Advanced Propagation (PICS)

the thread is so old he must have deleted them from his picture hosting site. i was just wondering if there were any updates?
 
I knew you could cut shrooms to pieces . . . but "zoas"? Anyone know if it is just Palys that can be propagated in this fashion or are zoas included as well?

I would be interested to try this if we could get a little more information . . . and some pics!:D

-Sevein
:strooper:
 
Hello all,

It just so happens that I was able to test this propagation technique last night by accident. . . or at least half of it!

While fragging a couple of my zoas away from a now paly encrusted rock I accidentally cut away a platy at the middle of it's stalk. At first I was going to do nothing about it . . . but the more I saw it there, shriveled and mucus covered . . . well I decided to give it a fighting chance. I had a small plug laying around and I super glued the bottom of the halved paly to it.

So far it seems to be just fine. In fact it opened right up as soon as I put it in the water! :eek1: I'll keep my eye on it and watch what it does . . . now if only I could find it's former stalk to see if it regrows.

I'll keep everyone updated.

-Sevein
:strooper:
 
Ok it's been a day and the polp looks as if nothing ever happened! Happy as a . . . clam! :D

I wish I had a camera to take picks with, but I am going to try this with a zoa polyp tomorrow. The test subject has an ridiculously long stalk and it towers above it's peers. I will slice the polyp about 3/4'' below the head and glue it to a frag rock that I have. I will then observe both and see what happens. If all goes well I will do the same procedure to a common paly as well.

Again, I'll keep you guys posted.
 
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Cool! Keep us posted. If that works, it will be a better way to frag from those colonies that are on the rocks that can't be removed very easily without causing a collapse. =)
 
I've done similar fragging through accidents, but they usually seem to wither away from fungus infections. I think the traditional way of fragging by slicing a piece of LR underneath the mat is the best way to go.
 
Thanks a bunch for the info kigs! :) I agree. The traditional way of fragging is probably the easiest and has the best success rate.

Still, I wonder if increased flow or even a little dose of iodine before they go into the tank is a way to prevent these fungus infections. :reading:

(You can see what I mean by iodine here .)

Oh and customanimalart, IME I haven't had any problems with toxins since I started fragging my zoa/paly colonies. However, I have always made sure to "rinse" the new frags in fresh tank water before putting them back in the display. Not only does this reduce the amount of mucus the zoas produce once they are in the display tank, but (at least in my imagination ;) ) it reduces the threat of toxins in the tank. I then run a bit of activated carbon just in case.

Now don't take my experience as words from a reef god . . . just my experience.

I wonder if anyone could comment about zoa/paly toxicity in regards to tank inhabitants. I seem to recall reading something about it in a reefkeeping article . . . :reading:
 
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<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10522080#post10522080 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by customanimalart
I was also wondering about how the palytoxins released into the system would affect the corals and fish. Anyone know?
Click to expand...

I asked this due to the possibility of fragging a paly by cutting off its top while it is still in the aquarium.

Since, generally, fragging is done outside the aquarium.:)
 
Not all zoanthids and palys actually have toxin from what I have read in new articles on that subject. Also the threat of palytoxin is much over rated as well from what I understand of the potency and the potential of the polyps themselves when considering that amount of toxin that they have. Plus if your were to get infected or be poisoned by it you wouldn't be here typing and reading. From what I have read is that once poisoned to the point where you feel the effects it's already to late for you. The sensations that people feel are not actually from the poison as the poison reacts to the nerve centers in the brain and heart causing death... I will have to find the articles again and post links......


I would like some updates with pics on this propagation method though. I have seen many a thread but no pics of before and after and then the growth of said polyp.....
 
Ok guys,

Sorry no pics . . . at least not yet. I don't have a camera personally but I will hunt around and see if I can borrow one.

It's been a day and a half and the three polyps are all showing totally different reactions to the treatment.

Paly #1 (the accidental fragging w/ no stalk) still looks very good! In fact it looks to be the healthiest polyp of the type. :)

Paly #2 (the green button polp) looks pretty bad. Instead of closing itself up it seems to lay open on the rock with it's edges curled slightly. It does, however, have a reaction to touch because it attempted to close when one of my hermits walked over it. Also, the mouth also looks to be gaping. The stalk looks better than the polyp, but does not show any encouraging signs either.

Zoa #1 (the green/yellow zoa) has opened partially. It still reacts to light and closes up at night. It stalk looks to be healing up . . .

Zoa #2 (what I believe to be a faded reverse gorilla nipple) looks great! The polyp has good extension and reaction to light/touch. The stalk, however is much shorter than it was and looks a little beat up.

I gave all four polyps the same treatment when fragging them. I used a strait razor blade to slice and then glued them down. I have noticed that the distance from the bottom of the polyp (mouth) and the base of the cut is much longer on both Pally 1 and Zoa 2. The reverse can be seen with Paly 2 as I did not account for it's polyp (mouth) reach further down the stalk than the other examples. This could be part of the reason I am seeing great results from Pally 1 and Zoa 2.

Then again it's only day 1. :D

-Sevein
 
Not to hijack....

Hey Custom

They are Yellow Submarines, I just lost the mother colony of 30 polyps and only have a 6 polyp frag left. They have to be the most finiky zoanthid I have ever had....They were or are like the canary in the mine shaft, as soon as something changes they go to crap on me. I hope toget them growing again.:(


Good info keep us updated....
 
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