How do you frag zoos?

[Stolireef]

I have a zoo colony that's growing on a nice rock. I'd like to frag it and add a second colony in another location (or maybe trade with others). I have no idea how to do this since I'm mostly an SPS guy. Do I just put another small rock next to it and hope it colonizes?

Any help would be appreciated. I'm becoming a zoo fan and the one colony I have seems pretty happy but I need to know how to manage them. Thanks.

 

[davidadelp]

Ive seen other people and I have even just take the rock out and bust it up with a chisel and a hammer. You may could use a bad saw but risk injuring the zoas themselves.

 

[Jawbone flats]

I pull the colononized rock out of the tank and use a dental pick type of instrument to sorta dig underneath them.. once you get the hang of getting underneath them then you can basically peel them off the rock like a large mat of polyps.

I try and peel up strips of polyps to thin out the colony on the rock.

I then take that mat of polyps and just cut them up with a razor so they can be glued to rock or frag plugs.

 

[usatennisfan]

I've never done it but I found this nifty article on how to do it. Basically what Jawbone is doing but the author of this article suggests trying to get a very thin part of the rock too to make gluing the frags to a plug much easier.

Link: http://www.zoaid.com/articles003.php

 

[fishman1069]

Be very careful when fragging zoas! They have palytoxin in them and can land you in the hospital if your not careful

 

[gordonj1]

take a scalpel or razor blade and peel them off the rock making sure you get some pieces of rock still attached to the zoas so you have something to glue the to the frag with.
when you separate out 5-10 polyps or larger (best chance of survival and best growth) make very quick clean cuts

use gel super glue and only use enough to make the polyps stick to the frag plug. Too much glue will hinder growth. If the glue is coming out from the sides on the plug you've used WAY too much.

Some people choose to use an iodine dip to help the corals heal, but I never have. as long as you do regular water changes you're fine.

I think thats pretty much it... oh and allow the zoas to heal AT LEAST 1 week before trading or shipping. selling it right after fragging leads to zoas fungus IMO =]

Have fun and be careful

 

[A. Grandis]

I have a zoo colony that's growing on a nice rock. I'd like to frag it and add a second colony in another location (or maybe trade with others). I have no idea how to do this since I'm mostly an SPS guy. Do I just put another small rock next to it and hope it colonizes?

Any help would be appreciated. I'm becoming a zoo fan and the one colony I have seems pretty happy but I need to know how to manage them. Thanks.

Please take a look:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2237878

Have fun!

Grandis.

 

[Stolireef]

Thanks to all who replied. Looks like I have a little project to play with now. I'll also be careful with regard to the toxins.

 

[Seanthefish]

Make sure when glueing the zoas (if you take this route) to press them into the glue deeply, if they don't attatch properly they will end up floating away! Was a problem of mine for a little while...

Either way, good luck!