Let's get real....what the truth about zoa Fragging?

ca2or · Mar 23, 2012

I have to ask because I am watching my decorator crab walk around with about $50 worth of zoas stuck to him....some torn off at the half way point....and they open. Some while he is moving....but most if he stops.

So....why is there such issue with fragging zoas if they can survive being torn in half?

ca2or · Mar 23, 2012

Dre59 · Mar 23, 2012

LOL!!!! Good question... I hate when they melt after fraging..

Makes me wonder if they have the zoa garden touch

Stray32 · Mar 23, 2012

Factor in human contamination from handling, possible bacteria on the blade, and most of the time fragging out of water, I would think the stress level of fragging is much greater than being yanked on by a crab.

turbo21 · Mar 23, 2012

Stray32 said:
Factor in human contamination from handling, possible bacteria on the blade, and most of the time fragging out of water, I would think the stress level of fragging is much greater than being yanked on by a crab.

Jared,

with this explanation do you think it would be better to frag underwater? I might have to try it. Frag a piece of a colony in water and then out and see if there is any difference in the frags after a few weeks

bob

Stray32 · Mar 23, 2012

Bob, it might be worth trying. I would think the stress level of fragging underwater would be much less than out of water.

NU2REEFIN · Mar 23, 2012

I have a huge colony of Spiderman zoas that I frag under water and the heal time is absolutely zero. They start spreading and popping up new heads just as fast as ever.

revhtree · Mar 23, 2012

The truth is they are like women.

me > >

< < Tonya

ca2or · Mar 23, 2012

revhtree said:
The truth is they are like women.

me > >

< < Tonya

wow....really tempting things now huh rev? Better hope she don't see this one

returnofsid · Mar 23, 2012

revhtree said:
The truth is they are like women...

Toxic?

M@! · Mar 23, 2012

I fragged some gobbstoppers for the first time (out of water) and they opened up within a couple hours. Is it only certain types that tend to melt after fragging?

Russellaqua · Mar 23, 2012

I do think a lot of it has to be with being out of water for a while. As far as I know, no zoas grow in areas that are ever exposed during low tide, unlike many species of Acropora. That has to be stressful. Add in terrestrial bacteria from our hands (if you do your fragging bare-handed) and from blades that may not be sterile. Marine bacteria can be pretty nasty to us. I wonder if terrestrial bacteria are just as bad for them.

turbo21 · Mar 23, 2012

Stray32 said:
Bob, it might be worth trying. I would think the stress level of fragging underwater would be much less than out of water.

I am gonna have tto try that experiment. right now i frag as fast as possible out of water.

bob

Molli · Mar 23, 2012

Russellaqua said:
I do think a lot of it has to be with being out of water for a while. As far as I know, no zoas grow in areas that are ever exposed during low tide, unlike many species of Acropora. That has to be stressful. Add in terrestrial bacteria from our hands (if you do your fragging bare-handed) and from blades that may not be sterile. Marine bacteria can be pretty nasty to us. I wonder if terrestrial bacteria are just as bad for them.

How rare is this? - Page 11 - Reef Central Online Community
This thread has pics of a lot of things out of water, including zoas at low tide.

bige · Mar 23, 2012

There was an article in coral mag (I think) that they found fragging sps under water yeilded the best results. I began doing this and everything recovers much faster. Maybe the same with zoa. Although I have not tried.

ca2or · Mar 23, 2012

If you think about it in the wild they simply break or are bitten off....but all underwater and all violently....just as it was with the decorator....I watched him literally rip a polyp off and stick it to himself. I don't know if that one opened but I am sure it has or will. I will have to try and get a good pic of the biggest polyp he has.....you can tell it is literally torn off half way up the stock...opens every night when he goes on the prowl.

Wy Renegade · Mar 23, 2012

Russellaqua said:
I do think a lot of it has to be with being out of water for a while. As far as I know, no zoas grow in areas that are ever exposed during low tide, unlike many species of Acropora. That has to be stressful. Add in terrestrial bacteria from our hands (if you do your fragging bare-handed) and from blades that may not be sterile. Marine bacteria can be pretty nasty to us. I wonder if terrestrial bacteria are just as bad for them.

Actually there are an amazing number of different variaties of zoas that grow in areas that are exposed during low tide for hours at a time. I tend to think that the exposure to contaminants is a much bigger factor than the time out of water. JMO

turbo21 · Mar 23, 2012

Wy Renegade said:
Actually there are an amazing number of different variaties of zoas that grow in areas that are exposed during low tide for hours at a time. I tend to think that the exposure to contaminants is a much bigger factor than the time out of water. JMO

So do you think it would be worth it to use surgical grade and sterilized scapel blades. Than using new razor blades. Or should we start doing something different to sterlize the razor blades before fragging

Wy Renegade · Mar 23, 2012

turbo21 said:
So do you think it would be worth it to use surgical grade and sterilized scapel blades. Than using new razor blades. Or should we start doing something different to sterlize the razor blades before fragging

I've actually used both and can't you that are any differences in the way the zoa react. I'm inclined to think its a combination of the open cut and exposure to air born contaminants that cause issues. Keep in mind though that there really are only a few types of zoas that are know for melting over being fragged. Most can be fragged without issue. IME, the larger the piece you are fragging off, the greater the likelyhood of survival/success. Many of these single polyp frags currently being offered on the market melt, but IMO they had a pretty small chance to begin with. Combine that with the shock of shipping and introduction to a new tank without properly having time to heal, and likelyhood of survival becomes even smaller. In nature, these things grow in large mats that cover fairly large areas and even when damaged, the damaged portion of a wild colony is larger than what many now refer to as a mother colony.