Can I Frag this???

[jamesgang]

My wife has one of the best Toadstools I've ever seen, in her 24g JBJ. It's under a 150w MH 14K bulb. There was a hitchhiker Ricordia mushroom that was the size of a dime when we bought the T/S but has since gone crazy and split twice.

What I want to know is can you frag a toadstool?

Plus how to you go about removing a ricordia to place it on another rock? I've tried tieing dental floss around it and pulling it tight, but it's got a good foot hold on the rock.
http://inlinethumb64.webshots.com/2303/2512266770094422841S425x425Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2512266770094422841gBPfhS) http://inlinethumb14.webshots.com/2509/2626233290094422841S425x425Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2626233290094422841pfWkNs)

[corndogg]

you can use a fresh razor to frag a toadstool. Just slice a peice right off. I always take it out of the tank to frag it. Then rinse the colony with some tank water in a bucket because they can release toxins if you frag a big enough peice.

It's almost impossible to mess this up. So don't be afraid of hurting anything.

[jamesgang]

Thanks for the quick reply. So I can just cut a piece right off the top 'disc' portion and then tie it down to another piece of rock?

Can you frag it like a kenyan tree and just cut it off half way down the stalk and take the top and replant it and have the stalk grow a new top?

[sulcata1619]

The easiest and best way is to slice it like a pie. Take a triangular piece out it. I know sinularia can be hacked down like a tree at the stalk and it will regrow out of the stump. I don't see why a toadstool would be any different, but I have never tried it.

[racrumrine]

Just about any piece of a toadstool will regrow into a full toadstool if the conditions are right. I have found the frags to grow rather slow though.

Depending on how you frag it, what's left in your wife's tank could look pretty ugly.

If you want to maximize the number of frags and still keep the basic shape of your wife's, you could cut a 1/2 to 1" ring all the way around the top. Then, you take the O shaped ring you made and cut it into 1/2 to 1" sections. Eventually, each section will grow into a complete toadstool. Your wife's toadstool will be mad for awhile; but, the disk that's left will expand outward again.

If you don't want to mess with your wife's much, and you have all the time in the word to grow your frag, you could cut a little bit off the foot on the top spot (say about a 1/2" piece). After awhile, you'll have another one, polyps and all.

As was suggested, frag it outside the tank as it will slime up a lot when you cut it.

Regarding the mushroom, the best way to move it is to dig out the bottom of the mushroom from the rock with a knife or flathead screwdriver. By taking a thin layer of rock under the mushroom, you'll remove it completely; and, you'll have something to attach the superglue gel to when you glue it somewhere else. If you cut the mushroom or tear it in any way trying to remove it, if the conditions are right, each piece will grow into another mushroom. It sounds like that is not what you want.

Best of luck,

Roy