Favorite way to grow zoa's in a frag rack

[BrandonS]

I am looking for ideas on setting up zoa colonies to frag in a large frag rack. If you use smaller frags the zoa's grow onto the frag rack. So does everyone use larger plugs? Smaller plugs butted up to each other? Looking for ideas?

 

[Dempsey941]

I use larger ~3in disks for my zoa growouts.

 

[BrandonS]

Square or round? And when you frag do you just cut up the disks?

 

[Dempsey941]

Reefcreators frag disks is what I use. I don't clip the disk I just slice the zoas from the main colony and lift the frag off with the scalpel. Super glue the polyps to a smaller plug let it sit for 30 seconds then give it a dip in an iodine based coral dip for 15 minutes and into the frag tank they go.

 

[Aaron Shapiro]

Reefcreators frag disks is what I use. I don't clip the disk I just slice the zoas from the main colony and lift the frag off with the scalpel. Super glue the polyps to a smaller plug let it sit for 30 seconds then give it a dip in an iodine based coral dip for 15 minutes and into the frag tank they go.

Interesting, so you just slide the blade under the Zoas themselves instead of clipping the plug/rock? Have you noticed any problems doing it that way? I’ve been told it was better to bring the substrate they’re attached to with them. I’d certainly prefer to not have to chop up my frag plugs all the time.

 

[Dempsey941]

Interesting, so you just slide the blade under the Zoas themselves instead of clipping the plug/rock? Have you noticed any problems doing it that way? I’ve been told it was better to bring the substrate they’re attached to with them. I’d certainly prefer to not have to chop up my frag plugs all the time.

I don’t have issues doing it that way, I just use a fresh razor blade/scalpel when it is time to frag up some zoas. Those disks I use have some minor imperfections on the mounting surface so if you’re careful you can slice off the polyps on the bumps. You just really have to take to take your time with it making sure you’re actually getting under the growth and not just slicing the stalks off.

The issue to doing it my way is that its not the prettiest frag, and I feel it requires a longer healing time for some zoas.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

You’ll get better heal times and a higher survival rate when chopping the disks. I use 3” square plates.

Square or round? And when you frag do you just cut up the disks?

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Yup, it’s a little slower. If on a plate, it’s better to just cut it. They only cost around $1 per plate and when you’re messing around with more expensive zoas, it’s better to be safe than sorry

I don’t have issues doing it that way, I just use a fresh razor blade/scalpel when it is time to frag up some zoas. Those disks I use have some minor imperfections on the mounting surface so if you’re careful you can slice off the polyps on the bumps. You just really have to take to take your time with it making sure you’re actually getting under the growth and not just slicing the stalks off.

The issue to doing it my way is that its not the prettiest frag, and I feel it requires a longer healing time for some zoas.

 

[Picasso Clown]

That’s true, use the disk and slice method above for some of my colonies still. I’m moving over to a method I originally developed for gsp and Xenia. You surround the main colony with frag plugs and they naturally grow onto the plug. This way you just cut the membrane between the mother colony and the frag and it’s ready to be sold next day. A setback of this is that it takes a while and you will not get single or possibly even double polyp frags this way, but I don’t really believe in single polyp zoa frags anyway. Up side is that there’s no glue required, the zoas are minimally stressed, and they are always very well attached so 0% chance of a glue failure and my frag flying around the tank.

 

[EMeyer]

I make zoa frags as @Dempsey941 described. I think they come out much prettier, who wants a big chunk of broken frag plug on your zoa frag?

But I agree they do take a bit longer to heal and occasionally you lose one.

That said, I think its vastly more efficient than cutting up frag plugs, that is a slow and small scale way to do it. Grow them on a tile, slide a razor blade under them, I can make large numbers of frags this way.

 

[ReeferWarrant]

I use a wood chisel under the polyp so that I get chips of the frag instead of the tissue. Then follow up with a razor and dip in a coral dip like @Dempsey941 mentioned. There is a post on here that talks about zoa fragging that is really informative. You have a higher survivable rate if you cut more than 1 polyp as well I learned.

 

[Dempsey941]

I use 3” square plates

See I should have started with squares because I have this awesome sunset montipora that has almost overgrown the entire area of a ROUND 3” plate and now instead of making just square frags of it Imma have to cut this guy like a pizza.

 

[Aaron Shapiro]

I use a wood chisel under the polyp so that I get chips of the frag instead of the tissue. Then follow up with a razor and dip in a coral dip like @Dempsey941 mentioned. There is a post on here that talks about zoa fragging that is really informative. You have a higher survivable rate if you cut more than 1 polyp as well I learned.

Yeah I’ve seen better growth rates out of two polyp frags than I have single polyp.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

See I should have started with squares because I have this awesome sunset montipora that has almost overgrown the entire area of a ROUND 3” plate and now instead of making just square frags of it Imma have to cut this guy like a pizza.

When you have a bunch of squares, you can also put them touching. It gives the zoas a lot more space

 

[alabella1]

This was a pretty interesting read, def. going to try some of these tips. That being said... my Nirvanas jumped off the rocks to the back wall and are growing like mad. I'm moving to a bigger tank and obviously want to take them with. What's the best way to get them off that back wall?

 

[Pkunk35]

This was a pretty interesting read, def. going to try some of these tips. That being said... my Nirvanas jumped off the rocks to the back wall and are growing like mad. I'm moving to a bigger tank and obviously want to take them with. What's the best way to get them off that back wall?

+1! Very interesting read! I find zoas to be trickier when in colony size, wondering if fragging them might actually help colony melt? Just wondering bc I almost never frag mine…

@alabella1 i would think a razor blade underneath the skin and gently pulling the colony off the back wall would be the way to go…