First attempt at fragging. Leather Toadstool

[Eddied316]

Hey all.

I picked up a small green toadstool frag about 2 years ago. It started out about the size of a quarter and now its about the size of a dinner plate and its getting too big for my tank. I have to keep moving it, but its attached to a rock and the rock cant move anymore.

So i'd like to frag it. I've read how to do it online and I'd like to cut out an outer ring of it. Maybe an inch wide. Then cut the ring into 1x1 inch squares and glue to plugs.

My question is, the host leather - will it grow back normally or will it always look deformed? I've seen other posts about learge toadstools before and a lot of the comments are about people saying not to frag it.

Just want to check.

Thanks!

Note: Picture was about 8 months ago. It's MUCH larger now.

 

[acro-ed]

You can totally do this. I have a green toadstool that I have cut many times. I don't recommend cutting the entire perimeter edge at once because it could stress it. I would suggest cutting one side of it and making a few frags, then letting it heal and repeat on the other side. I use sharp stainless scissors and just cut the shape I want, dip in a light lugols dip as an antiseptic and mount them.

Hope that helps!
Ed

 

[Eddied316]

Cool! Thanks for the info. That actually makes me feel better. Any recommendations on the dip? brand etc

 

[acro-ed]

I use a weak Lugol's dip (Brightwell, Kent, etc. several places sell it). It is a concentrated iodine/iodide solution that works as an antiseptic. It only takes a drop or two in the container you put the cut frags in. I wouldn't say its' 100% necessary, but I think its a good practice.

 

[flooddc]

Use thread to tie the frags or tooth pick and rubberband the tooth pick to the plug. Glue has never work on leather corals for me.

 

[andrewkw]

imo these are some of the toughest corals out there. They are also prone to looking unhappy for sometimes months at a time then everything is back to normal. I can't get mine to get much bigger then my hand before they self propagate. Right now I have about 20 frags. My older frags are actually colonies starting to frag themselves. While they certainly are a pain to glue and the above suggestion of a rubberband and toothpick is good, they are still a good coral for a beginner to frag since they are so resilient and it will help you practice gluing. It is difficult but you can glue them with just glue. 2-3 days with very low flow and they will begin to attach to the plug or rock rubble.

 

[dvbrien]

I stright up cut off the entire crown... and sliced it up like a pie. Everything healed up in about 5 days and was adhered to pieces of rubble in 2 weeks. The head of the toadstool was also about 2 weeks before polyps started forming and I had a completely new crown in a month or so.