How to frag cynarina or scolimya?

[Dani Arnanz]

I haven´t read anything about fragging this corals, somebody have tried it?? Any succes experiences?

Thanks in advance,

Dani

 

[beaker77]

Here is an article by Anthony Calfo on propagating LPS. Hopefully it will help.

 

[Dani Arnanz]

Thanks for the link Beaker, I was able to help Anthony on a fragging coral exibition in Spain last October.

One friend has gone to USA for a bussines travel and have bought some corals impossible to get in Spain (and probably in Europe) like cynarina, scolymia o blastomussa wellsi.

Fragging the blasto is not a problem (I´ve fragged a merletti that arrived to Spain like a galaxea), but with the cynarina and the scolymia I think I´ll have more problems.

There was only one red cynarina in the store he visited, mine is green, I think I´ll try with it, and if I´ve succes, I may try with the red one...

I´ll keep you informed.

Any suggestions?

 

[xdusty6920]

man thats a toughy. ive never heard of anyone doing it. im not really sure of the best procedure here. but if i were to try it, id take a very gradual approach. only cutting a half inch or so at a time and then allowing it to heal before repeating. eventually youd get all the way through and maybe have two cynarinas at the end. hope that helps some.

 

[baja_01]

Those types of corals grow so slow that it will probably never look whole again. Not sure how well they would do long term though.

 

[Agu]

Closest I could find,

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/ac_sp/feature/index.php

 

[Anthony Calfo]

either can simply be cut in half... and recovery is slow with specimens that were not target fed well before or after the division. Make it a bilateral split... don't get too frisky and make smaller fractions

If the specimen is conditioned well in advance (target feeding 3-5 times weekly minimum) and supported afterwards (good source of nitrogen in the system) until the mouth heals form the bilateral cut for better organismal feedings... you can expect it to respond like Fungia as Agu points out in the article by Cesnales/Pro (and Dani... you have seen the pics of the Fungia on the Spanish forum for some months as it healed after I fragged it?)

I'd recommend a wet saw for cutting these dense corallum stonies (much like y'all have seen Steve, Eric and/or I do with Trachyphyllia at the IMAC and MACNA shows the last few years)

Nothing difficult here (sure not rocket science )... success is rooted soundly in the care of the coral before and afterwards, as it mostly is with all coral fragging.

Failure with such LPS corals is often attributed to poor feeding (or no feeding) before and/or after the fragging. These are VERY hungry corals that still need to feed heavily even with "perfect" lighting (zoox symbiosis does not adequately support the coral without alternate feeding modes)

 

[alexinfla]

Heres a nice vid of Eric B. doing the deed I just watched it the other day...I feel I may start sawing soon!

http://www.zooxanthellae.com/borneman.wmv

 

[slickchick]

I cannot believe what Eric does to these corals...I am so careful with mine and he just cuts away...amazing how resilient corals are.