What's the best way to frag mushroom and ricordia anyone? I have a piece of rock with 20+ shrooms and just picked up a Yuma rock from Chauwall (thanks Chau -- it's an awesome piece), and I think they are too crowded. Anyone done this before?
Fragging mushroom and ricordia?
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You can use a sharp knife or a razor blade and cut them at the base. The only problem with this is that they will usually grow back from the base that is left on the rock. I don't think I know of a way to actually thin them other than cutting them and then killing the base.
For Mushrooms: (never done this with ricordea
I've just used my fingers and pulled them off the rock. If I plan to replace them somewhere else, I put them in a modified mesh breeding container stuck to the side of my DT with large crushed coral on the bottom so they can reattach to the sedement. Once they grab on (after a few days) i put them where i want.
I've just used my fingers and pulled them off the rock. If I plan to replace them somewhere else, I put them in a modified mesh breeding container stuck to the side of my DT with large crushed coral on the bottom so they can reattach to the sedement. Once they grab on (after a few days) i put them where i want.
From my experience no. I've done it a few times and they come right off. Again I have not done anything with ricordea. I use all five finger tips and close time together and SLIGHTLY pull from the base. Should come off easily. The legs will grab onto wherever you put it in a day or two. Just make sure there is low flow so it can stay stable. This is why I put them in the breeding container to grab onto pieces oc crushed coral to help weigh them down. Even then it's tuff to keep them from rolling off before they grab.
As far as cutting the base. it does ooz (hate that word, ha) a little bit and u'll make a nice face that someone will want to take a picture of.
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It may release some fluid, but nothing substantial or worth worrying about. I prefer the cutting method to the pulling method, as I'm always worried of hurting the mushroom.
It really depends on the type of mushroom and what you are trying to do. Some mushrooms can be pulled off or cut at the base as others have said but some will melt away as you are trying to do that, especially rhodactis and ricordea. Mark's method of using a screwdriver to pry the rock underneath is one of the best ways since you leave rock on the foot that can be glued to a frag or somewhere else. That's also best if you want the rock to be intact. If you don't care about the rock you can use a combination of screwdriver or hammer and chisel to knock off chunks with multiple mushrooms on the same piece. A circular tile saw works great or for finer pieces/cuts a fragging band saw works best.
No, unfortunately, melting away is usually permanent. Sometimes a little flesh may hang on and eventually regenerate. It really depends on the type of mushroom. Some of the plain discosomas you can't kill, so you can tear them off, cut them off or do just about anything you want and they will heal or regenerate.
Can you post a picture of the rock and describe exactly what you want to accomplish?
Can you post a picture of the rock and describe exactly what you want to accomplish?
Those look like the type that would be fairly easy to get off. I would first look for any obvious spots that you could get a pair of dyke cutters on each side of the foot and just cut a piece of rock off with them. If no good spots for that, then use forceps/tweezers, try to get ahold of as much foot as possible and give it a quick pull. That will leave some tissue which you could scrape off or just leave and it may grow back another one. If you can't pull them off, then cut them off with a razor blade getting as much of the foot as possible. Once you have pulled or cut them off, you'll need to put them in a dish of rubble and put the dish in a low flow area. If you have hermit crabs, you may need to put netting over the dish to keep them from pulling the mushrooms out. They will start attaching within days and as they do you can glue the rubble part to the rock where you want to keep them.
