Any tips for fragging zoas? I've only done it twice. First time worked great but the second time (about a week ago) didn't go so well. At least it was until I woke up this morning to find that the frag went from 6 to 1 polyp overnight. Why did this happen? Well I guess it wasn't glued too well cause it looks like the 5 other polyps just disappeared clean off the plug.

Any tips?

dry the zoa where the glue is going to hit the frag plug then put glue on the dry frag plug not to mutch to cover the sides of the zoa it burns them i think and they take a wile to open is that what you were looking for

Yeah, I just need to do it so they don't fall off. But now, at 1:30AM, I just sucked out another possible bobbit worm type creature so I don't know if that was what did it. Maybe he ate them.

+1

Another thing I noticed in fragging zoas is that some heal a lot quicker after fragging than others. Some zoas seem to get really stressed from the fragging and can get the brown fungus shortly after. I started using a dremel to cut underneath the zoas about 1/8th of an inch then I pry with a screw driver until the rock breaks off. I do it just to the point where I feel the rock break then take a scalpel or razor blade to cut anything still connecting the zoas to the rock. I also am sure to get them in good flow for the first few days because for whatever reason I have had less success with my freshly fragged zoas that aren't getting good flow

You are doing something right.Because I have never had 1 of your zoas melt on me before.

Ok, I don't have a dremel but I could try cutting underneath them with a sharp sharp knife. And the blues did get some brown fungus on them but were still opening so I didn't think anything of it.

You could do that, but the reason I use the dremel is to take some of the rock too, that way I avoid disturbing the zoa other than a few slices with a scalpel to disconnect the mat that is still connected to the rock after I use a dremel. Using a scalpel or blade to get underneath the mat works but it is a little more difficult as most rocks are porous and have odd features which make it difficult to stay underneath the mat while scraping off.

+1, this is by far the most important part to fragging zoanthids.

When I frag zoas, I use bone cutters to get under it and grab as much rock as possible. The trickiest and most risky way is razoring the actual stalk of the zoa off, you want to avoid that if you can.

i cut them off like eye balls and dry the bottom out a little bit with a napkin and stick them on the plug with glue already on it. the key is to press them onto the glue lightly.

make sure the plug is kinda dry too.

Any technique that disturbs them the least works for me. Scapel them off of frag plugs, bone cutters on rocks. You can "dig" under the encrusting mat pretty well by just working the bone cutters back and forth. If the rock splits in the middle of the mat, slice through it with the scalpel in between polyps. Never tear the zoa mat. If you "pop" the zoas, ie, disturb them to the point that brown liquid comes out, then its pretty much over. And never place them in higher light than the parent colony.

if your having trouble keeping them alive after the fraging try keep them in the dark for a day. and slowly move then to the light.