Colt Coral Fragging - Video Podcast Episode 96

[Rob]

Here we go, another video for you all.
As the title suggests, this video covers one of many techniques used to frag a Colt Coral.
Make sure you check it out and provide any feedback or share your methods or experiences here.

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[Astrivian]

This was cool. It is neat how much abuse corals can take. Can't i frag fish??

At the end you asked about other shows we would like to see. I would be really interested in a stony coral fragging. Perhaps an M. digitata or something.

[CarmieJo]

My maroon clown (at least I think she is the perp) recently fragged the tail off of my firefish. The tail grew back but I still have only one firefish.

[Danamck]

Rob -

Great podcast. I have a colt coral that is in dire need of fragging. It is approx 12" wide but 10" high by 8" deep. Many months ago it split on it's own, and I was bale to break off the piece of the rock the frag was attached to (this frag was about 6" tall!) The pieces i want to frag are going to be much larger than yours, probably 4" - 6" tall.

Questions:

1. Does the colt coral have to be removed from the main display to frag? Mine is rather large. I know they produce copious amounts of slime when touched or stressed. Is this harmful to the display tank? (I have a 240)

2. Because the frags are going to be quite large, can I use the toothpick method you describe when fragging Xenia? (I also have a ton of Xenia I am going to frag today or tomorrow.)

3. Is there a size of frag that is considered too large? I plan on giving these away to friends and want them to be good sized but also have the best chance of survival.

Thanks.

[Rob]

At the end you asked about other shows we would like to see. I would be really interested in a stony coral fragging. Perhaps an M. digitata or something.

no problem, i have lots of those..
i will get started on another video..

[Rob]

1. Does the colt coral have to be removed from the main display to frag? Mine is rather large. I know they produce copious amounts of slime when touched or stressed. Is this harmful to the display tank? (I have a 240)

no, if you can get in there and cut it properly... go for it.. just make sure you catch the frag so it doesnt get lost in the tank

2. Because the frags are going to be quite large, can I use the toothpick method you describe when fragging Xenia? (I also have a ton of Xenia I am going to frag today or tomorrow.)

you can, however if you are not removing the parent colony this might be hard. also the colt are going to attach to the toothpick more than the xenia.. this might make removal harder.. if you want to try it go for it..

3. Is there a size of frag that is considered too large? I plan on giving these away to friends and want them to be good sized but also have the best chance of survival.

no, in this case size does NOT matter..
the important thing is make sure its attached and showing signs of growth before you pass it on..
BTW, i applaud you desire o share the frags freely with your fellow hobbyists.. very respectable..

[Paintbug]

my only question is wheres the gloves Rob?? safety first remember!! awesome show as always!

[Rob]

lol.. good point.. i actually just bought 2 boxes at costco... i didn't have them when i did the video..

[rprisock]

Rob,

Great show ... seeing someone do this makes me less nervous when I attempt this myself.

What about fragging a toadstool mushroom? There are no branches so I'm not certain if it is even a good idea. How is this done without damaging the mother coral?

Thanks.

[Rob]

toadstools are easy easy, mush mush scarier the first time.

basically you cut the head off, then you have the stalk and the cap.
then you cut the cap into quarters. and rubberband those down.

you are left with 5 small frags when you are done

[Mr. Tang]

So basically the stalk grows the cap back on the mother colony and the old cap that was cut off, cut into quarters and attach those to your frag rocks? That's it?

How long does it usually take your mother colony to grow back its cap?

[Rob]

yep that's the idea..

you will usually see polyps back in a few weeks, and a noticeable "cap" in a month or two. they actually take a a few months before they can be fragged again.

[Astrivian]

To throw in some questions:

1.) how long does it take a frag to become "frag swappable." Basically, how fast do these corals grow?

2) Same question for mushrooms.

I am looking at trying my had at some frags (or slices) of fungus corals (mushrooms) and GSPs. Just kinda wondering how many frags per month you can get from a mother colony of colt, and a mushroom.

[Rob]

1.) how long does it take a frag to become "frag swappable." Basically, how fast do these corals grow?

for a colt coral like i did in this video, they are usually tradable in 4-6 weeks, but it depends.. the important thing is that its healthy and securely attached to the rock
after that, the bigger the better..

2) Same question for mushrooms.

im not a mushroom fragger so i will leave this one alone.. they spead enough on there own in my tank..

as for waht you can get from the mother colony, you really have to play it by ear (or eye)
depending on the size it could be a few ever couple months...
if you are really after getting alot its better to get a few frags from alot of parents vs alot of frags from a few parents

[Astrivian]

as for waht you can get from the mother colony, you really have to play it by ear (or eye)
depending on the size it could be a few ever couple months...
if you are really after getting alot its better to get a few frags from alot of parents vs alot of frags from a few parents

Ahhhhhhh. okay. TY Rob. How big to the parents have to be to frag? Your colt coral looked pretty large. Could you have taken more than one frag from that one?

Oh and i keep asking this stuff because i am about to start doing this stuff

[Rob]

oh yes, i could have taken a lot more...
there really is no hard rule on size.. you only want to take a few though to reduce the stress and make sure there is less open tissue to heal

[Sleepy]

Hey Rob,
appreciate the video's.

I would like to see:
-CandyCane
-Feather dusters? (I know they are worms, not corals- but can they be "fragged")

[Rob]

candy cane.. they can be done, i have some, and will try and get do a video of them in the future

as for feather dusters, no, i am not aware of any captive reproductions methods

[bullfrog]

Even if you couldn't frag a fish it would be nice if you could frag a $20 bill and then get more stuff to frag. I'll be looking forward to seeing a stony coral fragging when you're able to make a video of one.

[Rob]

new instant video added to this thread
you can now view this video right here in the post live

see post #1 to view the video