Pjanssen Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 Has anyone ever had success with cutting a Toadstool literally in half? Mine is healthy and pretty, but too tall. Aside from blocking the view of the back wall of the tank, you can barely see the polyps because they are above eye level. I've read a couple of old threads where people say that the original stalk will grow a new head, and the original head will grow a new stalk. Sounds far fetched and too good to be true to me. Anybody actually ever done this? 2 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 36 minutes ago, Pjanssen said: Has anyone ever had success with cutting a Toadstool literally in half? Mine is healthy and pretty, but too tall. Aside from blocking the view of the back wall of the tank, you can barely see the polyps because they are above eye level. I've read a couple of old threads where people say that the original stalk will grow a new head, and the original head will grow a new stalk. Sounds far fetched and too good to be true to me. Anybody actually ever done this? I don’t see why not. ??♀️ I’ve seen people tear them off rocks and they grow back from just a piece. I don’t know how long it takes for that to happen though. 1 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 3 minutes ago, Pjanssen said: I’ve yet to frag a soft coral. I don’t know if I could do it. 😬 Quote Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted September 3, 2018 Author Share Posted September 3, 2018 1 minute ago, WV Reefer said: I’ve yet to frag a soft coral. I don’t know if I could do it. 😬 I fragged this particular toadstool before, but just cut pieces off of the head. It was pretty easy. Most of the frags survived and I got a few dollars for each of them from my LFS. The hard part was getting the pieces to stick to frag plugs. I just don't know about cutting it in half. Would be cool if I ended up with 2, but sad if it ended up killing it. I wonder if it's like a lizard where if it loses part of it's tail it grows a new one? But growing a new head... 1 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 3 minutes ago, Pjanssen said: I fragged this particular toadstool before, but just cut pieces off of the head. It was pretty easy. Most of the frags survived and I got a few dollars for each of them from my LFS. The hard part was getting the pieces to stick to frag plugs. I just don't know about cutting it in half. Would be cool if I ended up with 2, but sad if it ended up killing it. I wonder if it's like a lizard where if it loses part of it's tail it grows a new one? But growing a new head... http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=809161 Quote Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted September 3, 2018 Author Share Posted September 3, 2018 4 minutes ago, WV Reefer said: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=809161 Yeah, that's one of the threads I read, but no-one ever posted any pictures, ant the OP didn't follow up as to whether he did it or not and what the outcome was. Just makes me nervous is all. I guess no guts no glory though...(right?) 1 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 5 minutes ago, Pjanssen said: Yeah, that's one of the threads I read, but no-one ever posted any pictures, ant the OP didn't follow up as to whether he did it or not and what the outcome was. Just makes me nervous is all. I guess no guts no glory though...(right?) Right! 😬😀 Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 An oldie but a goodie: There’s mention of splitting one down he middle, but not all the way, and just letting it heal in place before a final frag. Why not just cut half the head but not all of the stalk? They seem to be incredibly resilient either way, as long as they’re healthy when first cut. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 These are some good techniques for getting leather coral frags to attach to rocks or plugs: Rubber bands seem to be the easiest approach. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted September 3, 2018 Author Share Posted September 3, 2018 22 minutes ago, Christopher Marks said: An oldie but a goodie: There’s mention of splitting one down he middle, but not all the way, and just letting it heal in place before a final frag. Why not just cut half the head but not all of the stalk? They seem to be incredibly resilient either way, as long as they’re healthy when first cut. This is a bad picture, and the toadstool is quite a bit taller than this now, but this is what I need/want to do: Quote Link to comment
Justind823 Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 I'd say you should do a vertical cut like in the article CM posted about. Cutting the entire head off including all the polyps sounds like it would be too much stress for the coral. I'm no expert in fragging though! I too have seen the tiniest piece of a toadstool grown into it's own colony so I'm sure it could be done 1 Quote Link to comment
Justind823 Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 As far as mounting -- you could glue a plastic toothpick to a frag plug and spear the frag. I've seen that done successfully. 2 Quote Link to comment
spectra Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 1 hour ago, WV Reefer said: I don’t see why not. ??♀️ I’ve seen people tear them off rocks and they grow back from just a piece. I don’t know how long it takes for that to happen though. Yep I had a toadstool and had to move it well just rip and tear (LA Guns 80s song ) it grew back on the rock and also what I took off. Leathers are a weird coral it doesnt take much to get a frag.......just rubber band it to a piece of rock and all will be well. 2 Quote Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted September 3, 2018 Author Share Posted September 3, 2018 Okay. Tomorrow. I want to at least make sure I have a clean razor blade for the surgery. Going to document so future Toadstool surgeons will be better informed. 3 1 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 6 minutes ago, Pjanssen said: Okay. Tomorrow. I want to at least make sure I have a clean razor blade for the surgery. Going to document so future Toadstool surgeons will be better informed. Sending good vibes for a good surgery! ~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 You can cut it right off at the base or mid stalk and another will grow. You can rip them off the rock and leave a tiny piece and another will grow. You can chop off the head and another will grow, you can remove a piece of the head and it will regrow. 3 Quote Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted September 3, 2018 Author Share Posted September 3, 2018 I DID IT! Before: 2 Quote Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted September 3, 2018 Author Share Posted September 3, 2018 During: A little Revivve bath: 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted September 3, 2018 Author Share Posted September 3, 2018 Doesn't look so good: 1 Quote Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted September 3, 2018 Author Share Posted September 3, 2018 Looks a little better in the water. Hawkeye is like "WTF!" HA! Looks a little like a clam! 3 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 5 minutes ago, Pjanssen said: I DID IT! Before: Yay!!!! Quote Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted September 3, 2018 Author Share Posted September 3, 2018 Now I guess the plan is for daily inspection and documentation, looking for signs of regrowth, attachment to the rock, and/or decline of either piece. 1 Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 It will start to attach in a few days. The only issue that is common is if the elastic or string is to tight, then it may split into 2. 1 Quote Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted September 3, 2018 Author Share Posted September 3, 2018 1 minute ago, Clown79 said: It will start to attach in a few days. The only issue that is common is if the elastic or string is to tight, then it may split into 2. I was able to get it to stay pretty secure with the band just around the base so that I didn't have to go around the head. That seemed like it would have cut it in half for sure. 2 Quote Link to comment
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