Coral & Anemone fragging - techniques

[Anthony Calfo]

yes... agreed my friend. Ceramic tiles and marble are generally very good too. Much better in fact (coral settlement/no curing) than poorly made cement plugs... but indeed, a lot more expensive too. Heehee... I'll preach to folks to use marble, but I use the cement plugs myself moreoften at present Just more affordable, lighter weight and easier/accessible.

 

[puter]

Hi Anthony -

Figured I'd better practice a bit before propagating the Aiptasia.

 

[Anthony Calfo]

heehee... always outstanding to see

Some folks/friends have heard me say this before... but anemones are some of the only trade species I'd like to see (voluntarily) limited in wild collections. Their shipping rates are dismal... and their sustainability/recovery in the wild is sobering. Just sobering (extremely slow).

Far and away... this group of animals needs to have priority IMO for fragging and other propagation efforts if we (the hobby) wants to continue to keep these animals in aquaria.

It's this/that sort of self-policing that will allow us to continue to use sustainable wild species as well.

Responsible reef-keeping

 

[puter]

Agreed completely. And for the record, this particular E. Quad speciman is one of 10+ clones of one I have had a long time, and has been in captivity more than five years. I don't want to leave the impression with any, by my tone, that this was done without the conditioning you mention above, when actually it was more.

 

[NicoleC]

Is your anemone really that purple, or is that the photo? It looks gorgeous. Mine is a very intense bright rose, and I've seen bright orange, but I haven't seen one that has a burgundy shade to it before.

 

[puter]

No, that's an artifact of the incandescent light it was under or the ineptitude of the photographer. Mine's the bright orange with emerald green variety. Here's a better representation:

 

[NicoleC]

Ah well, too bad. I was hoping there was an unusual color morph -- and all the more reason to propagate!

The green/orange is interesting as well. Yours seems to have a very clear difference in colors; some get a little muddy where the colors mix.

 

[Anthony Calfo]

sigh... I don't think I can stay awake long enough to see Nicole's post count break 6K

Kudos to you again Nicole for your contributions here at RC and beyond for the hobby.

Kindly,

Ant-

 

[Anthony Calfo]

and may I add:

"The suspense is terrible... I hope it will last."

Oscar Wilde

Ha! So close....

 

[NicoleC]

LOL! You know, I didn't even notice the 6k post count until you mentioned it. Do I get a prize?

Logging off for the night, so it'll be stuck at 5999 for today Come back tomorrow.

 

[captbunzo]

Awwww!!! And I was so hoping I would come back and see that you've broken the barrier...

Til tomorrow!!!

 

[Snakebyt]

great thread.. I have been wanting to try some fragging, but just not known how to go about it, this thread has defenatly helped.
thanks all

 

[Anthony Calfo]

Ahem... so, Nicole: Have you ever fragged the Fungiid Cycloseris? Any pics?

(translation to all: shameless post bait and building content at the same time here )

 

[NicoleC]

Ha ha. Why yes, I have, how DID you know?

Here's the fragging, with a Dremel and steel cutoff wheel. If you like the smells of rotting fish and a cavity being drilled, this will be heaven for you.

Closeup of someone doing the other half. Not my hairy knuckles.

The day after fragging:

One month:

Two months:

Four months:

I sold it a few months ago. When I removed it and examined it, the skeleton still clearly showed a pie shaped scar, but had grown circle starting from the middle. The coral was not all the way round yet, but was moving in that direction, and had a copious amount of flesh. Also, it had just grown a second mouth and appeared to be splitting or budding.

Overall, it recovered easily and well.

 

[causeofhim]

Has anyone fragged a tounge or slipper coral? Do I just cut it into pieces?

 

[Anthony Calfo]

Wow... thanks Nicole. I sure lucked out with that guess/request

BTW - you got me salivating at your illuminating description of the smell of the fragging event. I'm thinking a pinot noir would balance the aroma of putrification? Ooh... and I'll have the espresso with sambuca chaser to round it out

causeof him... you will frag slipper, tnongue and ALL Fungiids (with the exception of Heliofungia) in the manner Nicole, Amy, et al. have described or the like: stainless steel cut-off wheel on a dremmel or a wet tile saw work very well.

Condition the animal months in advance with good feeding... then make a fast cut with a sharp blade and return the pieces to stong water flow and resume good feeding/husbandry.

Fragmentation is a common natural reproductive strategy for Fungiids in the wild (translation: as free-lving corals... storms and wave action regularly smash them against rocks).

 

[Leishman]

maxvan1:

The efflo is fine, all frags have been traded/sold (all mounted on Boston Aqua Farms discs). The mother colony is 100% healed and coloring back up. I held all the frags untill they were healed and encrusting. All 14 frags made it to new homes.

 

[kinerson]

Anthony,
Have you heard of anyone propogating the Saddleback anemone? They look identical to the Carpet's which apparently are succesfully being sliced.
Greg

 

[Anthony Calfo]

yes, kinerson... they are some of the better "carpet" type anemones for captivity in general: tolerance of husbandry, handling... and somewhat better survivability on import than most other anemones.

 

[kinerson]

Great! I've had this one for over 5 years and it is an awesome neon green color. This would make a great addition to the anemone propogation efforts!

Thanks,
Greg