Fragging acans with bone cutters

[mattwils71]

I have a set of wood chisels and 5 inch bone cutters.
I have a ZOA frag tank which is going well with some acan frags and I was wondering if anyone out there knows a way of fragging acans with bone cutters.
I know usually you use a saw or a dremel but I'm not that far into coral propagation

 

[discocarp]

I'm not sure if bone cutters will work, but any way you can break it apart is likely fine. I frag my LPS caveman-style with a hammer and a flat head screwdriver. It doesn't usually break exactly how I want it (which is why people dremel!) but I don't care.

 

[Art13]

if you can crack the calcium with a bone cutter and cut the flesh with a scalpel i think that would be the best route with that equipment.

 

[mattwils71]

Great thanks, why can't you cut the flesh with bone cutters

 

[Art13]

I guess you could, a scalpel would be a cleaner cut though, it's sharper and I would think less stressful.

 

[discocarp]

Basically, a sharp cut is better than a tear, but I don't worry about it with acans. They're really tough to kill imo.

 

[mattwils71]

I have sharp wood chisels??

 

[Patwa]

if you're unsure, grab a dead skeleton of any coral (try your local fish store) and try and frag it using your method. When you're done, imagine doing it with a living creature and ask yourself, based on the cleanliness of the cuts (or presence of chips and shards, if any) if the coral would be more of less stressed if the cut was cleaner.

bone cutters are perfect for fragging acros and other SPS, primarily. Acans requires a more precision cutting method, via dremel or coral saw (ie. band saw), but keep in mind, while this is by far the best method, it produces heat which can also damage/stress/kill nearby tissue.

acans are hard, as per the previous poster, but that doesn't detract from the fact it is a living creature.....do you best to make the fragging as painless and efficient as possible

z

 

[discocarp]

Personally I think my quick break method is better than dremelling for the heat reasons you mentioned. Dremels are popular because you can control the cut very well. I'm not convinced that makes it better for the coral.

 

[discocarp]

(Although ALL these methods are just fine)

 

[mattwils71]

I might cut through the tissue with a sharp wood chisel / scalpel and then cut the skeleton with bone cutters