need advice on fragging a chalice...

[marillion]

Well folks, I'm moving. Right now it's looking like Myrtle Beach, SC. So, I've dismantled the 40g reef, and transferred the 'must keep' pieces into a 10g setup that I have. I've saved every chalice frag I have, but I also have one colony (~6") that I'd like to keep a frag of.

How do I go about fragging it? A few weeks ago I was cleaning off my filters and a large piece of salt settled on it...I stupidly didn't wipe it off and it burned a hole into it where you can now see skeleton. Should I frag from there, or should I cut the healthiest looking part? Do I just snap it off? I have a pair of hemostats, and have garden shears and whatnot, so breaking it is not a problem...I just would like advice on how to go about it so that nothing dies on me.

Here's the colony, a greenish-blue chalice with pink eyes (right side in the first pic) :

Thanks in advance.

Peace,

Chip

 

[JenDub]

Chip, you just need to get a car reef tank installed bro, it's easier to move that way

Seriously though, dremels work well for what you are cutting. Try the "Pro" technique & tank a donut off the outer edge of the colony. If it's more than you want to frag than a 1/2 moon works too.

Good luck on the move! ~Charles~

 

[tld]

Re: need advice on fragging a chalice...

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6647713#post6647713 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by marillion
Well folks, I'm moving. Right now it's looking like Myrtle Beach, SC.

Are you prepared for culture shock? Hang on to your internet friends - the reefing scene is a lot smaller here in SC. There's a nice group that hangs out in the Myrtle Beach forum here on RC - I'm sure some of those folks would help you out until you can get settled.

 

[xdusty6920]

wow what are your doing with all your frags lol lol lol

 

[marillion]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6652332#post6652332 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by xdusty6920
wow what are your doing with all your frags lol lol lol

Keeping whatever I can fit in my 10 gallon, and selling everything else that's in the 40. I can't move that big of a tank with everything else we're moving. It's a whole household full of stuff. I'd rather not worry about livestock, but I do want to keep some pieces.

This is the 10-gallon nano LPS tank I just set up :

Let me tell you...going from 20,000k DE halides to 96W 50/50 PC's...

S U C K S !!!

I hate the light with a passion!

Peace,

Chip

 

[Julio]

hammer and chizzle

 

[peecook]

thats the most expensive livestock i have ever seen in a 10g

 

[marillion]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6652613#post6652613 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by peecook
thats the most expensive livestock i have ever seen in a 10g

It was really expensive when I bought it all, but it ain't worth jack crap now.

Peace,

Chip

 

[fischcrazy]

how much is each challice frag?

 

[RandyO]

I'm with Julio. Hammer and chisel. Heck, you don't even need the chisel. Just give it a quick hit with the hammer and use a razor blade to cut the top flesh.

Seriously though, I do tap the ends of my thicker skeleton Echinophyllia with a hammer to break skeleton. It usually cracks in two or three spots. I take a good look on the underside to find the cracks. I'll use a razor blade to get in between the cracks and cut the attached flesh. I'll sometimes push the razor blade through the skeleton, and then use is as a saw and cut along the crack.
On thinner skeletons, I use a razor blade first and cut along the grain of the coral. It's easy to cut in between the lines that radiate out towards to edge of the coral. It's the cross section that's hard to get a clean piece.

A dremel works good for that cross cut. I don't usually get the dremel out for the Echinos unless the skeleton is really thick. If I do get it out, I only hit the backside of the coral. I'll stop before it's all the way through, and then use the razor blade. I've also just torn the pieces apart, but sometimes the flesh tears up the body, and then it takes a lot longer to heal, and it runs the risk of infection, or algae getting on the exposed skeleton.

 

[RandyO]

Pictures of the razor blade method.

You can see the ridges on the edge of the coral. Pressing the razor blade along these ridges will usually get you about an inch into the coral.

But you can see from this pic, the cross section did not break clean.

Got it on the second try though.

 

[RandyO]

Hammer and chisel method.

Already made the one good whack.

Separating the crack with a razor blade.

Piece a cake.

 

[marillion]

Awesome. Thanks a lot for the info...especially the pictures. I'm a visual type of guy, and that helps tremendously.

Peace,

Chip

 

[clownfishcrazy]

I use a dremel to cut the skeleton from the bottom up, then cut the flesh with a razor blade. Also a tile saw works really good if you have access to one.

Good luck with your move Chip.

 

[RandyO]

I haven't used the tile saw for an Echinophyllia. Just about all my colonies have thin growth for easy fragging. I think the tile saw might be too much for the thin plates.

I did just use the tile saw to cut an Orange Crush Acan that grew from 4 polyps originally from Captive Reef.

And of course I took pics.

 

[xdusty6920]

great pics to illustrate your point randyO! i gotta say though.......your a brave man for putting your hand that close to the tile saw. lol i use channel locks if i get close to my fingers with a dremel lol.

 

[RandyO]

Hey Dusty,
Those pics are just for effects. You can see the saw is not actually on. Do you see how high the blue guard is? That means when it's turned on, I get absolutely soaked. I have a large pair of Tongs I use when making close cuts. I'm more nervous using the Dremel than this saw. When I use a Dremel, one hand is holding the frag and the other holding the Dremel. A lot more room for mistakes.
I'll have to try it with Channel locks.

 

[marillion]

Welp, it's done. Texas chainsaw massacre, and I'm not even in Texas!

It'll be a miracle if the frag survives, but I'll take pics if it does.

Peace,

Chip

 

[RandyO]

Hey Chip,
It should be fine. As long as you took a frag from healthy flesh and not from the spot where it got burned from the salt.

Coincidentally, I had the exact same thing happen to me. I was wiping off salt creep, and a large chunk fell on one of my Echinophyllia. I didn't think much of it and after a few minutes, the coral started sliming up. When I blew it off, the flesh came with it. I had no clue a chunk of salt creep would burn it like that, and so quickly. It ended up having a big dead spot in the center, and some of the flesh that lived was bleached out. It took almost 6 months for it to fully heal.

 

[marillion]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6668334#post6668334 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RandyO
It should be fine. As long as you took a frag from healthy flesh and not from the spot where it got burned from the salt.

Okay, cool. I did take it from the healthy side. There are about 3-4 eyes visible on it, even though the flesh is kinda mangled.

Peace,

Chip