Dr. Frankenstein Frags a Hybrid Open Brain Coral

[Fish_Sticks]

Tadaaaaaa!

 

[Fish_Sticks]

The flesh was about 95% cut from the rubber bands, leaving a near perfect seam for the carbon fiber dremel wheel to cut down.

I cut underneath as much as possible to create a crevice, flipped it over and sliced the top down the line with a razor, and then finally cut from the top down to my seem. Still had to break it apart a bit, but it cracked right in half down the dremel lines.

Smelled like a dentist drilling a tooth when I got to the bone, but felt nice to toss those two halves back into the tank.

Now we wait to see how long before recovery. It's already showing a little puffiness...

 

[F i s h y]

The flesh was about 95% cut from the rubber bands, leaving a near perfect seam for the carbon fiber dremel wheel to cut down.

I cut underneath as much as possible to create a crevice, flipped it over and sliced the top down the line with a razor, and then finally cut from the top down to my seem. Still had to break it apart a bit, but it cracked right in half down the dremel lines.

Smelled like a dentist drilling a tooth when I got to the bone, but felt nice to toss those two halves back into the tank.

Now we wait to see how long before recovery. It's already showing a little puffiness...

Absolutely fantastic!

 

[Lizbeli]

Very curious how these will look in a few weeks. Curious if anyone at Reef Builders would know what this is? The guy does know his coral species imo.

 

[PicassoClown04]

Yay!!!! I’m so excited, I’m glad the fragging process went so well! If you decide to sell the other piece pretty fast, you gotta get the new owner to send you pics to see how the growth pattern of the frag is!

 

[Fish_Sticks]

Yay!!!! I’m so excited, I’m glad the fragging process went so well! If you decide to sell the other piece pretty fast, you gotta get the new owner to send you pics to see how the growth pattern of the frag is!

Good idea, and what happens to coloration in different parameters.

 

[Lucky Corals]

Looks like the fragging is likely to lead to two healthy pieces. These are imported as symphyllia from Indonesia.

 

[G Santana]

Amazing!!! Hats off for your shear nerve!!!

 

[Fish_Sticks]

Amazing!!! Hats off for your shear nerve!!!

Had to push all the chips in on this one. Didnt even iodine dip it, let it ride!

 

[KrisReef]

Smelled like a dentist drilling a tooth when I got to the bone,
&

I just went to the dentist. I took a ride on nitrous oxide for 2.5 hours.

It's already showing a little puffiness...

My teeth hurt for days but there was no puffiness?

I am also amazed that you did this cutting experiment with such a nice and unusual specimen. I'm thinking that if I ever try to frag something like this I am going to use nitrous to keep my hands steady.

Nice Job, btw. Are you going to ship a half to me in California?

 

[Fish_Sticks]

I am also amazed that you did this cutting experiment with such a nice and unusual specimen. I'm thinking that if I ever try to frag something like this I am going to use nitrous to keep my hands steady.

I dont get my fix slicing and mounting mushrooms anymore, had to move to higher stakes.

If this turns out, theres a good chance I'll try some weird fragging techniques on stuff like plates.

I've always wondered if intentionally letting it sit out of the tank for an hour to die off and throwing it back in would trigger the 100 polyp rebirth that they are notorious for doing when they normally kick the bucket. And what happens if you rubber band it in half along the mouth.

Theres a lot of unfraggable corals that need some further exploration - and guts thrown at them.

 

[G Santana]

Had to push all the chips in on this one. Didnt even iodine dip it, let it ride!

You are one bad hombre. I couldn't, that would scare the heck out of me!!!
Again congratulations!!!

THIS SHOULD BE A STICKY!!!

 

[OlderManSea]

Very cool. That is an extremely nice coral. I have a few that might respond well to this technique now that you have shown it to work. I will have to work up the nerve to try. I wonder about Acanthophyllia.... You are the man!

 

[PicassoClown04]

Scolys!! I have an orange plate on its way out, if you want a test subject!

 

[KrisReef]

I dont get my fix slicing and mounting mushrooms anymore, had to move to higher stakes.

If this turns out, theres a good chance I'll try some weird fragging techniques on stuff like plates.

I've always wondered if intentionally letting it sit out of the tank for an hour to die off and throwing it back in would trigger the 100 polyp rebirth that they are notorious for doing when they normally kick the bucket. And what happens if you rubber band it in half along the mouth.

Theres a lot of unfraggable corals that need some further exploration - and guts thrown at them.

Agree.
Lots of "unfraggable" corals can likely be fragged and propagated, we just have not figured out yet to do it yet. I would recommend sand burial for the plate experiment instead of air drying. Desiccation on a beach is probably not the normal way for plates to get triggered?

 

[Fish_Sticks]

Scolys!! I have an orange plate on its way out, if you want a test subject!

Hang on to it for a year or two. It should die off, and then magically rebirth very slowly with 100 tiny babies.

Agree.
Lots of "unfraggable" corals can likely be fragged and propagated, we just have not figured out yet to do it yet. I would recommend sand burial for the plate experiment instead of air drying. Desiccation on a beach is probably not the normal way for plates to get triggered?

That's probably how it happens in nature... buried, resurfaced, and then the tiny dots wiggle their way out after a long period of time. Good idea!

I'll try to stock up on some cheap test subjects and then try all three ideas at the same time.

 

[Fish_Sticks]

I dont want to seem overly optimistic at the risk of jinxing the entire operation... so I'll just leave these photos of the, nearly, fully reinflated patient below

This thing is an absolute TANK. It's almost like it has no memory of last night... lol

No signs of infection. One of the halves tilted over into the sandbed, which might not be a good idea for an open wound long-term, but it has been flipped back over post-photo op.

 

[Fish_Sticks]

Double or nothin

This time the rubber bands were on for two weeks, but extra extra tight. I beleive this is a better approach, but it's probably a bit more risky