fragging zoas help

[diverbh4]

ok so i tried my hand again at fragging some zoas. well this time most of the frags are diminishing...getting really small and prolly dying.

what i did was use a blade and kinda scrape/cut away the zoas and then glued them to a plug. some look like the skirts are a little bit visible but they arent lookin too well for now

any hints to fragging and mounting these guys? or are they just trying to heal for now and getting re-used to my tank?

 

[Blueflu1]

I was wondering this too. I have a huge colony of PHE zoas that I need to frag off.

 

[jprince]

Depends on how long ago you fragged them. They are probably still pissed at being fragged. I frag my Zoas and Palys by gently working the dull side of a scalpel blade under them, while also taking a fine pair of tweezers to pull and slowly peel them from the rock. I also dip them in Reef Dip afterward to prevent infection. Try to peel them as opposed to cutting them.

 

[skyedolphan]

most of the zoas that are available in the hobby now do NOT like to be played with. infection sets in very fast. The best way to frag zoas or palys are with a VERY sharp blade/scalpel and you want to get UNDER the mat INTO the top portion of the rock and cut to the size you want. once you get the amount of polyps you are looking for re rinse the scalpel/blade and do a straight cut across the mat lifting the frag piece you have then you can remount to another rock or plug. this ensures you are not getting any glue on the mat/ skin of the zoa. HTH

 

[sciknen]

what ive been doing lately and really haven't lost anything.. is i cut right through the plug itself.. i just glue the part of the plug and zoas right to a new plug lol works great havent lost anything in a while


knock on wood

 

[luconi]

I peel off the colony and use a razor blade to cut in between polyps.

 

[frank180reef]

I peal and glue with a blade with limited success

Frank

 

[nichols]

I put reef disks under the colony and just let them grow on to the new disks.

 

[diverbh4]

how are you guys peeling them off? I try but they seem to be really tough.

 

[Kevin McG]

Here is a video I did a couple of years back
[youtube]DHBr3UpvRHg[/youtube]

 

[jprince]

how are you guys peeling them off? I try but they seem to be really tough.

IME each type of Zoa is different. I had a huge colony of Eagle Eye Zoa's that I could peel by cutting the "runner" flesh to the exact amount and then slowly peeling them off with tweezers. They would pop right back out, happy as a clam as soon as the plug went back into the tank. Never lost a polyp. Then again I have tried to frag some that just seem to pull apart at the slightest tug......

 

[Blueflu1]

Last night was the first time I "Fragged" zoas. But I really didn't have much to do. I had a big colony of PHE on a frag plug and then some. They were about 2 large frag discs in width. They also attached to a rubble rock. The two colonies were attached only by zoas. I cut the ones in between. Not really fragging though. I think I am gonna have to frag more soon so I was curious. They don't seem to peel off but I didnt try too hard.