Dividing a rock with Mushroom corals

[Bob5920]

I want to take a large colony of mushrooms that are currently on a large rock and seperate them.

How long can I keep the coral out of the tank while breaking the rock apart?

Should I have some containers with tank water to submerge the pieces while seperating them?

Do I have to re-acclimate them after performing this task?

What's the best tool to break the rock apart?

What are the risks?

If anyone has a link I can review, I'll appreciate it.

Thanks,
Bob

 

[Anonymous]

:welcome:

I would take them out the tank and bust the rock up with a chissel or screwdriver. If you are not concerned with the shape of the resulting pieces that is. I would think you are good for a few minutes. I do not see the need to reacclimat the mushrooms after you are done if they are going in to the tank they came out of.

 

[Bob5920]

Thanks I try it.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Bob, do you know that it's fairly easy to 'frag' mushrooms, i.e. cut them off the rock and re-attach them to a new rock? The newly cut pieces need to be 'tied' in place on the new rock for a week or so until they attach (wedding veil material works well) and the stubs left on the rock should regenerate in a few months. If spreading the colony around is your aim you can try that rather than busting up the rock...just a thought.

I can give you further details if you're interested.


HTH

 

[Bob5920]

Yes, please supply me with some details.

I have clusters of mushrooms that I would like to spread around but If I can also accomplish increasing the numbers that would even be better.

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Mushrooms are easy to frag if that is what you are intending to do. Just cut off the "heads" and leave the base. Secure the heads loosley to new rocks and place in a low flow area of your tank. Like mentioned before wedding vail material works well.

 

[SnowManSnow]

hey man,

wear GLOVES when you do this! shrooms can make ya sick

b

 

[Anonymous]

Really that is all there is to fragging mushrooms. Take the rock out of the tank to do this. I use a brand new straight edge razor blade to cleanly remove the top portion leaving the foot on the original rock, rinse it in another container of tank water (they slime when you cut them) and use wedding veil material (bought by 1/2 yard at fabric store and washed before hand in plain water several times and allowed to dry because it may have some starch in it) to tie it to the new rock for placement. You can also use large stainless steel stick pins (also at the fabric store to "pin" the fabric to the rock. Rubber bands work too although cleaners tend to pick at them. Oh, and rinse the parent colony off as well before you put it back into the tank as it will slime a bit too.

Put the frag in a lower current location in your tank and it'll attach all by itself. DON'T get impatient and remove the netting for a week or so! It's a pain trying to reattach one that 'got away' in the tank's flow :lol:

 

[waymack97]

another way is to cut the head of a large mushroom off and cut the head like a pie into 4 to 6 segments making sure to get a piece of the stock on each pie piece. place pie pieces into a shallow cup full of rock rubble and cover with netting. wait 2 to 3 weeks remove netting and the pieces should be attached to the rubble, now simply super glue pieces to where you want them.
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[bleedingthought]

Lawdawg, and waymack:

Essentially how large should the mushroom be in order to do this and not have them die on you?

 

[Anonymous]

I've had them come back from a nickel sized piece, but if you leave most of the "stalk" of the mushroom you should be fine. It just takes time to regenerate is all.

There are also people who cut them in half but leave them attached, and propagate two that way, then frag off the two and start over with the stubby ends. Heck, I've even seen them cut up like a pizza LOL. As long as each piece has a portion of the 'mouth' in the center they seem to do allright.

 

[bleedingthought]

Should you leave most of the stalk on the cut-off piece or on the rock?

 

[waymack97]

of course when you take the head out of the water it will shrink up to about the size of a button, but use a sharpe blade and cut like a pizza. like lawdawg said the stock will regrow. i'd make sure they are a least the size of a quarter and no smaller than a nickle. leave at least 3/4 of the stock. good luck
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federal government grants

 

[SnowManSnow]

im of the opinion that you cant kill mushrooms period.

haha

careful how many of these things you aquire early in your aquarium life. Many reefers have regretted getting into "shrooms" at all.

B.

 

[waymack97]

yeah i give them to anyone who wants them.
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Korean Forum

 

[bleedingthought]

I'll gladly take some mushrooms!