Fragging and LPS Anchor coral (non branching)

[bbjohngm]

ok so i've never attempted to frag an LPS before...i've gotten the tissue to recede (can't see it in the photo of course) with a rubber band like i read somewhere....now from what i understand i just take a Dremel of some sort and simply cut through the bottom skeleton? i'm nervous.... set my mind at ease please ! is this the right way to go about this ? lol

 

[bbjohngm]

boy i better make an appointment with my doctor....looks like i have the plague lol

 

[smcnally]

No dremel is needed. Just grab the branches and snap them off at the lowest point with your hands. You can use bone cutters if you want, but I find that can cause the branches to split.

 

[bbjohngm]

thanks for the reply smcnally ! but it's not the branching type .....no way will i be able to snap that thing ! i mean....i'm huge...but not that huge! lol that is what kinda made me worry...... never cut through one of those puppies before...

 

[NateHanson]

oooh! you've got a non-branching hammer! Nice! I was always trying to get one of those, but they never looked happy when I came across them in stores. My understanding is just as you describe. You just cut through the base of the coral. If the rubber band gets the tissue to receed a bit you'll probably have less risk of infection at the cut site. I've read that these can be harder to frag because the cut-site sometimes doesn't heal well.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[bbjohngm]

lol yeah it was in the title... i think he wanted me to feel welcome and i appreciate that, i really do...and yeah from what i have read that is the case...the tissue has completely receded so i wont be cutting through any at all, just the base...I've had this coral for years and i don't wanna mess this up.... I'll be selling or trading the frag soon if all goes well ..... and thanks folks

 

[Sherri]

I don't know if you have done this yet but I was just talking to a fellow reefer about it and here's what he said:

Oh hey Sherri,

I've been doing some research for my presentation, and might have a way to frag your wall hammer. Though to me this is pretty extreme.

Question though... is the Wall Hammer kind of like a Bubble Coral where there's a central skeleton and then the larger fleshy part?

If so... there's a technique (I may mention in the presentation - though I don't think I'd actually ever try it),

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With bubble corals basically you can do this:

Dremel Tool the skeletal base to make a "fissure" of sorts vertically. Almost like slicing the skeleton in half but you stop just short of the fleshy part.

Then off-set the cut vertically, but only a very little. You do NOT want to damage the fleshy part at all.

Then insert plastic wedges to the crack and VERY slowly (over the course of 2-3 weeks) widen the split.

This causes the fleshy part to stretch and eventually (slowly) split on it's own into two halves, each on it's own skeleton.
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To me this is really extreme, but a method where I thought there actually was none.

 

[bbjohngm]

ok interesting.....now if my flesh has ALL receded from the top of the skeleton..... does that mean that there may be guts still inside the area that i plan on cutting through ? now you got me worried again lol wish i knew more about the anatomy of these corals....maybe i should do some more research ... i will make the coral retract when i get home and take a pic of the area where the flesh has receded and see if anyone can give any more ideas.... thanks ! interesting way of going about it....

 

[Sherri]

After I read this message I was scared pooless to do it! I have a pretty good sized wall hammer that I am managing with flow! I think the deal is -- be very careful with the dremel -- do not cut through the flesh and pry it apart. It is the first I had heard about how to do it. The only other source I can think of is on Reef Central there is a guy called Elegance Coral (which is a similar structure as a wall hammer) -- you could start a thread in the LPS forum about fragging either a wall hammer or an elegance -- might get some additional ideas. The only other place to go for advice is the Marine Depot forum as they have some good advice there. Hope that helps!

 

[bbjohngm]

thanks mental1 for the input !

 

[ReeferMedic]

Not sure if it has been mentioned already, but make sure you give it an iodine/betadine bath after it is fragged. I've found lps in general to be pretty susceptible to infection when I haven't used iodine in the past. Almost zero % when using it.

 

[Greg Hiller]

Been there, done that. Wrote about it :

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/gh/index.php

 

[Sherri]

So you just cut through the flesh? I assume you dip too? That is sooo scary to me! I mean that looks like what happened to the elegance I have as it is cut off on one side but I cannot imagine doing it. Oh -- the slime, the agony!