Cosmic
Member
Howdy all,
Thought I'd put up a post describing different methods I've found useful when fragging shrooms. I want to start out by saying that if you have NEVER fragged a coral before, this would be an excellent place to start
Mushrooms are very hardy, being almost indestructable IME. Mushrooms are a colonial colony consisting of many individuals. This means that even if you manage to kill one, the rest on that rock should not be affected.
There are several methods available to fragging shrooms, so I'll try to cover as many as I can. The first is by simply cutting through the main stalk of the mushroom polyp. This results in a free-floating "cap" and the remaining attached "stalk".
This method is one of the easier ones, but will only result in 2 shrooms from the original 1.
Some easy ways to propagate this way are to lift the rock with the target mushrooms out of the water, and holding upside down. The mushrooms will hang from the rock giving you an easy view of the stalk to cut.
Whenever attempting to frag corals, always try to make a single clean cut. If you have to saw back and forth, you are leaving that coral open to susceptible infection, so be warned.
Another version of the above approach is covered next. This alternate method will result in many mushrooms from the original 1, instead of just one additional. To perform this method, you simply take the above "cap" and slice it like a pizza, again using single clean cuts, NO SAWING. These additional pieces can be attached to a new rock with wedding veil (Tulle (sp?)) or fiberglass screening. Simply place the frags on the rock and wrap the whole rock in the tulle, wrapping a rubberband around the tulle to keep it closed.
Another method is said to be a much "safer" method of propagation, although I have had great success in the above methods. This method (which I have never tried) simply slices a single cut from the mushroom head's oral mouth out to the edge. This is said to promote nataural division of the coral, resulting in a more natural fragmentation than above methods. Because the open "wounds" of the coral are minimal compared to above, chance of infection falls dramatically. One drawback I foresee in this method is trying to cut smoothly when attached to a bumpy textured rock. However, this method also removes the need for tulle or other securing device, since the mushroom is still attached to it's original base.
Other needs for successful propagation involve the type(s) of lighting used. I have seen best success in shallow (40 Gallon LONG) tanks utilizing 4 NO bulbs, 2 50/50, and 2 actinic blue. Add a moderate flow rate and I have found mushrooms to split and multiply at obscene rates:columbo:
Hopefully this will enlighten you a bit to various methods of propagating mushrooms. Feel free to add your comments or opinions, as well as any other methods you may have used.
-HTH-
Cos
Thought I'd put up a post describing different methods I've found useful when fragging shrooms. I want to start out by saying that if you have NEVER fragged a coral before, this would be an excellent place to start
Mushrooms are very hardy, being almost indestructable IME. Mushrooms are a colonial colony consisting of many individuals. This means that even if you manage to kill one, the rest on that rock should not be affected.There are several methods available to fragging shrooms, so I'll try to cover as many as I can. The first is by simply cutting through the main stalk of the mushroom polyp. This results in a free-floating "cap" and the remaining attached "stalk".
This method is one of the easier ones, but will only result in 2 shrooms from the original 1.
Some easy ways to propagate this way are to lift the rock with the target mushrooms out of the water, and holding upside down. The mushrooms will hang from the rock giving you an easy view of the stalk to cut.
Whenever attempting to frag corals, always try to make a single clean cut. If you have to saw back and forth, you are leaving that coral open to susceptible infection, so be warned.
Another version of the above approach is covered next. This alternate method will result in many mushrooms from the original 1, instead of just one additional. To perform this method, you simply take the above "cap" and slice it like a pizza, again using single clean cuts, NO SAWING. These additional pieces can be attached to a new rock with wedding veil (Tulle (sp?)) or fiberglass screening. Simply place the frags on the rock and wrap the whole rock in the tulle, wrapping a rubberband around the tulle to keep it closed.
Another method is said to be a much "safer" method of propagation, although I have had great success in the above methods. This method (which I have never tried) simply slices a single cut from the mushroom head's oral mouth out to the edge. This is said to promote nataural division of the coral, resulting in a more natural fragmentation than above methods. Because the open "wounds" of the coral are minimal compared to above, chance of infection falls dramatically. One drawback I foresee in this method is trying to cut smoothly when attached to a bumpy textured rock. However, this method also removes the need for tulle or other securing device, since the mushroom is still attached to it's original base.
Other needs for successful propagation involve the type(s) of lighting used. I have seen best success in shallow (40 Gallon LONG) tanks utilizing 4 NO bulbs, 2 50/50, and 2 actinic blue. Add a moderate flow rate and I have found mushrooms to split and multiply at obscene rates:columbo:
Hopefully this will enlighten you a bit to various methods of propagating mushrooms. Feel free to add your comments or opinions, as well as any other methods you may have used.
-HTH-
Cos
