Heteractis Magnifica Propagation- 30 minutes ago in my kitchen!

Reefahholic

New member
I don't know what just came over me, but I just spontaneously put on my hospital gloves, grabbed a razor-blade, and cut one of my African Red Column Mags directly through his oral disc, and right down the middle.

It was a little harder than I expected due to being hard to hold and make clean cut at same time. Really slippery...but I'm confident I managed to get a very clean cut. I didn't have to saw through him...just two clean cuts and done. It would have been better if two people were doing it together. One to hold and spread, and the other making the cut. A long razor-blade would have been better, but I didn't have one. They two Nems immediately balled up a little and the wound almost seemed to close fairly quickly. They both planted a foot and seem to be tolerating well. This next week will be interesting. FedEx lost my three Mags that were suppose to be delivered this morning, so I figured I would try my luck. I picked this mag because he got chewed up in my powerhead when I first got him. His mouth was oddly way off on the edge, and he had this split that was just too tempting not to cut. Hope he does well.



























 
Good luck! and sorry about your 3 mags... That sucks.

Yeah, I was bummed. Wanted to see what they were gonna look like.

I just went in there a looked, and both are still fully inflated and tolerating well so far. One half really looks like he's enjoying himself. Not kidding... He's just swaying in the flow with his tentacles up high and seems to really be into the light. He looks like one NEM now. I can't even see the cut anymore.

Tomorrow morning is gonna be interesting. Something is bound to go wrong. I'm betting both with go down in a day or two, but who knows..
 
Little deflate with one on RT.



One on LT looking real good.




Gonna try to document this as best as I can so we can all learn more.
 
Please tell me that you cut it through the bilateral center.

Well of course. I think most Anemones have a radial symmetry, while other animals have a bilateral.




I may be wrong...somebody please correct me.

Anemones have a radial symmetry right.?? When I looked at the NEM, from the back and front, it seemed pretty clear where to cut. I may have cut him wrong, I think I did ok. I've heard people say that a nem is bilateral and and others say radial.

Radial Symmetry - Like Snowflakes or a Pie
An animal with radial symmetry could be divided into equal portions from the center, in the same way that you could cut a pie into wedges. An animal with radial symmetry really has no right and left side or head and rear end. Radial symmetry is ideal for animals that do not move, so they can reach into their environment on all sides. Consider the starfish as an example of radial symmetry.

Bilateral Symmetry - Heads or Tails
Animals with bilateral symmetry can be divided only into mirror halves through a single plane. Higher animals that move are normally bilateral, with matching left and right sides. Bilateral symmetry is associated with having a head or leading end of a body that encounters the environment first, so the sense organs like eyes and mouth are usually there. Bilateral symmetry often gives animals more streamlined shapes for moving through their environments. You, your dog and his fleas are bilateral.

Animals With Radial Symmetry

Animals with radial symmetry tend to have a surface that contains a mouth at the center, and they can reach out in all directions to gather food for that mouth. They can be attached to a substrate, like the sea anemone, or floating, like jellyfish. Radial symmetry occurs in simple animals including the aquatic cnidarians, which include corals, jellyfish and sea anemones, and Ctenophora, which are comb jellies. A group called dchinoderms consists of starfish, sand dollars and sea urchins; these have unique five-point radial symmetry.

Animals With Bilateral Symmetry

Most creatures we see around us have bilateral symmetry. Examples are worms, insects, spiders, fish, birds and mammals, including humans. In evolution, bilateral symmetry was an important step toward the development of a head and the concentration of sensory organs. Animals with bilateral symmetry do not have both halves as perfect mirror images – often one foot or ear can be bigger than another and internal organs are not symmetric in their shape or positioning.

Sponges Are Different

Sponges are multicellular animals, unique in many ways. They are the only group of animals that can be classified as asymmetric, which means they possess no symmetry at all. There is no plane through their bodies where you could cut them in half to produce two mirror images.
 
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There is a common confusion with anemones which is why I asked. Generally speaking, most anemones have radial symmetry, but many scientists believe that the origin of bilateral organisms occurred within the phylum Cnidaria, because some anemones are bilateral while others are not.

Here's an interesting article:

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2006/05/08/bilateral-symmetry-in-a-sea-an/

I am in the process of trying to read "A Functional Biology of Sea Anemones" by J. Malcolm Shick, and he states the following:

5-6-20144-31-44PM_zpsdbf7aa6b.png


I have gigs on my mind, and I know for a fact that they are bilateral. Their pairs of siphonoglyphs indicate the split.

With your mag, if you knew where to cut, as you stated it seemed pretty clear, then I'm sure you got it right.



Well of course. I think most Anemones have a radial symmetry, while other animals have a bilateral.




I may be wrong...somebody please correct me.

Anemones have a radial symmetry right.?? When I looked at the NEM, from the back and front, it seemed pretty clear where to cut. I may have cut him wrong, I think I did ok. I've heard people say that a nem is bilateral and and others say radial.

Radial Symmetry - Like Snowflakes or a Pie
An animal with radial symmetry could be divided into equal portions from the center, in the same way that you could cut a pie into wedges. An animal with radial symmetry really has no right and left side or head and rear end. Radial symmetry is ideal for animals that do not move, so they can reach into their environment on all sides. Consider the starfish as an example of radial symmetry.

Bilateral Symmetry - Heads or Tails
Animals with bilateral symmetry can be divided only into mirror halves through a single plane. Higher animals that move are normally bilateral, with matching left and right sides. Bilateral symmetry is associated with having a head or leading end of a body that encounters the environment first, so the sense organs like eyes and mouth are usually there. Bilateral symmetry often gives animals more streamlined shapes for moving through their environments. You, your dog and his fleas are bilateral.

Animals With Radial Symmetry

Animals with radial symmetry tend to have a surface that contains a mouth at the center, and they can reach out in all directions to gather food for that mouth. They can be attached to a substrate, like the sea anemone, or floating, like jellyfish. Radial symmetry occurs in simple animals including the aquatic cnidarians, which include corals, jellyfish and sea anemones, and Ctenophora, which are comb jellies. A group called dchinoderms consists of starfish, sand dollars and sea urchins; these have unique five-point radial symmetry.

Animals With Bilateral Symmetry

Most creatures we see around us have bilateral symmetry. Examples are worms, insects, spiders, fish, birds and mammals, including humans. In evolution, bilateral symmetry was an important step toward the development of a head and the concentration of sensory organs. Animals with bilateral symmetry do not have both halves as perfect mirror images – often one foot or ear can be bigger than another and internal organs are not symmetric in their shape or positioning.

Sponges Are Different

Sponges are multicellular animals, unique in many ways. They are the only group of animals that can be classified as asymmetric, which means they possess no symmetry at all. There is no plane through their bodies where you could cut them in half to produce two mirror images.
 
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Well he's doing well so far.

Both 1/2's were fully inflated and the one on the RT moved to other side.

I think as long as you cut the Mag through the oral disc is the most important thing.
 
Did you cut each "tooth" in half, or did you give each half a full "tooth", or (long "s" word here)?

He had like a perfect line down his column if you looked at him from the back. Even when you look at him from the front, you can see where he has this channel to cut. Even his mouth is on the side. It was just too good not to frag. To answer your question, I cut dead center starting at the oral disc and it took two slices. I cut where it looked like the exact middle of his mouth. If I had a longer blade and somebody holding it while I fragged, I'm confident I probably could have got him in one pass. When I cut, water gushed out and he tighten up.
The way he was shaped after the PH injury really bugged me. I like these two 1/2's. They better make it.

I have a feeling I have a battle ahead of me that I'm not gonna win.
 
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Before I cut a Magnifica, I would have condition him until he is really well. This is about the only thing i would do different than you if I am going to cut mine. Hopefully this Magnifica will heal and do well. Please keep us post frequently.
 
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