best way to to frag a plating Monti ??

[cracker]

Morning Can I use a dremel with cutting wheel to frag these piece?



the green in my hand has a curl by my index finger. No matter
whee I place it I can't get light under this curl.

 

[madweazl]

Is the reason you want to cut it because you cant get light to that section? If so, I wouldn't mess with it. The cut off wheel will work though.

 

[DSC reef]

Typically I would just break a piece off by hand. I'd be worried about burning with a dry dremel. That curl looks really though.

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

I have used a dremel with a diamond cut off wheel, slow speed, with no ill affects on monti's. You can most likely also grab it with bone cutters and break it off with a little twist.

 

[HB AL]

I would just let it grow on its own, unless your looking to frag it to spread it around or sell/ trade the pieces. But back to your question I just snap pieces off with my fingers.

 

[cracker]

I have a red monti also That's got a lot of dead spots where algae collects smothering the live parts . however this is not an easy snap or cut off tings. wish I had a wet saw. I want to remove the curl on the green because it's too big for where I want it & it's dying already. it 's going to attract more algae ! I have this dremel & large toe nail clippers ! LOL I 'think " for the green one with the curl . I will pinch together it should snap at the curl right where I want to. I have Revive to dip after.
@HB AL . I can try the red but it's thicker & afraid it will shatter I need to cut it right down the center.. How about scoring the bottom then the snap?

Thanks I'm new to this & don't want to screw up ?

 

[HB AL]

You could score it using a kitchen steak knife or hack saw then place it on a table edge and snap it off, it might not be a perfect straight break but should be pretty close, just try and cover with your hand as much of the overhanging piece off the table edge so you have a better chance of it breaking off in one piece and quickly snap it off.

 

[WVNed]

When I want to cut delicate things I use a hacksaw blade with a high tooth count (very small teeth) and I use it backwards. They only cut aggressivly in one direction on the pull stroke normally. You can also get what is called a razor saw at a hobby shop that is the same idea but much thinner and sharper.

 

[Fishfinder]

I use a razor blade on montis

 

[cracker]

all good ideas I didn't think of !

 

[cracker]

OK! The green Monti didn't go exactly by plan but still came out just fine. The 1st snap didn't break exactly where I wanted so I did it again. This time the curl broke completely but snapped in 4 different pieces .One nice big one with smaller the other 2 were under the curl & not sure if they will come back. I have pics if Ya want them. Not messing with the red one today. Thanks !

 

[Alfrareef]

I break it by hand or use a x-acto to make a cut and then break it with my hand.
About the curl I always let the monti decide which way to go...

 

[rkpetersen]

Breaking montis by hand is a bit of an art and subject to big 'oops' moments. Nonetheless, it's what I do, as others have mentioned as well. The best control is if you learn to apply pressure to one side of the plate with one or two fingers, then keep those fingers absolutely stationary and apply the breaking force with one or two fingers on the other side. Done properly, it should break at the level of the supporting fingers. Sometimes using two hands is best but often not possible.

Also don't worry too much about overlapped sections not getting enough light; it's almost inevitable if you want the growing coral to look at all natural; the coral won't die because of it.

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

@cracker lol my friend you know these are not saltine crackers right . I have this same problem and when it comes time for me I take them in a bucket to my lfs and they frag them for me. If that’s not an option, then you may try this.

Find a wood or plastic cutting board, and then use a large kitchen knife and use (obviously the sharp edge) on the top of the coral. (Don’t recommend back side), once you have the line set where you want to, use a small like maybe toy hammer or like hobby hammer and tap the top of the knife with it. If it’s in the center it should in theory give a direct impact to the coral giving you a clean cut. (Don’t use your super expensive knife set lol, go to wal Mart and just buy one for cheap). But I have used this method on my holly wood stunner and plating Red monti and it works fabulous.

 

[cracker]

Hi Miss Sarah ! UUh I love Me some saltine crackers ! Please don't tell anybody but that's how I got the nick name. When I was a little kid my Mom called me "Mom'a Little Cracker Boy" . When my buddy's learned this it was all over ! The knife is a great idea . i'm not using my good kitchen knifes on this for sure I'll use a big one I use for my plants !

 

[cracker]

Thanks @Alfrareef reef, @rkpetersn I now know what Ya mean. went ok of my 1st go. I was surprised how easy it was to snap.
Learning something new every day .

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

You know just for your amazing fabulous cracker story I am gonna send you like a whole crate of saltine crackers for Xmas.

 

[cracker]

Cool! Can I have a couple cans of Sardenees & some English Stillton cheese?

 

[PhreeByrd]

I also would not bother with any kind of power tool for this. I always just break off pieces by hand. If I need more accuracy for some reason, a pair of sidecuts (wire cutters) work just fine to nip away unwanted areas. These things break very easily.

 

[ourcoralreef]

Personally if its a fragile coral go to a lfs with a saw they usually would cut it for you taking no responsibility with the results

All the others i use a bone cutter