Video: Easily Fragging Acan lord with Coral Shears

[organism]

I've gotten into so many debates that you don't need a bandsaw to frag most any LPS that I figured it was time to just make a video. You can frag almost anything with the $8 manicure shears you find at your local drugstore if you have a healthy, well-fed coral to start out with that has new growth on a smooth, thin surface.

The most important thing is to place the frags in an area with at least moderate flow and low to moderate light for at least 3-4 days after fragging. No need to spend $300 on a bandsaw to frag LPS, hope this helps!



Here are the pictures of the frags after healing, you can see they're open for feeding and the flesh has covered the old fragged skeleton. Keep in mind these aren't showy sale type pictures from the top down that show all the polyps, just pictures of the fragged edge.

Frag 1:





Frag 2:

[ryanerickson]

I use this method when desperate and it works fine my biggest issue is the tearing of tissue. Band saw make a cleaner cut and no ripping the flesh in half.

[organism]

True, this isn't the most efficient way but at 3% the cost of a bandsaw it's definitely the most accessible for hobbyists. You can use a razor blade to make cleaner cuts on the tissue but I've never had issues with it as long as the corals were healthy and well-fed to start out with

[sohaltangs]

When you say well fed, how often are you feeding them?

Thanks, Steve

[organism]

Those were fed FM LPS pellet food about a week before I fragged them, gave them time to digest and clear out the food.

[lafayettereefer]

I just tried this on my acan colony this morning and it works like a charm. Thanks for the post

[BayouCorals]

I really liked the video. Do you have more some where? I also have your book and liked it also.

[AdamSabina]

Great video thank you

[RobH]

Thank you, great video!

[organism]

Originally Posted by BayouCorals

I really liked the video. Do you have more some where? I also have your book and liked it also.

I do but they're really, really outdated and just not very good. I have a few planned to show some other low-tech fragging ideas but just haven't had time lately. Should have them done before the end of summer though, a few are things I've never tried so I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes. I figure more people would be fragging more of their corals if they could do it without spending a ton of money... Great to hear you liked the book!

[enforcer8621]

A diamond wheel on a dremel has worked for me. But I agree with the shears if you don't have one.

[organism]

Those work great too, especially the bigger diamond wheels you can get that can really cut through some thick rocks, but for as low tech as you can get it's hard to beat $8ish

[lafayettereefer]

What is the name of your book?

[organism]

To be honest I'd rather not come across as promoting anything, would prefer to keep the thread video focused if that's ok.

[lafayettereefer]

That's totally fine. I had no intentions of promoting anything I just enjoy a good read. I'll shoot you a pm though

[discocarp]

I frequently use a hammer and flat head screwdriver to frag LPS with one quick pop. I don't have the best control over the frag size, but I can break a piece up quickly and cleanly without any heat. It works like a charm.

[reefwars]

another easy way to frag some lps colonies is to buy a hand grinder( angle grinder?) and put a 4" diamond disk on it for cutting tiles or stones.

on the under neath of the corals your going to cut several lines horizontally and vertically about half way through the rock or skelaton creating a grid of lines .

put a flattop screwdriver in one of the lines on back and twist , this will break the channel that you cut and then a new razor blade can be used to cut the flesh.

this works great and was my method before buying a bandsaw.

since all the work is actually done underneathe the coral survial rate is high , clean and less man handling of the corals

[organism]

Originally Posted by discocarp

I frequently use a hammer and flat head screwdriver to frag LPS with one quick pop. I don't have the best control over the frag size, but I can break a piece up quickly and cleanly without any heat. It works like a charm.

Originally Posted by reefwars

another easy way to frag some lps colonies is to buy a hand grinder( angle grinder?) and put a 4" diamond disk on it for cutting tiles or stones.

on the under neath of the corals your going to cut several lines horizontally and vertically about half way through the rock or skelaton creating a grid of lines .

put a flattop screwdriver in one of the lines on back and twist , this will break the channel that you cut and then a new razor blade can be used to cut the flesh.

this works great and was my method before buying a bandsaw.

since all the work is actually done underneathe the coral survial rate is high , clean and less man handling of the corals

That's some great advice, good to know!

[Reefmaster1996]

Nice cans

[theacox]

What's the to the video? I would love to watch it...

[theacox]

I meant to say what's the link

[organism]

It's at the top of the first post, if it's not showing up you can see it at http://youtu.be/G7J2ZK_jSf0

[theacox]

Organism is that a normal ceramic frag disk/plug your cutting apart in the video?

[theacox]

Also how long can coral be out of water like that

[organism]

Yeah it's a regular ceramic plug, one of the larger ones. As far as being out of the water I'm not sure. I've had Acans stay out for over an hour with no issues after forgetting them once, but usually I leave them out for no more than 10 minutes at a time.