How to frag my toadstool leather?

[fsn77]

I have this very nice toadstool leather (can be seen here (http://home.sc.rr.com/fsn77/Images/90gReef/ToadstoolLeather20060430.JPG) ) that's almost 6" across. I'd like to frag a piece off of it for a friend of mine. I've read that all that needs to be done is to cut off a piece of the crown, place the piece in the sand, and it'll start growing.

Is it really that simple? How big of a piece should be cut off? Any suggestions after viewing the pic of a specific area that you'd recommend cutting off to make the new frag? Does the cut leave any sort of scar on the original coral -- i.e. will it regrow that area, or will it always be a little deformed?

Thanks!

[gflat65]

Cut one of the fold out of the cap. I have a different toadstool that self propagates by dropping the edges off. Of course, you can cut the hole cap off of some (typically smaller than yours) and have the stalk grow a completely new head, too. The mother colony will quickly regrow. I wouldn't recommend cutting it in the tank, though. If you can find a shallow glass bowl and drop it into the bottom of the tank with some courser gravel, you are less likely to lose it due to current (the walls should knock some of the flow down). HTH

[Brooks_McClary]

I Super glue my frags to a piece of live rock. The seem to attach very quickly. Just make sure that you towel dry both the rock and the "foot" of the frag. Then leave undisturbed for at least a week. The bowl idea is good to keep current away. Then POOF, its attached.

[Chappy]

I'm pretty sure GARF has a video of them cutting there toadstool. Check it out. www.garf.org

[Chappy]

Yep, go to their site. Link on the left ...TheFruggle Reefer...then advanced sarchophyton propagation...scroll down a bit and see the video.

[Scuba_Dave]

I've cut pieces off of different toadstools & let them grow.
I usually put them in a crevice in the rock work
I've also chopped 3 entire toadstools off that grew too big:
I chopped one off - regrew - chopped the new one off - it's regrowing again
Then another one that I've had for a long time I chopped off & it's regrowing

[Omar H]

Do not leave it on the sand, attach it to a piece of rock. If current has it tumbling all over the place, you may loose the piece, but if attached it will very quickly grow.

Omar

[fsn77]

Thanks for all the suggestions! It's going to be another couple of weeks before I try to frag it, but I think you've convinced me it won't be that bad. The video clip was helpful, too. I'll let you all know how it worked out.

[Nagel]

You can cut off the cap, chop it into pie shaped pieces, toss them in a frag tank with rubble and let them grow.

If you want only a few frags, and have the time, take a razor, make a good slice from the outside to the center, and let that heal. A week or two later, cut another slice (after the first one has healed) and remove the entire piece. You can attach them by a few methods:

Attach to rubble rock with a piece of fishing line (essentially "sew" it to the rock, leaving room for expansion)

Place the frag on rubble, and lay a small piece of rubble on one end to anchor it (and for it to attach to)

Superglue it (less likeley to take hold, as the leather will shrink / shed a mucous coat, freeing it from the glue)..

[xinumaster]

fsn77 that is a nice toadstool you have.

[fsn77]

Thanks Nagel for the added tips.

Thank you xinumaster. Right now, it's the nicest thing in our tank. Our tank hasn't been up and running all that long (but it was a used set-up that we moved over -- included the sand bed, but not the live rock). We have a couple small frags of other soft corals, but decided we wanted 1 good size coral that we could actually see from a distance. My wife wanted a toadstool leather, and we found this one for a reasonable price considering its size. She really loves the lavender color it shows when the polyps are completely retracted.