The elegance coral project - fragging Catalaphyllia jardinei

[Lance]

Nice job! and ballsy too!

[Madreefer]

Pretty cool. I would'nt mind being on the waiting list once they are for sale. I should bring my pagoda cup and tongue coral over and let you hack them up with that bandsaw. They're getting too big for my liking.

[whatcaneyedo]

Originally Posted by Madreefer

I should bring my pagoda cup and tongue coral over and let you hack them up with that bandsaw. They're getting too big for my liking.

In exchange for letting me keep a small frag of the pagoda I could do that. I don't think I would need anymore than a single polyp as I'm just curious to try one as I've never owned a pagoda before. Some time on a weekend would be best. Just give me a shout and bring each in its own bucket with plenty of water.

[zum14]

Looks awesome man. Ill be watching your frag thread closely now to hopefully catch one.

[Madreefer]

Originally Posted by whatcaneyedo

In exchange for letting me keep a small frag of the pagoda I could do that. I don't think I would need anymore than a single polyp as I'm just curious to try one as I've never owned a pagoda before. Some time on a weekend would be best. Just give me a shout and bring each in its own bucket with plenty of water.

How's about I keep a small peice as well. And you try to sell the other peices if you have room, and we can work something out. Someone always needs something in a pinch. Not much of a supply of stuff in this town as you know.

[Blue World Aquariums]

Great work, Russell. Are you dipping your LPS after a cut? Can you describe the care you take afterward to avoid infection?

[whatcaneyedo]

I don't dip them but I do discard the water that I use to rinse them after fragging. So after I cut them and put them back in the bucket to transport them back to the tank I dumped the bucket down the drain. I also try to put them back in the same spot so that I'm not stressing them by changing their environment. As I mentioned earlier I also like to make sure that the damaged area gets good water flow around it so I brace newly cut coral up with PVC pipe or sit them on egg crate so that they're not being smothered in the sand or against a rock. Finally, I don't part with any LPS that has been cut until it has completely recovered. I think a lot of coral is heartier than we give it credit for but good risk management never hurts.

The only LPS I've ever lost after fragging was a wall hammer that I cut to try and save it from a brown jelly infection several years ago. I tried doing a lugol's dip on that one but I still lost it. Aside from that incident I only frag coral that is healthy and well established which is why I waited eight months before fragging the elegance.

[whatcaneyedo]

Its been over a month now since the night I cut my elegance into three. I'll probably post pictures again next week as there are still two spots that have not completely healed to the point of looking normal yet.

September 3 daytime shot



September 4









These last two pictures show where this elegance was originally cut from a much larger colony perhaps about a year ago. You can see how the side is relatively flat and then projects outwards into a roundish shape about half way up. You can also see how the skeleton here is porous rather than ridged so clearly this is an old cut area. In time this is how my cuts should look once the coral deposits more calcium as it continues to grow in its usual formation.

[topher]

I have a huge pearl coral that i would like to frag, do you think a band saw is better than a dremel tool?

[whatcaneyedo]

Originally Posted by topher

I have a huge pearl coral that i would like to frag, do you think a band saw is better than a dremel tool?

Definitely. The bandsaw can cut deeper, is actively cooled, the mess is contained and its stationary. A rotary tool cant cut much deeper than 1", can get pretty hot, sprays everywhere and is awkward to use while holding a slimy coral at the same time.