Best way to frag

trainman123 · 07/15/2020, 09:34 PM

I have a green star polype that I bought and it was originally really big and its only gotten bigger. What would be the best method of trimming it down and connecting it to a frag plug. I also have a pulsing xenia and its starting to move to another rock. What is the best method of trimming and fragging it.

billdogg · 07/16/2020, 05:13 AM

The easiest way for either of those would be to surround the coral with pieces of rubble rock and allow them to naturally spread out over them. You can then easily just remove the now encrusted pieces of rubble and replace them with new pieces.

Don't be surprised if there is little to no value in them however. Many (most?) reefers find both to be weeds to be removed rather than corals to sell/trade.

chbix · 07/17/2020, 11:18 AM

For GSP I used a sharp new razor blade and simply made a cut in the matting after I agitated the polyps so they would retract. Just try and avoid the polyps.
You can then use a razor blade to peel up an edge and it should pull off with no issue. Then just glue the matting down to a frag plug. Its pretty hard to hurt the GPS

Sk8r · 07/17/2020, 12:06 PM

Razor blade for green star, softies, etc. Once also fragged a cabbage leather without having it pitch a chemical fiit by putting a rubber band around the creature, down the line I wanted separation. His tissue grew thinner under the pressure, and I was able to separate the halves with less damage and no chemical damage to my tank. (They spit, furiously, if annoyed. Or because they just want to.)

Stony branching coral is generally easy. Most times you can break a head off by hand. If it's montipora (sps) it'll break at a touch, and glass-cleaning usually results in some montipora broken. But the shed pieces will also grow if they have light. There are a few stonies that are much tougher, and require some of the fancy cutting tools you may find for sale.

Beginners should avoid fragging 'wall' corals, meaning corals that form one mass that can't be broken by hand. Fox, bubble, some hammer (a species which usually grows in heads) etc,

Encrusting corals should be done as billdogg says: set rubble near them and sell what creeps over onto other rocks.

If you are fragging a mushroom, be sure to make a cut that includes part of the mouth.

If you are fragging a palythoa (similar to a zooanthid, but usually larger and has long eyelashes) glove up, mask up, put on goggles, and scrub up when finished, disposing of the water you used very carefully, and running carbon in your tank (a good idea with any newly-fragged coral that you are keeping. Palythoas can mean hospital-time if you get it on eyes, mouth, or broken skin. They are quite toxic. Be sure when you buy any button coral which camp it belongs to. Zooanthids are tame; palythoas are serious toxin.

AlSimmons · 07/22/2020, 05:21 PM

These might help. Kind of old articles, but they still hold up.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-0...ture/index.php

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-1...ture/index.php

tswizzle · 07/29/2020, 01:06 PM

gsp are resilient, i use scissors to frag mine

07/15/2020, 09:34 PM	#1
trainman123 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2020 Posts: 11	Best way to frag I have a green star polype that I bought and it was originally really big and its only gotten bigger. What would be the best method of trimming it down and connecting it to a frag plug. I also have a pulsing xenia and its starting to move to another rock. What is the best method of trimming and fragging it.

07/16/2020, 05:13 AM	#2
billdogg Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grove City, Ohio Posts: 10,806	The easiest way for either of those would be to surround the coral with pieces of rubble rock and allow them to naturally spread out over them. You can then easily just remove the now encrusted pieces of rubble and replace them with new pieces. Don't be surprised if there is little to no value in them however. Many (most?) reefers find both to be weeds to be removed rather than corals to sell/trade. __________________ I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer

07/17/2020, 12:06 PM	#4
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Razor blade for green star, softies, etc. Once also fragged a cabbage leather without having it pitch a chemical fiit by putting a rubber band around the creature, down the line I wanted separation. His tissue grew thinner under the pressure, and I was able to separate the halves with less damage and no chemical damage to my tank. (They spit, furiously, if annoyed. Or because they just want to.) Stony branching coral is generally easy. Most times you can break a head off by hand. If it's montipora (sps) it'll break at a touch, and glass-cleaning usually results in some montipora broken. But the shed pieces will also grow if they have light. There are a few stonies that are much tougher, and require some of the fancy cutting tools you may find for sale. Beginners should avoid fragging 'wall' corals, meaning corals that form one mass that can't be broken by hand. Fox, bubble, some hammer (a species which usually grows in heads) etc, Encrusting corals should be done as billdogg says: set rubble near them and sell what creeps over onto other rocks. If you are fragging a mushroom, be sure to make a cut that includes part of the mouth. If you are fragging a palythoa (similar to a zooanthid, but usually larger and has long eyelashes) glove up, mask up, put on goggles, and scrub up when finished, disposing of the water you used very carefully, and running carbon in your tank (a good idea with any newly-fragged coral that you are keeping. Palythoas can mean hospital-time if you get it on eyes, mouth, or broken skin. They are quite toxic. Be sure when you buy any button coral which camp it belongs to. Zooanthids are tame; palythoas are serious toxin. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

07/17/2020, 11:18 AM	#3
chbix Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 40	For GSP I used a sharp new razor blade and simply made a cut in the matting after I agitated the polyps so they would retract. Just try and avoid the polyps. You can then use a razor blade to peel up an edge and it should pull off with no issue. Then just glue the matting down to a frag plug. Its pretty hard to hurt the GPS

07/22/2020, 05:21 PM	#5
AlSimmons Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: California Posts: 2,482	These might help. Kind of old articles, but they still hold up. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-0...ture/index.php http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-1...ture/index.php

07/29/2020, 01:06 PM	#6
tswizzle Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2020 Posts: 13	gsp are resilient, i use scissors to frag mine