Hi I'am new to the forum and new to salt water so be easy on me. My question is when fragging zoos are you cutting a bit of the rock beneath the zoo or are you cutting the base of the zoo? What is the survival rate? This seams like a delicate procedure. My other question is when gluing to a live rock how long do you have to waite to put the rock back into the tank? Thanks in advance for the replies. :beer:
Fragging Zoanthids and Krazy glue
- Thread starter langley
- Start date
dalston
Active member
I usually cut the mat (between the polyps) and scrape/peel them from the rock slowly using a very sharp blade or scalpel. My survival rate is very good, I put it down to the fact that I very rarely cut small/single polyp frags. In regards to gluing, I also use a superglue gel. I apply just enough to be able to hold the fragged polyp but not too much as to sufficate it (it's very much an art form
) After glued I hold it straight into the tank and let it set underwater for around a minute.
Oh, and...
[welcome]
) After glued I hold it straight into the tank and let it set underwater for around a minute.Oh, and...
[welcome]
treesmoker
Zoa/Paly Collector
dalston, very true. fragging (especially zoas) is most definitely an art form. most of the time when i trade i have to re-do a sloppy frag job. i can single polyps off of almost anything with a good survival rate with my exacto knife set.
langley, u can cut a thin layer just underneath the base of the polyp with a razor or knife kit like mine and usually get very good survival, depending on the species. some zoa/paly just dont like to be cut. be sure to wear safety glasses. if u do cut into the polyp u dont want any off that black goo thats inside em to squirt into your eyes or open cuts o your hands. correct me if im wrong guys but isn't that stuff poisonous/toxic?
langley, u can cut a thin layer just underneath the base of the polyp with a razor or knife kit like mine and usually get very good survival, depending on the species. some zoa/paly just dont like to be cut. be sure to wear safety glasses. if u do cut into the polyp u dont want any off that black goo thats inside em to squirt into your eyes or open cuts o your hands. correct me if im wrong guys but isn't that stuff poisonous/toxic?
dalston
Active member
Great point treesmoker! be sure to wear safety glasses.
The biggest threat of toxicity actually comes from true palythoa sp. however true palys are actually very rarely seen in the hobby.
Don't get me wrong, regualr zoanthus/protopalys/parazoas can and will do damage, so better safe than sorry. Some people actually get a 'metal' taste in their mouth when fragging zoas.
The biggest threat of toxicity actually comes from true palythoa sp. however true palys are actually very rarely seen in the hobby.
Don't get me wrong, regualr zoanthus/protopalys/parazoas can and will do damage, so better safe than sorry. Some people actually get a 'metal' taste in their mouth when fragging zoas.
90greefman
New member
I tried fragging zoas by cutting underneath them for the first time and they all died. I would definetly say it is an art form. I switched to a dremel, cut around them with a diamond tip circular saw attachment and had a 100% success rate.
My first Fragg
My first Fragg
So I thought I would try to fragg a button polyp first and all went well !!!! I wish I had tried this along time ago I will fragg some zoo's next thanks for the tips. I think I would have tried this earlier but I was worried about the glue killing my fish.:beer:
My first Fragg
So I thought I would try to fragg a button polyp first and all went well !!!! I wish I had tried this along time ago I will fragg some zoo's next thanks for the tips. I think I would have tried this earlier but I was worried about the glue killing my fish.:beer:
Attachments
+1
Huge fan of circular diamond wheel and unless it's an accident I never mount polyps without a small piece of the rock/plug they were previously attached to. I wouldn't think of using an exacto knife to scrape off $$$$ polyps. I do use a scalpel to pre-cut the mat between polyps, then diamond dremel from the back side until the frags fall apart. This reduces the risk of tearing substantially. For cheap stuff I just diamond wheel right through the tissue.
rkelley_10
Blue Thumb
+1 on the diamond tip blade for the dremel. Keep the Dremel at about a 15-20k RPM range for best results. Don't breathe in the dust as it can damage your lungs. If cutting the mat, use an Xacto knife with a fresh blade. I immerse the fresh frags and mother colonies in a vitamin C bath for about 15 mins after fragging and have had great results. Within 3 days all cut surfaces will be healed and produce multiple babies. Super glue gel is a godsend and LR rubble goes a long way as a mounting substrate. No need for expensive frag plugs and you can just hammer a rock to produce whatever size pieces you desire. Wear safety glasses and wash hands after fragging as the palytoxin contained in both zoas and palys in home aquaria is highly potent. Just my $.02 but I hope it helps.
Ziggy32
New member
I don't want to get off subject but can you give more details on a vitamin C bath?
therealsharkone
New member
here is what mine looks like. works good on anything.
http://www.dremel.com/en-us/AttachmentsAndAccessories/Pages/AttachmentsDetail.aspx?pid=545
http://www.dremel.com/en-us/AttachmentsAndAccessories/Pages/AttachmentsDetail.aspx?pid=545
When i fragged zoanthids i use an Xacto knife and cut the mat in small groups like 5 to 8 polyps then scrape them carefuly group by group and dry it a little to apply the glue and glue it to a rock then wait like 3 to 5 minutes to let the glue get dry after that i put the rock on a small container (3gls. or less) 5 more minutes to let the glue get harder and prevent any chemical of the glue if there's any on the main tank and when they get finally to the main tank put it on a low flow area to prevent they to get lose on the tank.
I use loc-tite gel glue & oceans wonders gel, my rate of survival is 100% since i started to fragged zoanthids.
I use loc-tite gel glue & oceans wonders gel, my rate of survival is 100% since i started to fragged zoanthids.
Akwarius
New member
Fragging groups of five or more should yield 100% survival unless you're sloppy. Frags of three or less take the precision of a surgeon and the faith of a monk. Just to add to the tip pile, I've found that dipping the scalpel in iodine prior to cutting increases my survival rate and speed of recovery.
