Fragging Bits And Pieces & Corals

[MBOU]

Ok, im having one of those real mind blank moments!!

I need to raise money and come up with new ideas. So fragging corals it is LOL...

Its easy to buy big rocks with 100+ different coloured zoas on and yet people want frags for a couple of quid lessand im not complaining...

However, what are those discs that people stick frags on and where can you get them? I cant search for them as i dont know what they would be called and 'disc thingy' doesnt go far in google!

I have got the hand of levering zoas and supergluing them to bits of rock and they are growing already and look great...

But how do you frag softies? I assume you can? Like tree corals and or mushies like riccordea or rhodactis? Or do you have to wait for them to rproduce on their own?

And can you stick mushies to things? Superglue doesnt cut it, they just slime themselves off the superglue and scarper accross the tank!


I am wanting to completely redo the Kent Marine tank already lol but i want patches of zoas not a big mish mash of colour, and im wondering if i can glue zoas onto the back panel of the tank and if they would be able to grow accross the plastic surface?



I really really want some tonga branching liverock *sigh*

Ohhh... Gorgonians... I kept one in an old tank but had no idea of what i was doing at all, it did shockingly well once we got rid of the horrifically expensive Multicolour Angel that was nipping it. It was just brown/beige and grew fairly quick.

But have since seen other pictures i like with blue tufts (might have been white tufts under blue actinic though!).. in tanks far more basic than the Kent Marine.

It has 2 x Compact T5s plus White LEDs and Blue LEDs. Flow is really quite high but am bouncing flow off the glass at the moment or nothing gets to feed lol.

Not too worried about water stats as i have no intention of putting them in yet.

I would go do more research but i dont even know where to start, species names that might me reasonably easy to keep.

Errm... think thats it for now!!

 

[-Nemo-]

As far as I know, most companies refer to those as frag plugs. I have seen them for sale or you can make them out of ceramics/concrete.

Depending on the softy, it depends on how you frag them. Leathers are pretty easy, you can pretty much just cut off one of their "branches" and they recover well. I actually made a pretty short and to the point video on fragging mushies quite a while ago, available here if interested: http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVDoeG5Leic&list=UUECmdbAnJjgDRvFSeXD9fnw&index=2&feature=plcp

I tend to glue my mushrooms and have OK results when placed in low flow and i'm not sure if i mention my other method in the video or not, but I have a plastic tupperware container in my frag tank filled with small rocks where i throw in loose frags and allow them to attach themselves or you can also put a mushroom on a rock and securely (but not too tightly) wrap veiling around it and wait until the mushroom attaches.

Gorgonians can be either photosynthetic or non photosynethic, the photosynthetic ones are pretty easy to keep although most (but not all) are pretty drab looking, because tan and brown in color. I have a corky gorgonian which is really cool and simple to take care of and grows like a weed. Just give him a lot of flow and he's happy. There's also a purple gorgonian that has brown polyps, I used to have one, that is easy as well, I think it referred to as a purple whip gorgonian, but I could be thinking of the wrong one.

Also, I have palys growing up the side of my plastic overflow (not purposely) they seem to like it!

Hope this helps

 

[MBOU]

For some reason I just cant watch the video, keeps telling me an error has occurred.

Dont know if im up for fragging softies! LOL i think the thought of cutting a bit off makes me feel sick! Its like hacking someones arm off

Might try it, my trees done a good job of splitting itself three million times after face planting into the sand several times over night. I have no idea what is bulldozing my tank but i suspect its the same thing that had now eaten 9 large turbo snails

Im really tempted with gorgonians, just for the extra dimension it gives the tank, if im capable. And I know i can frag them without feeling squeamish

 

[-Nemo-]

Haha all you need is a pair of really sharp scissors for the softies...
Here's a link to the video that might work better: Video!

I meant to make more of these but never got around to it... Maybe I will now that I'm getting back into fragging again.

 

[MBOU]

Ahha! That worked! Thats brilliant, can see exactly what to do now! Do i feel brave? Do i? do i?? hm.... its the mess, glue and i dont mix! I got liverock superglued to my face last time! (mental not... dont scratch cheek LOL)

What glue are you using?

And also can I steal you to come talk to me?! I love your accent!!

 

[-Nemo-]

haha..

I use corAffix superglue, good stuff.

 

[lljdma06]

Nemo, may I pin some of the videos? Would love to include these in MARC. It's great stuff.

 

[-Nemo-]

Yep do whatever you would like, that's why they're there!

 

[lljdma06]

Haha, we're all going to go frag now. LOLOLOL

 

[MBOU]

I ordered some frag discs I cant wait now!! Nearly all of them and the glue is all from America when i checked fleabay! It was like £3 to buy it... then £12 postage LOL. Found one in the UK though.

Ooooooh I cant wait!!

I need them to look neat and tidy or i would just stick them to LR rubble, got shed loads of that... but harder to keep them all stable on a flat surface. Though saying that, i have no idea where im going to put them! LOL

 

[GrayScale]

Could always get some egg crate and diy a frag rack to go in your display until you can sort something else out.

 

[MBOU]

Well... we will see, managed to accidentally frag my rhodactis LOL, knocked a rock in the tank and the rock with my big rhodactis fell off but it has started to spread so it sheared off the rhodactis just over its foot and left me with the top part.

Was all shoddy as i was so busy and I am so angry with myself I couldnt even look at the tank so i left it until tomorrow. Nothing like dealing with customers and tank of issues with a hangover

 

[-Nemo-]

Leathers, for anyone interested: Click me!

Fragged them about 3 hours ago and they are already almost fully open in my frag tank, amazing.


http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxjqtUPo3ZI&feature=youtu.be

 

[MBOU]

Genius! Still loving your accent LOL thats exactly what i'm going to be doing as soon as my frag plugs/discs arrive!

The leathers scare me, they seem so tempermental for ages until you get them in the right spot in the tank and then whooosh, happy leathers... fragging them still seems scarey! lol

Though admittedly, slight less gross than mushrooms! That still just seems a bit wrong for me!

Fragged off loads of zoas today All ready for the coral discs and will go back and frag move over the week when coral is less hacked off! The loose polyps are all open and feeding in a small set aside tank now

 

[lljdma06]

Haha, you know if we get more videos up, this'll be pinned. Keep them coming, Nemo! Actually, the commentary in the thread is very good too. Very similar to a few threads we have in planted where there is instructional material and also other members trying it out within the thread, so you get first hand applications.

I'm such a nerd.

L