these are the frag plugs i got from aquacave.com. they were pretty cheap (~$0.30/plug). they are the fired ceramic ones that do not need to be cured and dont leach anything. i give each one of them a quick rinse in tap water to wash off ceramic dust before i begin... other than that they are good to go out of the bag.


so i give them a rinse and rinse out my tupperwares as well as m scissors and turkey baster and razor blades, etc. its nice to have a good beer while fragging also, get your super glue GEL ready!


pick a nice colony that is crowiding itself and needs to be fragged. somtimes a little piece of the colony has actually grow off the rock and can easily be ripped from the rest of the colony. that was the case this time.


here is the frag that pulled easily from the main colony -- it was growing OFF the rock!


add a little dab or 2 of super glue GEL to the rinsed and dried-off frag plug.


cut off a polyp or two or three or four and attach carefully to the super glue. attach it so that the base is attached to the glue and the top of the polyp that opens is facing upward.


let it dry for a second and place it into the tupperware full of water from the display tank (with the other frags)


soon you should have a tupperware full of mounted frags


now the final step is to place the plugs somewhere that the frags can grow


HAVE FUN FRAGGING AND REMEMBER A FRAG FROM A FRIEND IS ONE LESS CORAL REMOVED FROM THE OCEAN

nice.

Wahoo!!!!

Very nicely done. Thank you for the info

Just adding my 2 cents here. Zoos & Palys along with other polyps are highly toxic. Make sure to wear latex gloves and a face mask when fragging. Just watching out for my fellow reefers.

+1, great thing to add in. i almost mentioned this as part of the process so i am glad it was brought into the conversation.
personally, i never ever do this -- fragging zoas would not be nearly as fun without a little dose psychedelic palytoxins!!
i do wear glasses, and i am careful to cover the frag with my hands while cutting, to try and catch the toxins squirted... i just shield the frag with my cupped hand while my other hand works the scissors/ razor blade... they do squirt toxins so beware my friends!!!

+2, nice write up

how poetic

+3

if your going to do a write up, just be sure to add in the safety precautions!

nice stuff though!

Nice write up, yeah safety is key, don't want to be a Cytosol (If I can find a way to hurt myself, I will..)....lol sorry Cytosol I had to...no offense.

Ya... and keep your mouth closed or wear a doctors mask.

Got to have a beer or 6 when I frag as well lol and don't forget that the elderly,young and pets are more susceptible to the poison so watching out where you leave your tools/towels and polyps when unattended is a good idea

but DANGER is my middle name

Beer..... it's been helping make little frags since the time of ancient man.

Oh, and nice write-up. We need more step-by-step's like this for other coral types!

im with ya! i have one coming up for the kenya tree very VERY soon....

I agree with there should be more of these for different types as well. Oh and very nice write up, I'll be using this in a month or so.

Nice write-up.

!!!

I have 2 dozen frag plugs on order,
going to chop some of my zoanthid colonies up, well take a few polyps of of each

Okay...I think I missed something.

So how exactly do I take them off when they're attached to rock?
Can I use a scalpel?
How do I cut or scrape them off?
And after I'm done can I santize them or will they permanently have toxins on them?(The tool)

when attached i use a razor blade and slice them free from the rock, trying to slice INTO the rock and get a little layer of rock with the zoas...
yes, cut/scrape them off with a razor blade.
i use the same blade several times and i just "sanitize" the razor/ scissors using hot water -- as long as you clean it, no toxins will be present.

Adam,

As you know I have gotten a ton new frags, is there a certain time period when it may be to late to take off the plugs? I would love to start pulling the larger ones off the plugs and putting them all on a piece of LR, or one huge tile in the sand. (more so the LR Rubble.)

Good "how to" thanks

nope, i would just be careful to try and remove the entire frag in one piece... then just glue down to the rock directly

Okay,
I know how to frag but you motivated me to order plugs and frag.
Yesterday night :

This morning.


Used a razor blade,
a piece of acrylic so they don't squirt me in the eyes and a cheap tube of liquid super glue.

Just be careful not to overstress the zoas if they're recently fragged by doing it too soon. Give it some time to establish itself on the frag plug.

thx 4 the pics JM!
and yes, catastrophi is right, its not nice to stress out your frags by poking prodding and relocating them... just let them be for a little bit before you bug them up again
remember, fragging itself is stressful ion the animals, then shipping and reacclimating to a new system -- these guys are under A LOT of stress! let em be

I did find that out,
kept moving them but 6 of them are doing well.
My tank got some temp spikes and killed some of them.
Always have a stable tank before fragging

Cool "How to" instructions. Now next time it would be cool if you shoot a vid and posted the link to Youtube unless we can do vids here.

Great write up!! What type of glue should I purchase for fragging? More importantly, what kind and does Lowes/Home D have it on their shelves?

correct me if i'm wrong, but i'm pretty sure any of the GEL super glue is fine. Off brand, "super glue" brand, whatever. all basically the same. You could probably use the liquid stuff too but i don't know. Plus the gel kind if alot easier to work with. (and less likely to glue your hands together)

sorry for the late replys guys, i havent checked this thread in a few days at least


great idea!! i think i will def do this for my next how to frag thread on SPS fragging techniques.


get super glue GEL they have it at most grocery stores, def at hardware stores!
heres the exact stuff i use:



yes use the4 generic cheapo GEL super glue, dont try the liquid though or youre asking for a messy, sticky situation... trust me ive been there and dun that and i highly recommend the gel...


definitely stable tanks r where its at!

Thanks corallineadam!!

tools of the trade

Thanks for the info. I'll try this.

Perhaps you could make a safty video and demonstrate the effects of the toxin on the human body.

If it's 4:00 pm on a Saturday and if I don't have any beer, would you think it would be OK if I fragged some zoa and drank Mikes Hard Lemonade instead?

you will likely be just fine with a mike hard lemonade, but hops is the best antidote for palytoxin

Poor Girls Mezcal.....................
see the bristleworm

yikes! i would leave the worm on that one! it would definitely sting on the way down

I personally use yager. For every three frags I take a shot to cure the poisoning. I fraged three colonies in the past week. Must be working

BAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAAHHA!!
last time i had yeager i got questioned by police and wandered to my brand new gf-at-the-time's house at like 230 am annd just walked in and get in her bed. didnt rem a thing in the morning... it was all bad!

You actually encouraged my lazy a$$ to do some fraggin' today....
pics in the latero...

Yes, we need Kenya tree fragging directions! My tree is taking over the tank.

razor/cut/end.

Ok, so I get how to frag zoas and the toxins that will be released. But what affect will the toxins have once you put it back into the tank or if you make the cut in the tank? This toxin cant be good for other corals. I have a tank mixture of everything and heard the toxins can cause bleaching to some SPS.

MD your bein a wussy....

How am I being a wussy? I think its a legitimate question. Will the toxins affect other corals in a negative manner?

I havn't had any i'll effects though i don't have any SPS only LPS and softies. Just thought i'd chime in and say i've had success at cutting a head about half way up the stalk and then super gluing the head to a frag plug. The stalk will grow into a new head in ~ a week, so in a week you can pretty much double your colony

Very awsome thread!

I have a question though: Does this effect the way zoas spread at all?
Thanks.

+1