Help fragging gone wrong!!!

Mc

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I tried to frag a torch coral today as my first attempt at fragging a hard coral.
It had one head that was seperate from the rest, and I though it would be easy enough. I cut about 80% of the way through the stem, and then my blade couldn't get any further so I tried to snap it, but the whole head broke appart .:(
I have stuck the pieces to the rock, but they don't look so good, will try post a pic later. Just wondering if this has happened to anyone, and if its possible it will make it, and if theres anything I can do?
 
Is this in your DT , sump or frag tank? Maybe run some carbon for a couple of days.
And have some water ready incase you need to do a water change incase there is excessive die-off.
 
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Thanks will run carbon for a few days. Its in the DT.
 
Think picture will determine the extend of damage...I copied and pasted a section..they do mention the "damaging" of the Coral by accident, but unfortunately nothing else...

Beginners guide to fragging corals - Marine Aquariums of South Africa
These can be one of the easiest corals to frag. The individual heads are on their own skeleton, so it is just a matter of cutting the heads off below the living tissue on the coral skeleton. Depending on the thickness of the skeleton you may be able to simply snap off a piece, use coral shears or use a saw or Dremel to cut through the skeleton. For thicker skeletons like on the hammer corals I will be using I prefer to use a Dremel with a diamond bit cutting tool. I also tend to shy away from the snapping methods as it can sometimes damage the coral polyps.
 
mm its a tricky one to comment on without a pic to reference, but if infection is avoided it hs a chance.. did you dip the pieces in iodine? if not you may want to do so to assist in warding off infection..
 
mm its a tricky one to comment on without a pic to reference, but if infection is avoided it hs a chance.. did you dip the pieces in iodine? if not you may want to do so to assist in warding off infection..

Have not dipped it, also don't have any iodine. Any kind you would reccomend, something like lugols?
 
im sure lugols will be fine.. can anyone else confirm.. i use the basic iodine additive to dip...
 
you can use normal iodine, take some tank water out, and add about 10ml iodine, soak for about a minute then remove back to main tank and discard old water.

without pics its sailing blind
 
Lugols will be fine.
What blade were you using? Rather use a dremel or wire cutters to frag hard corals.
A pic of the coral will help.
 
This is it basically 4 pieces stuck with some putty on a rock.
I cut it with a hacksaw blade not that that matters now.
The polyps have come out a bit im hoping this is a good sign.
Also good news is the origanal coral is looking ok.


Its a bit hard to see what going on.
50064e94500690fbf.jpg
 
Oh my word what a massacre! :p

Sorry mate, the best you can do is dip it and keep it in a fairly low flow area. Chances are extremely low that it will pull through tho.
 
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In the future, using a dremel is by far the best, otherwise clippers or very delicate sawing! Also, perhaps try cutting a bit further down, just to be sure you dont get any living flesh when you cut.
Having someone with experience show you the first time is also a great help.
 
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buddy, my suggestion is to glue the 4 pieces to 4 seperate rocks/plugs. that way if one gets infected it may not transfer to the others.. and at least you may save one...
 
They are glued solid I think trying to take them apart again may just damage them further.
 
I had the same happen to me...a few years back
mine pulled through so good luck dude
sometimes corals are tougher than one would expect
so hold thumbs
 
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