Possible to Cut & Reattach a Toadstool Seamlessly?

[rhpmiller]

I have a nice toadstool that has been in my tank for a little over a week and is doing quite nicely. However, it came attached to this big stone disc that's about 4" in diameter.

I tried cutting pieces off of it with a rotary drill + cutting blade (see little chunk in the picture below), and was going to continue and remove the stone until it was just outside of the coral's "stump". However, was wondering if there might be a better way to approach this? Would trying to take a razor to the bottom of the coral, remove it from its disc, and attach it with epoxy to some dry rock work?

 

[RedReefer]

You can cut it loose from the disk. Put a dab of glue to attach it back to the rock.

 

[rhpmiller]

Not gonna lie, may have damaged or killed it this morning trying to make that happen. (Face palm)

Couldn't get the razor under the "stump" and cut across, as the stone underneath isn't flat. So i just trimmed off more of the stone, and am going to wait and see if it gets "happy" again in the tank. Right now it is extra shrunken and droopy--not happy.

 

[vtecintegra]

You can cut it loose from the disk. Put a dab of glue to attach it back to the rock.

You can not glue a toad stool.

 

[rhpmiller]

You can not glue a toad stool.

I didn't even get to glue it. It's still attached to its original stone, just looking very unhappy (understandable with the trauma I put it through)

Yesterday vs. Right now

 

[mdb_talon]

Ya it is unhappy, but i would expect within a few days will be just fine.

 

[JGT]

Do a clean cut. Reattach it to rock with rubber band. In about a week it'll reattach itself. They are very hardy.

 

[icedearth15324]

Not gonna lie, may have damaged or killed it this morning trying to make that happen. (Face palm)

Couldn't get the razor under the "stump" and cut across, as the stone underneath isn't flat. So i just trimmed off more of the stone, and am going to wait and see if it gets "happy" again in the tank. Right now it is extra shrunken and droopy--not happy.

Yeah these are pretty much impossible to kill. I removed a large toadstool a couple months ago, left like a tiny bit on the rock, and now I have two growing in its place.

 

[Soren]

I didn't even get to glue it. It's still attached to its original stone, just looking very unhappy (understandable with the trauma I put it through)

Yesterday vs. Right now

It may be fine, just grumpy. Toadstools are known for being very hardy. I've heard of propagating toadstools by cutting the stalk a little bit below the cap. Both pieces can survive with the short cap-stalk reattaching (via rubberbanding as previously mentioned) to the rock and the original stalk growing a new cap. I may try this in the future with my toadstool, especially since mine has a very tall stalk.

Whenever I work with my tank, if there is too much flow around the toadstool, it gets grumpy like yours but rebounds later. I've had several "flopped-over-and-looking-dead" instances, but it has always rebounded. If I clean algae off the stalk by hand, it usually takes a day or 2 for it to stop being grumpy and hiding.

 

[rhpmiller]

Thanks for all of the input, everyone! Truly.

I'll let it be and give it a couple days to (hopefully) revive itself.

 

[rhpmiller]

Y'all were so right--hardy little corals they are. Will probably wait another day and finish cutting the majority of the stone off around the base.

If I were to glue to the stone disc on to my rock, would the stalk/stump be able to grow over/around it, as it grew? Or would it essentially be confined to that surface area? (Have a sneaking suspicion that it would, but curious if others have experienced something different)

 

[Soren]

Y'all were so right--hardy little corals they are. Will probably wait another day and finish cutting the majority of the stone off around the base.

If I were to glue to the stone disc on to my rock, would the stalk/stump be able to grow over/around it, as it grew? Or would it essentially be confined to that surface area? (Have a sneaking suspicion that it would, but curious if others have experienced something different)

It certainly can grow over/around it, but it may not. Mine was just barely attached at the foot for a while as it moved the attachment point around a corner on my rock.

 

[mdb_talon]

Y'all were so right--hardy little corals they are. Will probably wait another day and finish cutting the majority of the stone off around the base.

If I were to glue to the stone disc on to my rock, would the stalk/stump be able to grow over/around it, as it grew? Or would it essentially be confined to that surface area? (Have a sneaking suspicion that it would, but curious if others have experienced something different)

They grow kind of like a tree trunk in the sense the stalk may get wider over time and grow over/around things directly next to it, but it wont just start spreading out and encrusting from the base or anything.

 

[rhpmiller]

They grow kind of like a tree trunk in the sense the stalk may get wider over time and grow over/around things directly next to it, but it wont just start spreading out and encrusting from the base or anything.

Ahh, that's what I was thinking it would do—encrust—so it's good to know that that's not how toadstools behave. Guess I'll see how much of the excess stone disc I can grind off, and then find a good spot in the rock to attach it to.

Thanks, @mdb_talon and @Soren !

 

[RC51]

You can not glue a toad stool.

ya you can when you don't cut the coral itself. But when you frag it, you cant

 

[Grsfish]

I would just cut as much of that frag disc off as possible and glue that, You can use wire cutters, probably easier