Frag Swap Q's

HAMsmith · Post by **HAMsmith** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:04 am

I've never been to a frag swap.

How do I bring corals I want to give away? In particular zoo's and mushrooms.

How do I prepare to accept frags from others?

Is it as simple as a cooler with some ice or do I need buckets with airstones/battery powered pumps, etc.

Thanks!

Martin

Brandon · Post by **Brandon** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:18 am

cut / break stuff, put them in ziplocks, bring them to the meeting

For softies, if you have time to get them to stick to something thats always appreciated I am sure. I like to use scallop shells I find on the beach or little pieces of live rock rubble.

For zoa's I've always superglued them to the scallop shells for trading, but thats just my preference. Mushroooms, I don't know, either you can try and get them to stick, or just loose in a bag and let the other person deal with it. I think I've always just placed them loose in small bags, they take so long to get them to stick that I've never done it.

HAMsmith · Post by **HAMsmith** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:53 am

Thats sounds good. I don't have too much to bring but I do want to bring a 4-polyp zoo frag and a couple polyp mushroom frag just for the practice/experience of doing it.

Thanks!

HAMsmith · Post by **HAMsmith** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 6:11 pm

I stumbled upon a video by Eric Borneman where he illustrates the methods to frag SPS, LPS, mushrooms, polyps, and softies. Not only did it easy my apprehension about the fragging process but it also gave me better understanding of transport.

The video is an hour long but it is awesome!

http://www.zooxanthellae.com/borneman.wmv - Direct link to video

http://www.zooxanthellae.com/ - Site that is hosting the video

Suziq21 · Post by **Suziq21** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 8:32 pm

Excellent! Can't wait to check it out.

Not to hijack this thread, but I've got some fragging questions too.... I'm picking up some pieces tomorrow. If they're big enough, can I take frags from them before putting the main piece into my tank, or should I give them a week or two or mroe to settle into my tank, then frag. I'd love to be able to bring some stuff to the swap!

sb1227 · Post by **sb1227** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:01 pm

I'm picking up some pieces tomorrow. If they're big enough, can I take frags from them before putting the main piece into my tank, or should I give them a week or two or mroe to settle into my tank, then frag.

Just an opinion for you, and I don't know what corals in particular you're talking about. I don't really know too much about soft corals, but you might keep in mind that new corals are under a good bit of stress already and have a much better chance of surviving if you wait a few months before fragging. Sometimes they'll do fine, but as a whole it's much better for them to not have the added stress until they have been settled awhile.

I'm certainly not trying to tell you what to do, it's just something I've found, especially in the case of the so called SPS and LPS.

Suziq21 · Post by **Suziq21** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 10:58 am

I appreciate your advice! I've never done it before, I haven't made it that far in Calfo's book and as you can see I'm a little anxious. So, I'll give them some time to settle in before I start anything

redpheonix · Post by **redpheonix** » Sun Jul 23, 2006 2:56 pm

was wondering when the next frag swap was... havent been to one yet and would like to attend... where is it going to be...

andy4499 · Post by **andy4499** » Sun Jul 23, 2006 4:54 pm

redpheonix wrote:was wondering when the next frag swap was... havent been to one yet and would like to attend... where is it going to be...

The next frag swap will be at my place on the 19th. Here is a like to the details.

http://www.mbrk.com/viewtopic.php?t=3621