~RuSh~
New member
This weekend I tried my hand at fragging some polyps from my Zoanthid colony. My tools included: Loctite super glue gel, razor blade, tweezers, two tupperware containers, gloves, two sea shells that cleaned and dried, and an extra pair of hands.
I started out by removing a few shells that I had in the tank. They were gifts from my sister in law from her trip to mexico. I put them in the tank a while ago and decided they would be a good flat base to put the polyps on. That and they look much more natural than frag discs. So we cleaned them up and dried them off. Next, I filled two tupperware containers with tank water. I put the zoa colony in one, and set everything out on a small table to work.
Gloves on, I picked up the frag and cut away my chosen polyp with the razor blade. Unfortunately the rock that the colony is on is very uneven. It has small grooves and bumps and made it difficult to remove a single polyp without damaging others. The first polyp I chose was one of two green polyps among a colony of orange. NOTE* - As I cut away the polyp it shrunk, probably down to a 1/4 of the size it had appeared when it was simply closed up. This made it very difficult to remove with all of the small grooves it was in. I had to cut in sections like cutting with a cookie cutter because I just wasn't able to slide the blade underneath the polyp without cutting others. Then I took the tweezers and pulled. I could feel the tissue tear.
I had the shell out on the table and once I had cut the polyp off the rock, I placed the colony and the polyp back into the water. I had my friend put a dab of glue onto the shell and I picked the polyp back up with the tweezer and placed it on the shell. 10 seconds in the glue and I put the new frag into the other tupperware.
I repeated this twice more only with orange polyps and it went much smoother. I cut them from the side of the colony where the rock was more smooth and I was able to get underneath the polyp. After all was said and done I have two new frags. One with a single green polyp on it, and one with two orange polyps.
The green polyp just isn't going to make it. I tore too much of the tissue, and the polyp itself was just too small. I looked at it today and it seems to be breaking down. The two orange polyps are doing quite well. One of the two was fully opened all day yesterday, and the other is starting to peek out today. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll start to see some growth out of them, and get them to spread.
I'll update this post with pics when I get home later tonight. Any comments or suggestions are welcome as this was my first attempt and I've definitely still got some learning to do. :beer:
I started out by removing a few shells that I had in the tank. They were gifts from my sister in law from her trip to mexico. I put them in the tank a while ago and decided they would be a good flat base to put the polyps on. That and they look much more natural than frag discs. So we cleaned them up and dried them off. Next, I filled two tupperware containers with tank water. I put the zoa colony in one, and set everything out on a small table to work.
Gloves on, I picked up the frag and cut away my chosen polyp with the razor blade. Unfortunately the rock that the colony is on is very uneven. It has small grooves and bumps and made it difficult to remove a single polyp without damaging others. The first polyp I chose was one of two green polyps among a colony of orange. NOTE* - As I cut away the polyp it shrunk, probably down to a 1/4 of the size it had appeared when it was simply closed up. This made it very difficult to remove with all of the small grooves it was in. I had to cut in sections like cutting with a cookie cutter because I just wasn't able to slide the blade underneath the polyp without cutting others. Then I took the tweezers and pulled. I could feel the tissue tear.
I had the shell out on the table and once I had cut the polyp off the rock, I placed the colony and the polyp back into the water. I had my friend put a dab of glue onto the shell and I picked the polyp back up with the tweezer and placed it on the shell. 10 seconds in the glue and I put the new frag into the other tupperware.
I repeated this twice more only with orange polyps and it went much smoother. I cut them from the side of the colony where the rock was more smooth and I was able to get underneath the polyp. After all was said and done I have two new frags. One with a single green polyp on it, and one with two orange polyps.
The green polyp just isn't going to make it. I tore too much of the tissue, and the polyp itself was just too small. I looked at it today and it seems to be breaking down. The two orange polyps are doing quite well. One of the two was fully opened all day yesterday, and the other is starting to peek out today. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll start to see some growth out of them, and get them to spread.
I'll update this post with pics when I get home later tonight. Any comments or suggestions are welcome as this was my first attempt and I've definitely still got some learning to do. :beer:
