Scientifically Smarter Frags

Very very interesting!

(Scientifically) Smarter Frags | Coral Magazine

i glanced at this article earlier too!! Nice to see some official confirmation that bigger frags are healthier and last longer!!! silly people and their microscopic mini frags for sale

So I should glue my frags underwater is the biggest piece of data from this. I think that data turned the argument away from "are big frags better?" to "just glue your little frags underwater" lol.

Sorry I can't glue zoanthids or shrooms underwater. It's just impossible for me. They can stand a few minutes out of water. I haven't lost any to fragging that way.

Originally Posted by rgrking

Sorry I can't glue zoanthids or shrooms underwater. It's just impossible for me. They can stand a few minutes out of water. I haven't lost any to fragging that way.

Oh me too, there's no way I could glue loose zoas underwater - it'd be such a PITA!

I think the article is talking more about SPS corals, not the softies.

One thing I didn't see mentioned was the method of cutting... I have realized, IME, that if I use bone cutters or scissors and snip them they do MUCH better than using ths diamond blade of a dremel, or any other heat creating type of cutter...

Most of the ones I cut with a dremel, would RTN from the cut upward... even if I covered the edge in glue. So when I switched to bone cutters, it eliminated that problem...

And keep in mind these are all fairly small or thin branches that I'm working with...

Originally Posted by Tizzo

One thing I didn't see mentioned was the method of cutting... I have realized, IME, that if I use bone cutters or scissors and snip them they do MUCH better than using ths diamond blade of a dremel, or any other heat creating type of cutter...

Most of the ones I cut with a dremel, would RTN from the cut upward... even if I covered the edge in glue. So when I switched to bone cutters, it eliminated that problem...

And keep in mind these are all fairly small or thin branches that I'm working with...

I had thought the same thing after reading it. I think they were just focusing on the way they were being attached. I know a lot of reefers' opinions differ in regards to out-of-water, under-water. Some of my friends say they would never take their coral out of water to frag because they find it more damaging. Others say the coral is fine. But I don't hear a lot of difference in method of cutting, as you pointed out.

I don't frag SPS coral - because I don't have any sps coral to frag lol. But if I were, I would use bone cutters, too. I can see a dremel tool useful for fragging soft corals in regards to cutting the rock underneath. But I can see it being stressful on tissue of SPS.