How to frag a Duncan?

[b4tn]

Acros, montis, leptos, etc are easy. Pretty much just break a piece off. But how do I frag a Duncan without hurting it? I put it in my tank when it was just 2 heads and it has 30 or more now and is getting too big. I don’t have a special coral saw. I have a dremal that I use on all sorts of projects around the house and the truck but that just seems dirty.

 

[Seamore2001]

No advice, but I have a massive Duncan as well, so following. Hope you get some good advice.

 

[Seamore2001]

I just rewatched this video from Tidal Gardens https://www.tidalgardens.com/stock-aussie-teal-duncan.html They note that growth is slow enough that Duncans aren't economical for commercial aquaculture but say they are good candidates for growing out by hobbyists and trading in to LFSs. That fits my experience - I have a very large Duncan and several smaller colonies which are regularly adding new heads. I've got one smaller colony that I'm taking in this weekend for trade to an LFS. So the best thing might not be fragging, but instead starting with small colonies, letting them grow out, and trading them. Rinse and repeat.

 

[GlassMunky]

you need to use a saw of some sort, weather it be an actual diamond blade wet bandsaw or just a dremel with a diamond blade wheel, but if you go the dremel route be prepared that its gonna spray water everywhere cause of the rotation.....

 

[MrObscura]

Ive never fragged but I always assumed a big pair of bone cutters would do the job.

 

[b4tn]

I dont know, mine seems to grow fast. Like I said its gone from 2 heads to 30 + in maybe 3 years. I am not really looking to make money on it more than keep it manageable for the spot its in. Its probably the only spon in my tank it will thrive and space is limited. I hate giving up huge colonies of my favorites. I had to give up a wall hammer a couple years back because it got to big also.

 

[GlassMunky]

Ive never fragged but I always assumed a big pair of bone cutters would do the job.

no! you will crush the skeleton rather than cut it and will likley kill a bunch of polyps

 

[GlassMunky]

I dont know, mine seems to grow fast. Like I said its gone from 2 heads to 30 + in maybe 3 years. I am not really looking to make money on it more than keep it manageable for the spot its in. Its probably the only spon in my tank it will thrive and space is limited. I hate giving up huge colonies of my favorites. I had to give up a wall hammer a couple years back because it got to big also.

personally i woulda kept the big wall and gotten rid of the rest of the tank and turned it into this lol i lve big wall hammers :)

https://reefbuilders.com/2016/02/15/this-giant-hammer-coral-is-the-aquascape/

 

[b4tn]

personally i woulda kept the big wall and gotten rid of the rest of the tank and turned it into this lol i lve big wall hammers :)

https://reefbuilders.com/2016/02/15/this-giant-hammer-coral-is-the-aquascape/

It was a gorgeous piece that would send out huge sweepers but it got way to big for my 75 mixed reef.

 

[MrObscura]

no! you will crush the skeleton rather than cut it and will likley kill a bunch of polyps

Really? Like I said I've never fragged, but how would cutting off a branch with bone cutters crush/kill anything?

 

[GlassMunky]

B

Really? Like I said I've never fragged, but how would cutting off a branch with bone cutters crush/kill anything?

ecause the Skelton isn’t as dense as some other corals so instead of the bounce cutters “cutting” they just crush it instead, so you don’t get a clean break, and sometimes it’ll tear into the polyp.

 

[MrObscura]

Good to know. Thanks.

 

[SynGraves]

Dremel works good. Use a clean cutting wheel and carefully cut the branch you want. I try to leave 2-3 inches of bare skeleton between the cut and polyp/polyps. Rinse the frag in some RODI water before gluing to a plug to wash off any dust from the dremel.

Obviously, wear safety glasses since you never know what can happen when using power tools

 

[MrObscura]

I don't know much about fragging but I do know that you shouldn't subject corals to freshwater let alone straight rodi. Some people do freshwater dips with zoas to kill pests but most corals are not going to react well.

 

[Codym808]

Yep I've cut my duncan's up multiple times. Dremmel with diamond cutting wheel is what works great for me but as @GlassMunky said it will spray water and dust, so be sure to angle the dremmel away from you. Also be prepared for the amount of slime they produce, its gonna be slippery!

 

[SynGraves]

Maybe i should've been more specific... I don't dip the whole frag, just the end of the skeleton in RO. I would'nt dip the polyp in RO. You can always use some tank water to wash the frag.

 

[b4tn]

It’s getting very close to that war coral and seems to get bigger every day lol. Started as 2 heads a few years ago.

 

[Codym808]

Looks happy! Good job!

 

[maevepotter]

Is it possible to frag under water if it's attached to a large rock?

 

[Coral Reef Keepers]

you need to use a saw of some sort, weather it be an actual diamond blade wet bandsaw or just a dremel with a diamond blade wheel, but if you go the dremel route be prepared that its gonna spray water everywhere cause of the rotation.....

Learned that the hard way fragging frogspawn with a diamond dremel wheel lol