Can this be fragged?
 

This closed brain has grown to cover the entire rock (or skeleton), and also the underside. I have another type of closed brain which is green. It has also covered up the rock (or skeleton).
I am wondering what can be done with these.

Can they be fragged, or whatever :confused: :question:

http://members.shaw.ca/rcipema/lps.jpg

If you have a dremel you should be able too... slice er up. :biggrin: You'd lose some of course... but it should be ok. Its what I would do anyways..

Chad

I suggest you use a band saw - just set the speed on very high, make sure the blade isn't too rusty, and run it through. I have tried a dremel on these brains and it can be messy.

Good Luck,
Stephen

Agreed, if you can get your hands on a band saw that would be perfect for sure... nice and quick.. the dremel is cheap.. but it can get away on you causing more of a mess..

Chad

Mine just grew onto a rock beside it and fragged itself.

Perhaps I don't understand the structure of these things. Is what they grow on a part of the animal (skeleton) :question: , or is it a big polyp with many mouths growing on a rock :question:

Its just a big skeleton as far as I am aware.. but it is also growing on the rock.

Chad

I'd suggest that you trade it for a smaller piece somewhere.

Well it is not in the way or anything. I could just let it be, and see what happens. :eek:

hey bob,
if you frag it, i want a piece!

Bob, you could also frag it very carefully with a hammer and chisel, and yes you will loose a few polyps but this type of coral is hardy to frag.

I have broke off similar corals with hammer and chisel before. Once you break the pieces you should give them a rinse in some saltwater for about half an hour before returning then into the main tank as they will release some mucus. Also be sure to use a clean chisel, this lessons the chance of the coral getting infections. When placed back into the tank, be sure to place the cut side of the coral into a high flow area of the tank for a week or two until it heals.

Some people may think this is an extreme method of fragging corals, although I have done this to many types of LPS corals including frogspawn, torch, brains, and even bubble corals with no losses. It's no different on a coral this way, than by natural methods such as storms or anchors or divers :mrgreen:

Anchors and divers, a natural method of coral propogation. Sounds like an oxymoron. :mrgreen:

Chad

I think what I understand is that what you are breaking is the coral's skeleton into some smaller pieces. If that is so, it is logical to think that if you leave it alone, it will just continue to grow bigger. Is my thinking here correct :question: :question: :question:

Yes Bob that's exactly what will happen, I was just gave the frag tip incase it was grwong to large or maybe incase you just wanted
to diversify a little :mrgreen:

Yeah Chad I know it sounds crazy, at least a lot of dive companys and tropical resorts now use anchor line bouys :exclaim:

I am somewhat confused. Sprung's book on corals states that Favia (which I think this is) is "assive or encrusting" I have not been able to find a dictionary meaning for "assive" If it is encrusting, it should grow onto an adjoining rock. when it does this, does it grow a new skeleton :question: Sprung's book shows pictures of a number of small colonies close to each other. If only I could find out what "assive" is :confused:

Could it be a misspelling for "massive", Bob?

Mitch

That is what I thought, but it says "assive OR encrusting", which means to me that there are two ways of multiplying. :confused:

which book and page?
(I might have it)

Mitch

It is CORALS - a quick reference guide - by Julian Sprung. The page number is 108

Yeah, I've got that. I'm pretty sure that it's supposed to be Massive AND encrusting....
If you look on the page before, Diploastrea description starts with "Massive...."(and massive is capitalized)

I've never heard of "assive"... something close on Seinfeld though...

Mitch :mrgreen:

I looked up assive on google... couldnt find anything relevant at all

That is what I think too. Now I feel even dumber. If indeed it is encrusting, it would be growing like a mat on a rock along the same idea as Zoanthids :question: If this is true, how can it be called a "Hard Coral" :question: . Furthermore, it has completely covered the rock it is on, and is growing onto the bottom of that rock. What in blazes should I do with it to ensure its future happiness (if corals can be happy) :question: :eek:

Actually your favia is quite different than your zoos.
The favia deposits a calcium skeleton as it grows. It contributes to the reef structure and dead coral skeletons like that are what make up our "live rock".
Zoos are like mini soft corals which have no substantial skeleton. You could cut down in between the individual polyps and easily frag zoos.
With a favia, you not only need to cut through the polyp membrane, but you also need to cut through the hard coral skeleton.
I would say use a knife first then a chisel, but you are opening up the tissue to infection, there's no guarantee that your chisel would cut where your tissue was cut and you could wind up losing both halves.
Do you really need to frag it?

I couldn't do it, myself.

Mitch :smile:

How thick would this skeleton be?
As I said, I don't have to frag it at all. I would only like to know if it is bothered by having overgrown its rock and having nowhere to go except the bottom of the rock

The skeleton will get thicker as the colony grows. I've got a colony that's about the size of a large softball, and at it's thickest point I would say it's about 1-1/2" thick.

I would put yours up on another rock, and let it grow.

Mitch

A great book with great info is Eric Borneman's Aquarium Corals Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History

Mitch