I have had this fungia for a little over a year. It is from a local that has a Fungia factory. It has grown from the size of a $.50 piece to about the size of my palm. It eats great, it will engulf freeze dried krill or plankton, 1/2 inch pieces of silverside, or almost anything that I put on it. The biggest trouble I have is that I need to cover it with something or my stupid tang will steal the food.


the tentacles are out about 99% of the time. The flesh is nice and bubbly, and it would eat every day if I fed it.
top shot

Bottom shot


So it comes time in every corals life when the owner starts thinking... I wonder if I can frag this bad boy...

I ran across a thread on "the other reef website" where someone was fragging a Fungia, and it got me to start wondering if I could do it too. Then I started seeing some AWESOME looking Fungias imported from Australia at a LFS, and I really started thinking about it. But I want to try it out on a cheap coral before I hit the big time bucks. So here goes nothing.

Some just break the Fungia in half, but this takes up to a year to become round again. So does cutting in quarters. So I saw cutting in a tic-tac-toe pattern. like a #. The wheels start turning... It should take less time to become a circle when it starts off like a square.

So that leads to


which leads to

and


You can count all nine pieces there. The corner pieces are a little smaller than I was hoping for, but this is a good test for the limits of this procedure.

I will try and keep this thread updated until I have more than one fungia in my sand.

If I were to be doing this again, I think I would make the outside pieces a little larger so there is more equality in size. Especially for the pieces that were from the corners.

Wish me luck.

dsoz

hope they don't all die on you. good luck

I doubt they'll die. Fragged fungia grows back really weird some times though.

edit: Good luck man. I all most forgot.

This is interesting. gonna follow along to see what develops. Good luck with it!!! Did you cut with a Dremel?

Following along!

tag

Yes. A dremel with a diamond cutting wheel from Harbor-freight. What I could not cut with the wheel I used tin snips. It broke some of the "teeth" but I think they will heal.

I am prepared to lose them all. But I am hoping that they mostly pull through. Even if I only have one survive, I won't be any worse off than I was a year ago. Besides, I just got a new "baby" from the local fungia factory last weekend. So I have a backup.

Check out this thread. This is where I want to go once I get confidence with the cheap one...
http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=12063

This store is local to me and is one of our local club sponsors. I have not been in the store yet. I don't have the guts to go in there with a credit card. I would come out with a maxed out credit card and a tank full of corals.

dsoz

Wow hadn't seen that place yet....don't think I will go either. Being broke sucks...


Oh and good luck!

Get back onto the PNWMAS site. There are a lot of drooling good threads from that store. He also does ebay auctions. Some of those go for crazy prices.

Also Davy Jones Locker is a new store in Troutdale. He has some good high end stuff come through his doors.

dsoz

Thanks man I will do that. I am starting a new tank as we speak, a little pico. I would love to fill it with some high end zoas.

Perry is cool, he gets some nice stuff, and if you're lucky, you can score on one of his auctions, for a low price.....I cut a scoly with a bandsaw, I hope it grows to a circle in a years time.

here's an Ocean's in a Box Scoly I fragged

LFS Scoly

Good luck, hope those all grow back for you

I am following this thread and yeah good luck on the grow out on that fungia.

WOW! those are some insane pics of what you did to those corals!!!! I would be wetting my pants to do that to a coral that is over $200!!! The bleeding apple scoly is a regular around here for more than $200. The purple and red are just under $200.

I have better than the auctions. I can walk into his storefront and point and drool at the real thing. I can't afford to do anything else.

dsoz

Neato, I might have to try fragging my plate.

LOL. Less than 24 hours after surgery, every piece has tentacles out!!!



Close-up


Even the smallest one is tentacled out.

Very nice man, we got orange plates at work I want to frag.

That's cool! We've got some red ones here that I want to frag, but am too scared, haha

Looks like they'll all make it, very nice!

How did it turn out.

^+1

All still going strong. All the edges are healed up. Only the center piece has a mouth still. It still eats like a pig. I am waiting for some of the others to form a mouth before I update pictures. I have not forgotten this project.

dsoz

I got a aussie orange now maybe I shall slice in the future..

:andsendtodavid:

Just a little question, what is the plate coral to the right of the fungia in the first picture? It has a green tone to it.....

Looks like a green plate coral to me short tentacle

UPDATE!!! At least 5 of the 8 smaller pieces have started to develop a mouth. I tried feeding frozen mysis a few days ago, and at least one of the smaller pieces actually ingested some food. I got some pics while I was at it.




It has been a long time, and there is still a long time left before they look like they should. I can see why they say that this can take up to a year for them to look like a normal fungia after being cut.

dsoz

Very cool. I am glad you have kept us updated.

UPDATE?!?!?! that really awesome what your doing man. =)