cutting up a Fungia

[dsoz]

I have had this fungia for a little over a year. I think it is from Stylaster's tank, and I got it from Spectra. Byt Stylaster's fungia is supposed to be green with orange mouth, and in my tank it looks more solid orange. It has grown from the size of a $.50 piece to about the size of my palm. It eats great, it will engulf freeze dried krill or plankton, 1/2 inch pieces of silverside, or almost anything that I put on it. The biggest trouble I have is that I need to cover it with something or my stupid tang will steal the food. :(

the tentacles are out about 99% of the time. The flesh is nice and bubbly, and it would eat every day if I fed it.

top shot

Bottom shot

 

To be continued...

[dsoz]

chapter 2

 

So it comes time in every corals life when the owner starts thinking... I wonder if I can frag this bad boy...

 

I ran across a thread on RC where someone was fragging a Fungia, and it got me to start wondering if I could do it too. Then I started seeing some of those AWESOME looking Fungias from OIAB, and I really started thinking about it. But I want to try it out on a cheap coral before I hit the big time bucks. So here goes nothing.

 

Some just break the Fungia in half, but this takes up to a year to become round again. So does cutting in quarters. So I saw cutting in a tic-tac-toe pattern. like a #. The wheels start turning... It should take less time to become a circle when it starts off like a square.

 

So that leads to

 

which leads to

and

 

You can count all nine pieces there. The corner pieces are a little smaller than I was hoping for, but this is a good test for the limits of this procedure.

 

I will try and keep this thread updated until I have more than one fungia in my sand.

 

Wish me luck. Perry, if this works, I claim dibs on the next awesome fungia that comes through your shop!

 

dsoz

[CCR]

Good luck with this. Will be interesting to see what happens(scratch) I'm wondering how it will feed it's self. If any of the exposed tissue will get infected. Are you running fresh carbon?

[dsoz]

I got some carbon in the sock.

 

They are supposed to form a new mouth each, it is said that some will form more than one. Until then, they use their algae to eat off the light.

 

I gambled and am prepared for 100% mortality. I am hoping for 100% survivorship, but prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Even if I am left with only one, I am no worse off than I was a year ago. If more than one makes it, then I am a step ahead.

 

dsoz

[CCR]

Do you have the www for the thread on RC? I would like to read it.

[dsoz]

http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=12063

 

Look at post #20 for links.

 

dsoz

[albertareef]

Thanks for sharing Dennis! I am really interested to see how this turns out. I was also wondering how they managed to "eat" while they grew a new mouth - didn't realize they had enough photosythetic capacity to keep them going that long. I would love to see some of those crazy color morphs that Perry had propagated - Go Dennis!!! (rock2)

[stylaster]

AAAHHHHH MY BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! good thing you got a replacement one from me incase this doesn't work... But i bet atleast 75% of them will survive :-)

[JasonH]

Yeah, Dennis, this is very cool. Thanks for being a pioneer and letting us come along for the ride.

[albertareef]

AAAHHHHH MY BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! good thing you got a replacement one from me incase this doesn't work... But i bet atleast 75% of them will survive :-)

 

Yeah - that had to hurt to see those pics (sad) Hopefully it will all turn out good... have faith in Dr. Dennis!

[dsoz]

LOL. Less than 24 hours after surgery, every piece has tentacles out!!!

 

 

Close-up

 

Even the smallest one is tentacled out.

 

And BTW... It is Dr. Soz to all of you.(naner)

[Ocean In a Box]

Dang....After seeing this, my saw finger is getting itchy!!!!!

[dsoz]

Perry- let me see what my results are like, then I will do us both a favor. I'll cut for a small fee (one piece), and you can have the rest back. What do you say?

 

It was pictures of your crazy nice fungia that inspired me to do this. Once this one is healed, I want to do one of yours.

 

dsoz

[Ocean In a Box]

Ummmm, I think I can whack it myself. But thanks though!!!!

[markdadof2]

Dennis... 'dr frankenstein' of PNWMAS! Very cool and more gutsy than I can handle with my Fungia from Roy!

[dsoz]

Ummmm' date=' I think I can whack it myself. But thanks though!!!![/quote']

 

I was trying to joke with you. I apologize if it did not come across as humor.

 

If this one turns out OK, I do want to take a whack at one of those crazy nice ones of yours. I will just need to pay for it first.

 

dsoz

[Ocean In a Box]

I did take it as humor. My collars not that stiff...lol

I was trying to joke with you. I apologize if it did not come across as humor.

 

If this one turns out OK, I do want to take a whack at one of those crazy nice ones of yours. I will just need to pay for it first.

 

dsoz

[Smann]

Dennis is there something you're not telling us, perhaps some chilhood issues(only one toy(sad). You know if you went and bought another one you'd have two:D

[stylaster]

i think it's cause I raise tough fungia hehe

[tidalsculpin]

Wish my ginger snaps reproduced like that when I was a kid!

[dsoz]

Dennis is there something you're not telling us' date=' perhaps some chilhood issues(only one toy(sad). You know if you went and bought another one you'd have two:D[/quote']

 

I did get another one. Roy sold me a second one this last weekend. That is one reason I was willing to risk the first one.

 

Hey, look at it this way... If it works, I will have several to share with others.

 

dsoz

[albertareef]

I did get another one. Roy sold me a second one this last weekend. That is one reason I was willing to risk the first one.

 

Hey, look at it this way... If it works, I will have several to share with others.

 

dsoz

 

Probably a good thing you got the second one before he saw what you did to the first :eek:. How are they looking Dennis?

[stylaster]

hehe ya i might not have sold him the other one ;-) looks like the hack job is going to work just fine. Nice job Dennis

[tidalsculpin]

So Dennis what is your growth plan? Are you going to fed mysis to the frags as soon as mouths form? By the way, how long does it take for one of these to form its own mouth?

[dsoz]

So Dennis what is your growth plan? Are you going to fed mysis to the frags as soon as mouths form? By the way' date=' how long does it take for one of these to form its own mouth?[/quote']

 

Ya, as soon as they get a mouth, and are healed around the edges, I plan on feeding daily. Something small, don't know what yet. The parent was taking freeze-dried plankton, small chunks of silverside, or anything else that would fall on it. My biggest problem was the tang that would try to get the food from it before it had a chance to put it in its mouth. I had to cover both my fungia with a piece of egg-crate light diffuser when I fed them so the tang would not harass them when eating (like a telemarketer at dinnertime).

 

I will keep watch and post a timeframe for each new development. I don't know how long it will take. It is reported that frags made like this sometimes form more than one mouth. That will be funny to see if it happens.

 

dsoz