sublime250
New member
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=741828
How do i go about doing it without destroying hte mother colony?
How do i go about doing it without destroying hte mother colony?
Fragging Yellow Fiji Leather
- Thread starter sublime250
- Start date
Coraldynamics
In Memoriam
Your original thread asks how to prop without killing it or making it look ugly...
Well the "without killing it" part is easy...simply cut it. You can cut 1" pie wedge shapes out of the outer edges. drop the cuttings into an area of the tank with bunches of rubble and they will attach and start growing. VERY sharp siscors or an exacto blade work well. You wan to make ONE cut per side. Do not saw back and forth, or try to make multiple cuts along the same line.
Rinse both the parent and frags VERY well in tank water and dump the water out. Good time to do this is when you have to do a water change anyway.
The "without making it look ugly" part is not so easy. Any coral you cut on is going to be mad for a few days (week). In time it will start to drop daughters itself without your intervention. They look a little better when they frag themselves than when we do it for them.
HTH
Well the "without killing it" part is easy...simply cut it. You can cut 1" pie wedge shapes out of the outer edges. drop the cuttings into an area of the tank with bunches of rubble and they will attach and start growing. VERY sharp siscors or an exacto blade work well. You wan to make ONE cut per side. Do not saw back and forth, or try to make multiple cuts along the same line.
Rinse both the parent and frags VERY well in tank water and dump the water out. Good time to do this is when you have to do a water change anyway.
The "without making it look ugly" part is not so easy. Any coral you cut on is going to be mad for a few days (week). In time it will start to drop daughters itself without your intervention. They look a little better when they frag themselves than when we do it for them.
HTH
sublime250
New member
Wow that was great! Thanks!
BTW any new growth pictures"?
BTW any new growth pictures"?
chadscamaro
Active member
The yellow fiji leathers are usually more of a challenge to survive after cutting ! The pics shown in the above ,look like a standard yellowish toadstool leather, not the true yellow fiji leather !
sublime250
New member
Do you have a picture foa true yellow fiji vs this one
chadscamaro
Active member
Top right of your pic,could be one,hard to tell from that pic, but the other pic of someone fragging one is a common tan toadstool and you can cube those like a ham into 50 pieces and 45 will grow into small leathers in no time ! Where true yellow fijis are alot more difficult and can easily be killed !
While my photo skills may leave something to be desired I believe that the leather I fragged was not a common brown toadstool (I have dozens of them as well) but was a yellow fiji leather. The one I have is as bright or brighter than the one in the top right of the first pic.
I have noticed that once a yellow is fragged several generations that some of its yellow coloring does dull down but normally will return under bright/intense, indirect lighting over time.
As to cubing it like ham... IME very few softies (yellow included) can not be chopped up into little pieces. As with most a little extra time and care has to be taken but high survival rates are easily obtained with practice and the correct tank conditions (water quality lighting and frag husbandry)
Yellow fijis are slightly more delicate but I would not place them in any kind of Expert only or do not attempt category. The principals for fragging are the same.
Research, reading, a little nerve and patients is all that is required to frag ANY softie IMHO and I know of none that I wouldn't try or be afraid of killing JME
I have noticed that once a yellow is fragged several generations that some of its yellow coloring does dull down but normally will return under bright/intense, indirect lighting over time.
As to cubing it like ham... IME very few softies (yellow included) can not be chopped up into little pieces. As with most a little extra time and care has to be taken but high survival rates are easily obtained with practice and the correct tank conditions (water quality lighting and frag husbandry)
Yellow fijis are slightly more delicate but I would not place them in any kind of Expert only or do not attempt category. The principals for fragging are the same.
Research, reading, a little nerve and patients is all that is required to frag ANY softie IMHO and I know of none that I wouldn't try or be afraid of killing JME
xcreonx
Premium Member
Great pictures Feeronan. One suggestion, if I may: In my experience with leathers, and most corals in general, it is a great idea to wear some gloves when handling. I've noticed leathers in particular really don't like to be touched by bare hands. Mine seem to respond better when handled only a little and with latex gloves. You could even use some kind of tweezers or tongs to handle them. Just a thought, as every little detail helps when handling sensitive animals.
chadscamaro
Active member
at the risk of going a little off topic...
at the risk of going a little off topic...
Unfortunately my photo skills are not the best however here are a few more pics (note the two different common brown leathers below the other colored one in the center
)
this one is a little dark and from the side
one more without the lights on
I can only speak from my experience (ime) I have noticed little if any appreciable difference in cutting a one inch ring from the cap into smaller pieces and cutting the whole cap into smaller pieces. Although I will say that cutting a ring off the cap or just a single piece is a more cautious approach advisable for a first time fragger.
I think different people have different levels of success with coral they try to frag. What may grow and thrive in one hobbyist tank I may not be able to keep. That's the great thing about having so many people fragging different things it gives everyone a chance to obtain aquacultured corals without having to rely on any one source for every coral.
at the risk of going a little off topic...
Unfortunately my photo skills are not the best however here are a few more pics (note the two different common brown leathers below the other colored one in the center
)
this one is a little dark and from the side
one more without the lights on
I can only speak from my experience (ime) I have noticed little if any appreciable difference in cutting a one inch ring from the cap into smaller pieces and cutting the whole cap into smaller pieces. Although I will say that cutting a ring off the cap or just a single piece is a more cautious approach advisable for a first time fragger.
I think different people have different levels of success with coral they try to frag. What may grow and thrive in one hobbyist tank I may not be able to keep. That's the great thing about having so many people fragging different things it gives everyone a chance to obtain aquacultured corals without having to rely on any one source for every coral.
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