Fraggin an Echino Step by Step

[downset]

I got to choppin today
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/downset/frag.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/downset/frag2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/downset/frag3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/downset/frag4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/downset/frag5.jpg

[downset]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/downset/frag6.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/downset/frag7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/downset/frag8.jpg

i ended up with 2 even though i only wanted one :)
We all know fragging isnt a exact science

so i have one frag left and now im letting my colony grow again :)
hope it helps -jeremy

[mane3215]

Ahhhh, thats the sweet one =), lemme know about that second frag =). Looks good bub!

[BerlinMethod.com]

My wife would kill me if I did that on our table! :eek1:

Looking great!

[downset]

Originally posted by BerlinMethod.com
My wife would kill me if I did that on our table! :eek1:

Looking great!

lol its in my gameoom,the onyl thing that goes on there is xbox and football :)

[mane3215]

Originally posted by BerlinMethod.com
My wife would kill me if I did that on our table! :eek1:

Looking great!

Thats cause your whipped....whapooosh!

[Narkon]

Originally posted by mane3215
Thats cause your whipped....whapooosh!

Whipped and he wouldn't have a tank.

More like he knows his limitations, and any man who doesn't know them, isn't married, or isn't happily married. ;)

[RandyO]

Good job Jeremy.

I use the basement floor. It's cement, so no scratching. Plus, it's so hard that you really can give it a good whack, for nice clean breaks. Multiple whacks mean more damaged skeleton.
I also use larger wedged tools, like chisels. Longer wedged chisels for longer cuts.
Like this.
http://hometown.aol.com/randyolszewski/images/august%202004%20021%20resize.jpg
Then the razor blade to cut away any attached flesh.
http://hometown.aol.com/randyolszewski/images/august%202004%20024%20resize.jpg
Plus, that thing weighs more than the hammer, so all you need it one hit.
http://hometown.aol.com/randyolszewski/images/august%202004%20027%20resize.jpg
Then, I used a razor blade to cut the big piece into a few smaller pieces, and that's it.
http://hometown.aol.com/randyolszewski/images/august%202004%20047%20resize.jpg

I've used the screwdriver in the past with success. But a lot of times, the size of the pieces you get off the mother is guesswork.

[downset]

See i need a chisel like that!!
i wasnt too worried about the size of the frags :)

[RandyO]

Originally posted by downset
See i need a chisel like that!!
i wasnt too worried about the size of the frags :)

I think it was $4.00 from Harbor Freight Tools. Got it over a year ago, and still fairly rust free.

[downset]

Harbor freight ehh? I do need some tools :D

[MarLooney]

i'll stick to my dremel. i like precise cuts and ending up w/ frags the size i want them. and i'll stick to my trusty cutting board.

[Anemone]

Randy,

Is that an echino? It looks very similar in coloration/appearance to something I have that I thought was an oxypora.

Kevin

[MarLooney]

if you're talking about this...?
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/589/1075EchinophylliaOrOxypora.jpg
i'd say echino. go post in the chalice thread (http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=452950).

[mane3215]

Randy, you hands arent hairy like mine man...whats the deal? Pshhh :D!

[Anemone]

Mar,

I think that's an echino too...

But the one I was asking about is this one:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/518/1075Red-GreenOxypora.jpg

Thoughts on this one? Sorry about the blur, but I haven't quite got the focus issues worked out on my Digital Rebel...

Kevin

[downset]

Anemone thats an echino it looks to be like mine if it is it prolly came from RandyO at some point
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/31383orange.JPG

[Anemone]

I picked it up at one of our local frag swaps from a vendor as an oxypora, but I've never been convinced of the id, since oxys and echinos seem to look pretty similar...

Kevin

[downset]

here is my totaly nooB way to identify them
Oxy = real bony
echino = fleshy

[mane3215]

I agree Kevin, I do believe thats an enchino! Def not an oxy.

[va_reefman]

Ditto...Look very much like the one that Randy has been spreading around.

[MarLooney]

Originally posted by mane3215
Randy, you hands arent hairy like mine man...whats the deal? Pshhh :D!

he shaves his hands and arms because someone told him pods were sea lice. ;)

[RandyO]

Originally posted by mane3215
Randy, you hands arent hairy like mine man...whats the deal? Pshhh :D!

One of the very few parts of me that does not have hair. The other is my head. :rolleyes:

Kevin,
Yes, it looks like you have an echinophyllia there. Or, at the least, the same coral that the rest of us are calling echinophyllia. They are very similar to oxypora.

Here is an old article about them.
Advanced Aquarist's online Magazine (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/june2002/invert.htm)

[RandyO]

Originally posted by MarLooney
i'll stick to my dremel. i like precise cuts and ending up w/ frags the size i want them. and i'll stick to my trusty cutting board.

I haven't tried using a dremel for fragging echinophyllia. I've used the chisel method for years, it's just an automatic for me. I do make one heck of a mess using the dremel, so I'll stick with quick and easy for now. I'll eventually give it a try with the dremel though.

[Anemone]

Originally posted by RandyO
I haven't tried using a dremel for fragging echinophyllia. I've used the chisel method for years, it's just an automatic for me. I do make one heck of a mess using the dremel, so I'll stick with quick and easy for now. I'll eventually give it a try with the dremel though.

Funny, I've used a dremel and wire cutters to frag my echinos, but never a chisel. I was just thinking how much easier it would be with a chisel... :D

Kevin