Fragging Ric's

[The Saltwater Kid]

Is it easier to frag florida ricordeas in tank then it is outside? I just know when you pull them out of the tank they sort of melt onto the rock they're on making it very hard to cut accurately, I would think it would be easier to take a razor blade and make the cut in the water. Any info/opinions would be appreciated!!!

[sinder255248]

Don't you cut them off the rock under the water with a razor, then take them out of the tank to a bucket and do the actual slicing in there? Then put them into the bottom of a yogurt pot with some rubble in and cover it with netting?

[The Saltwater Kid]

anyone?

[Jay Fortay]

if you find them easier to cut in the water, you could always put the rock they are on in a small container. Unless, of course, the rock is to hard to get out. The above advise is good advice as well.

[The Saltwater Kid]

the thing is i have one medium sized rock with 5 different ric's growing on it so taking the whole rock out and putting it in a seperate container would be tricky. Also, some of my rics have double mouths, can I just slice between the mouths to cut it in two and each side would have it's own mouth?

[SAPseven]

ive had great success with fragging rics .. i have fraged about 20 so far .. all have healed up and grew a mouth within a month .. depending on whether you just want more on the same rocks .. cut them in half in the tank .. and then wiggle the razor a bit to give them room so they dont fuze together .. but if you're going to frag them to make seperate frags .. you can also do the same thing.. cut in half on the rock .. then slice one of the halfs off the rock .. this way you will have one half regenerate and the possibility of another growing if you have a peice of the base left ..

when i want the rics to regeneratei just put them in a container with holes in it .. i dont put crushed coral or disks on the bottom .. i let them fully regenerate ... once then regenerate i can either rubber band em .. which takes about 2-4 days .. or i can glue them directly to the rock .. no damage done to them.

goodluck

[Vitaly]

I have used the same approach as described by SAPseven. Several months ago I cut a ric from a piece of rock with a razor. Then outside the tank, I quickly divided the ric into four segments (pie slices)...cutting through the mouth as best as possible. All four pieces regenerated...as did the bit of tissue remaining on the rock.

Be sure to have a sharp razor/scalpel when doing this. Moreover, try to make the division with one, clean cut. I believe this leaves a less "traumatic" wound in the coral and thus the tissue will regenerate better. No data...just a gut feeling (similar to wound healing in humans).

[The Saltwater Kid]

Thanks for all the advice! I think I'm going to try it this weekend. I just got done fragging a Torch coral as the thing was a monster and with 8" long tentacles it had to be trimmed or risk a war with neighboring corals :-).

[Jay Fortay]

The ones with two mouths are on they're way to splitting naturally.

[SAPseven]

Jay fortay .. thats not exactly true i have a many rics with 2-4 mouths .. that doesnt mean they are about to split.

[Jay Fortay]

For how long have they been in your tank with 2-4 mouths, under what kind of lights, with what kind of flow, in what size tank? they will split eventually. They don't grow new mouths for fun.

[Vitaly]

Some ricordia do grow mutliple mouths. Perhaps not for fun, but that is their normal phenotype.

"R. florida often has numerous mouths and elongated irregular polyps, while R. yuma is usually circular, with one mouth."¹

1) Mushrooms, Elephants Ears, and False Corals: A review of the Corallimorpharia
by Julian Sprung
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2002/invert.htm

[Jay Fortay]

Ah, I stand corrected. I still believe that is a function that leads to their eventual split. In my years of experience, Ithey wont split with one mouth.

[Plankt0s]

well split or not it just takes too long... I like to cut em and make more faster.

[lessans]

How long should I wait before removing the mesh cover on the rock with my ric frags?

[Vitaly]

Hard to say. I have used the Tulle (wedding veil) mesh frequently and had success with it...but the time to attachment, in my hands, has ranged from 2 to 4 days.

My guess (and this is just speculation) is that it depends:
* on the size of the frag...specifically how much tissue there is to attach.

* the type of substrate...I have several different types of LR ubble that I attach frags too. There are two types that the frags never seem to want to hold on to.

Good luck...

[The Saltwater Kid]

what two types do the frags not want to attach to?

[Vitaly]

The frags attach fine. Rather, I meant to say that there are two types of rock that the frags seem more recultant to attach too...taking up to 5 days. In contrast the other rock that I have, the frags will attach in 2-3 days.

Unforuntately, I do not know what the various rock is (I know some is from Tampa Bay Saltwater)...since it is a mixture of that I have purchased from local people.