Need some help on fragging Florida Rics...

[b0bby1]

hey guys, i've noticed that most of you on here basically grow corals out and trade them instead of taking a chunk of cash out of the bank and buying it. saves a bunch of money. well, i wanna start doing the same thing with florida rics. i have about 60 right now and was wondering if they are easy to frag. if i really start propagating them, hopefully i won't have to spend another dollar on new corals. so my question is, are rics good healers after they are fragged? can anyone give me some pointers on how to frag them (can i cut them with a razor)?

 

[Azurel]

Yes you can cut them with a razor, the best way to do it and also helps with faster healing is cut the ones that have 2 mouths. Cut inbetween the mouths and then seperate them sometimes they will grow back together. You can also do gravity propagation which you get the ric to grab onto 2 pieces of rubble and then let one hang off the edge and the gravity will pull the ric and strech it. After awhile it will strech to the point where the ric will begin to frag itself. As far as fast healers I think they are one of the fastest shrooms around. I had a hlaf a ric by accedent that a friend was trying to frag off a rock and ended up cutting the polyp in half. Within 3-4 days you couldn't tell it had been cut and now a few weeks later it has 2 mouths.....HTH.

 

[b0bby1]

i was expecting you would be the first to comment. thanks for the info. azurel, do you use certain softie cutters or do you just use a razor blade? i have a bunch with multiple mouths, but what about the ones with one mouth, can i cut the mouth in half?

 

[Azurel]

Yea you can cut them in half but there is less room for error with the mouths being so small. I myself like to use x-acto knives then just the typical razor as you a bit more control with the handle. They are pretty cheap as well at you hobby stores, I also like to get those little packs with extra blades just to have them on hand.

 

[Biertrinker]

Hey Bobby-
To add to what Azurel said, I take a turkey baster and squirt a little tank water on a cheap plastic cutting board (that is for fragging only). It may be a good idea to swab the razor with alchohol, esp if it is packaged in grease. I also rinse my razor blade in the tank water right before cutting the ric. I try to cut the ric in one easy pull- don't saw or tear the ric if possible. You can cut rics across their mouths, or as Azurel says, between multiple mouths.

I don't know how much fragging you have done before, so I'll give a little more detail- The cut rics will slime a bit. I like to place them in a plastic container with tank water right after fragging. I swirl the frags and the water around a bit to loosen whatever slime there may be, then try to suck up the rest with the turkey baster.

Next, place the frags in a shallow plastic cup with pebbles or something you want the frag to grow onto. Cover the cup with some sort of netting to keep the frag from floating away in your tank. Put the cup back in the tank somewhere with light flow. Don't put it in still water, or it will get infected.

Everything above details how I do it, but I am certain you will find a million variations. Florida Ricordea are very resiliant animals, you can't really go wrong.

Azurel mentioned glueing a ric to a rock and a second pebble to let it stretch itself in two. This is discussed a bit more here: http://www.club-zoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6706

Best of luck!

 

[Azurel]

Good advice there as well.....Glad you chimed in Brian.

 

[ctsps]

ive done this it works great good info

 

[normanbates]

hey bobbie, post up some pics, im in the market for a few rics

 

[flricordia]

I chisel them off the rock leaving some rock attatched, take a pair of wire cutters and cut the rock abotu where I will cut the ric and cut the ric in half witha pair of sharp sissors. Work liek a charm and have never lost one yet. But can you actualy kill a ric? They are tough and fast healers. I have cut hundreds like this and never had a problem.

 

[reefpeeper]

just cut it. it doesnt mater how as long as u cut part of the mouth with the frag.

 

[Saltysteele]

how bout yumas? mine "had a baby." kind of "dripped" off one of the bubbles, and bam! new yuma

but, are they easy to frag, and fast healers, as well?

speaking of fragging ric's, how long before it regains its somewhat roundish shape?

 

[paintballer768]

Yumas move around like normal mushrooms to drop off babies. I dont know how to frag them though, I believe theyre a bit trickier when it comes to razor-sensitivity.