fragged some now ?s

[Tahoe Ocean]

1. My brother had a rock with some metallic greens that do not appear to be thriving, one appeared to be falling apart from the edge. I figured I'd frag it off and take it home since the worst that could happen would be to kill it since it already looked very ill. It has actually begun to attach to the rock in my tank already and is expanding more than it did before (48 hrs) but its guts are still hanging out, and this has me concerned. I would think if it was feeling better, it would retract them.

2. I cut two frags off one of my rocks with purple babies, then I put them onto a peice of rock with netting over it. How do I know if I put them on the right side up? This didn't occur to me until I was staring at them and realized I couldn't tell which way was up.

Please forgive these ?'s since this is my first attempt.

[kruxy]

as long as it isnt a tonga or a ricordea it doesnt matter much what side is up, the new shroom can grow find no matter what way it was oriented. on the hairy shrooms and the ricordias, they actually need to flip themselves back over in my experience, which can delay their reattatchment time, and cause them unnecessary stress. i experimented with my tongas when i was pulling a dozen off of a rock. 6 right side up and 6 upside down. 5 of the right side up shrooms survived, only 2 of the upside down shrooms made it.

so basically if they are the normal purple mushrooms, the smooth or pimpled type, do not worry about it. in the future just take the time to carefully move them around so you can keep track of what end is up :)

HTH

[Tahoe Ocean]

ok, one more:
do they ever get stuck in the net? I have it loose over the top, but I can see where one of the frags has expanded to the point he's touching the netting.

[kruxy]

that is the toughest part of using the net method. you really need to remove it before the mushroom comes back and starts growing again, which will force it to squeeze against the net. at the same time, you do not want to take the net off too early or you will need to start over again.

here is my supersecret tie down method.

i very very loosely tie the netting on, i mean so loose it isnt even touching the mushroom.

next i use a small plastic toothpick and on the back side of the rock i slip it right under the knot that is holding the two ends of the netting together.

then i slowly twist the toothpick, creating a tournequette (sp?) until it is gently holding against the mushroom. holding the toothpick, i gently rest the rock that i am connecting it to back against the glass, or rockwork, or sand whatever im setting it on.

every day thereafter i let one twist out of the netting, loosening it slightly so that the expanded mushroom has plenty of room to swell, but not enough so that the shroom can experience any movement, which will keep it from settling.


using this method i get about a 95% survival rate, even on ricordia cuttings, and i havent had a frag take more than 9 days to completely mount (most within 4-5 days).

HTH

[Tahoe Ocean]

Thank you so much! I have them sinched down with a rubberband so that I can loosen them a tiny bit on whichever side so they aren't touching the net now. Thank you very much!

[kruxy]

anything for a fellow californian (from auburn myself).

good luck, and if you get anything extra nice, feel free to send me a cutting :)

[Tahoe Ocean]

you're close! thanks, I just might do that!

[Tahoe Ocean]

well, fragged everything and all looks to be coming along great! the 2 little purples I fragged from my load of babies look good and are expanding nicely. And the one my brother let me take from him is actually coming back and looking healthier!
My new Motto:
You can never have too many mushrooms!