim:
When handling Goniopora, it is always best to make sure the coral is completely retracted before picking it up. This way, there isn't as much risk of tearing the delicate polyp tissue. I use the waving hand technique to get the coral to retract.
Planning the cut:
I planned the cutting route so that it would take out as few polyps as possible (red dotted line). Plus, the coral was not as thick in the area where I planned the cut. I knocked off a little bit of extra rock, which is in the bowl of tank water. Notice, my thumb looks like it is mashing the perimeter tissue. It is not, but that is something to watch out for when handling Goniopora.
Before I began cutting, I took some alcohol and wiped the blade with it just in case there was some type of oil or grease residue on it (they sometimes come that way). Sawing through the coral is not as difficult as it may seem. Most of the "rock" is actually layers of skeleton and the progress is quick and clean. The fine blade on the coping saw does very little collateral damage to the tissue and skeleton. If possible, always try to hold the coral by the base rock and not the tissue.
Rinse:
Dip the pieces in the bowl of tank water to rinse off the debris.
Inspect:
Stare in awe at the cool growth formation of Goniopora while thinking about the wonders that nature provides us with to temp our curiosity.
......and hope that the cut edge heals over without any problem.
Mounting:
I mounted the smaller piece of this coral onto some DIY rock. First, I took a cloth and gently dried the flat surface of the coral skeleton (but not the cut tissue area). Next, I applied some super glue gel onto the rock in a "C" shape, which is barely visible in the pic. Then, I pressed and held the frag until it dried a little. I did not press the tissue into the glue; just the flat skeleton surface.




 
J

jesses89

Guest
can one use a razor blade to cut the ricordea instead of scissors? also, what do you feed your ricordea? and how often? thanks
 
alix2.0

alix2.0

Active Member
Originally Posted by Jesses89
http:///forum/post/2560994
can one use a razor blade to cut the ricordea instead of scissors? also, what do you feed your ricordea? and how often? thanks
yes you can use a razor, and you dont really have to feed them. maybe a little phyto once in a awhile.
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
Originally Posted by Blackjacktang
http:///forum/post/2561217
Thanks. And mods, can this be a sticky???
if every thread that was ever requested to be stikied was there would be 3000 stickys thats 60 PAGES of stickies before getting to new posts. you may stand a better chance of asking it be archived.
 
blackjacktang

blackjacktang

Active Member
Pavona Coral
Materials Needed
The specimen to be propagated
Bone cutters or comparable cutting tool(optional)
Super Glue - the thicker the better
Rubble or plugs
This tutorial will demonstrate how to frag a Pavona coral (common name Cactus Coral). The photo on the right shows the coral I'll be fragging.
I have removed the coral from the reef aquarium to take the cutting. Another option for fragging this coral is the slow and patient way. As you can see in the photo to the right I have attached some shells onth the rock with a dab of superglue just below where the coral was encrusting. It is difficult to see in the photo but the pavona is begining to encrust onto the shells. Eventually you could break off the shells when they are completely encrusted.
I will be using a pair of stainless steel bone cutters to take my cuttings. The photo on the right shows the piece I have selected to frag. Cuting tools are not required as the upward growing plates will break off pretty easily.
After your frag has been cut, you can now super glue it to a piece of rubble. Squeeze out some super glue on to the rubble and hold the frag in place. After about 30 seconds the glue should hold the frag in place. At this point you can place the frag back into your tank.




 
blackjacktang

blackjacktang

Active Member
Candy Cane Coral
Materials Needed
The specimen to be propagated
Bone cutters or comparable cutting tool(optional)
Epoxy (optional)
This demonstration will show you how to propagate caulastrea (common name Candy Cane Coral). Caulastrea is an LPS coral that is very easy to frag. The first step is to remove the coral from your reef aquarium, as shown in the photo on the right.
Step 2 is to actually make the cut. You can use your hands to break off a piece, but I prefer to use a set of bone cutters for this job for improved accuracy. If you don't happen to have any bone cutters on hand then a trip to the tool department of your local Home Depot or Lowes should provide you with plenty of options for tools to complete this job. Ensure that you make your cut as far below the fleshy part of the coral as possible. You should find that the calcareous skeleton is relatively easy to cut through.
Now you have your frag. Since my Candy Cane Coral was not that big to begin with, I only cut a small frag for demonstration purposes. You will probably want to include multiple heads in the frag that you cut. At this point you could optionally epoxy the frag to the rockwork in your tank.


 
rebelprettyboy

rebelprettyboy

Active Member
Nice thread keep it going. alsways good to have fraggin threads to help out people like myself. WHat else are you gonna post?
If so do one about Zoanthids? people do it so many different ways
 
blackjacktang

blackjacktang

Active Member
Zoanthids
Materials Needed
A clean shotglass or small glass of proper size
Little pieces of rock or rubble
Some bridal veil
A rubber band
The frag
Fill the glass about 1/2 with tank water
Add pieces of rock to cover the bottom
Add your frag and try to get them to land face up on a rock. This is not as easy as it sounds.
If the frag has been in your tank for awhile I suggest going with the veil. If it is new to your tank or under stress no veil.
The veil really cuts the circulation and if your shroom is oozing it wont take long to kill it.
When putting the frag back in the tank sink it VERY VERY slowly. That way you minimize any flood of water into the glass.
Not my picks. Forgot to take pics when I did this.


 
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