how to frag

[cro55f1r3]

can anyone tell me how to frag ricordia and xenia without doing anything wrong. also is it possible to frag the same ricordia more than one as in when your cutting it you make more than one cut or do you have to let it heal then cut it again

[erbio]

I dont like to cut the stalks on xenia. To frag I break the rock it's on in half. You can take the rock with the xenia on it out of the water for a good 10 minutes without killing the xenia, it should bounce back within an hour of placing it back into the tank.

Take a screw driver or chizel and hammer the rock in the middle to break it up. You can get quite a few frags doing it this way.

I haven't fragged ricordia.

[aqua5]

Xenia:
Its totally fine to cut the stalks. Cut as far down to the rock as you can with scissors or a razor. Put the cutting on a piece of rock and rubberband down the stalk to the rock. Not tight enough that it will cut it, but hard enough to hold it in place. It works, as a matter of fact I did this method 20 minutes ago to my xenia colony.

Ricordia
Cut like a pie down the center, make sure to a get a piece of the mouth in the process and superglue to a rock or net and rubberband to hold it to the rock until it attaches.

[cro55f1r3]

what if when i cut the ricordia i dont remove it from the rock and i just leave it on the same one could i do that?

[bigScott]

you could , however it could grow back together. xenias are easy to frag..you can either cut them at the stalk, or when they start to move put a new rock underneith them an it will attach..thats the way i do my pink pompoms.. an i only cut my rics in half, in in 1/4s..

scott

[cro55f1r3]

so when you cut your ricordia do you take the whole piece off and put it on a new rock and how do you take the ricordia off without harming it

[cro55f1r3]

i was also wondering how would you make the ricordia stick to the rock without glueing it down

[bigScott]

one methos i have used put it in a high flo erea an it will usally detach or come close then snip it off..place the cut rics in a low flo erea theres many methods,until it ataches to rubble then glue the rubble to a plug or what ever you want it on..{super glue gel}

scott

[IslandCrow]

Just use a razor blade or small scissors to cut the ricordia from the rock. You don't have to get the whole thing. Once you've got it off the rock, do what aqua5 said. The small piece of ricordia you'll inevitably leave on the rock will more than likely grow into a brand new ricordia. They're almost as resilient as regular mushrooms, so chances of success are very high, even if you don't do everything quite perfect. Xenia are even easier.

[cro55f1r3]

ok well i have a big blue ricordia that is the size of a golf ball or even a little bigger it only has one mouth is it possible to cut that piece into 3 or 4 pieces if possible or can i only cut it into 2 pieces

[batesdk]

I had a ricordia on a huge seashell and when i broke up the seashell it split the ricordia in two. It was about the size of a silver dollar but now they are both about the size of dimes. how long do they take to grow into 2 or 3 inch mushrooms again...??

[IslandCrow]

How fast it grows really depends on the ricordia. I have a blue one that grew from nothing to quarter sized in two months. The orange ricordia I fragged at the same time is less than half that size.

As far as how many pieces you can cut it into, up to 4 should be pretty safe. That's usually what I do with rics even smaller than that, and I've had a 100% survival rate so far (probably half a dozen frag attempts, so I'm no expert).

[cro55f1r3]

does each piece need a part of the mouth on it

[aqua5]

Originally posted by cro55f1r3
does each piece need a part of the mouth on it

Yes, it does.

[IslandCrow]

That's not entirely true. I've had a few ricordia and many regular mushroom frags do quite well that didn't have a part of the mouth. From everything I hear, getting a piece of the mouth and/or foot greatly improves the chances for survival, so it's certainly a good idea.

[cro55f1r3]

cool thanks

[madadi]

i had a nice pink ric on a small rock and i didn't want to take any chances of cutting it and loosing frags in the high flow. so i tied some thin fishing line around it tight. in a week or so the line cut trough and both the peaces were still attached and looking great, fully open. next i'm going to try to put two fishing lines and cross them and see if i can get 4 peaces at once. its a great way to increase the size of your colony!

[customanimalart]

I have a orage ric that has 2 mouths. It is about the size of a 50 cent piece when fully extended. Does this mean it is going to split and be two real soon?
Is fragging one with two mouths done as if it had one mouth? I have never fragged a ric and frankly am afraid to do so incase I kill my only one.

I have never fragged a mushroom either. new to the whole fraggging bit.

[IslandCrow]

Yes, your ric will eventually split into two on its own. If you want to speed it along, just take a razor blade and cut it between the two mouths. I've also heard of people using a rubber band or fishing line between the two mouths to get it to split. Or, you could just leave it alone and let nature take its course. If it's currently healthy and growing, you're probably going to have a hard time killing it. I'd start by fragging some of the more common mushrooms, though, to work up your confidence. I've fragged dozens of mushrooms and ricordia, but I'm still pretty wary about fragging a ric I only have one of.

[customanimalart]

thanks. I may wait to see how fast this guy grows. I have only had it for a few weeks. It only had one mouth when I bought it too.

I have PLENTY of other mushrooms to practice with. I have a rock FULL of purple ones.

If I knew how to ship (and had supplies to do so) I would sell some. I must have over 20 on one rock.

[fish2]

what about fragging acans, best method

[IslandCrow]

This is turning into the fragging channel. I'm hardly an expert, but I have fragged an acan before. Your best bet is something like a tile saw or some other type of wet saw. Then you just slice it up any way you like. The method I used was a Dremel with the diamond wheel. I don't think this is the most popular method, but I cut on the flesh side. The blade cut through the flesh and about 1/8 to 1/4 inch of the rock below. I then used a hammer and chisel to break the rock apart. The acan healed up quite nicely. I think most people make the cut on the back of the acan, but if you can't get through the whole rock, I'm not sure how they complete the cut. If you can get through the whole rock that way, you can just use a razor blade to cut the flesh. Dabbing the cut with Kent Tech D (Lugol's may work as well) is supposed to help disinfect the cut so it can heal better.

[customanimalart]

Here is a link to a video from Eric Borneman on some fragging techniques. It may help you with the acans.

It is on the right side of the page under "videos."

http://www.wax32.com/

[customanimalart]

I think I killed my ricordea frags!

I had 5 pieces and now it looks like I only have 2 that have survived and bound themselves together in one container. The other container had only slime that I could tell. I had even blown them off with a baster and had them in a low flow area. Should I have put each frag in its own container of rubble?
Shoot!

The two (or one, now) don't look bad so hopefully they will make it.

So, what gives? Did I do something wrong here or is the survival rate of these frags poor?

[IslandCrow]

Is this the orange ric with two mouths you were talking about earlier? What method did you use to frag the ricordia, and how big were your frags?