SuperGlue Help....

[rhodan]

So I the other day I did my first frag (Some zoos) and since everyone seems to have great luck with super glue gel I tried that method....Bit of glue on the frag plug and placed the zoos in the gel....I tried not to bury the zoos just right on top of the gel. Everything was going well for several days the zoos were opening and I thought all is great...Only now after about 10 days or so, they "flaked" off and all I'm left with is the super glue gel left on the plug. The Zoo frag is MIA...So where did I go wrong? and what brand of glue are people using? Cause there are a lot of super glue brands out there....

Thanks

 

[skriz]

Softies are tricky; your experience is very common. That's why I always sell "healed" zoa frags-it sucks to lose nice zoas because they floated away.

There are a lot of different things you can do to help the zoas attach to the rock/plug. An easy thing to try is netting. You can use it over the zoa, simply to catch the zoas if they become unattached. Or, you can use it under the zoa to aid attachment. Also, keep the flow very low until it heals.

Experiment with different techniques and you'll figure out what works best for your system. I've gotten to the point where I don't lose any zoas anymore, but I started off losing most!

 

[acroholic]

Until you get your technique down, get yourself a small, clear plastic jar sans lid and drill holes in it for circulation, then after you make your frag, put the frag on the bottom of the tank, then cover it with the jar for a few days until you are sure they attach. If they come loose you still have them in the jar.

 

[johnr2604]

Yep, I lost my tubs blues this way

 

[FutureInterest]

This is a common rookie mistake that has a simple remedy. No need to use containers or something dinky like that .

The key ime is to use a towel and try to dry the back of the zoas you are going to attach. Then place in the gel and it won't detach quite as readily. This will cause the gel to bond directly to the skin of the zoa/paly instead of the water/slime on the surface of the zoa/paly thereby allowing the zoa/paly to float off.

 

[skriz]

Yep! I just assume that everybody already does that :doh:

FutureInterest;282955 wrote: This is a common rookie mistake that has a simple remedy. No need to use containers or something dinky like that .

The key ime is to use a towel and try to dry the back of the zoas you are going to attach. Then place in the gel and it won't detach quite as readily. This will cause the gel to bond directly to the skin of the zoa/paly instead of the water/slime on the surface of the zoa/paly thereby allowing the zoa/paly to float off.

 

[FutureInterest]

You'd be surprised .

I frag zoas/palys all the time and since I've been drying them off first I've yet to have one detach. Keep in mind that the fumes of the glue can sometimes "burn" them so get them in the water asap.

 

[rhodan]

Thanks everyone for the advice...I will try drying them off and a jar or a net over it to safe. Does it matter what brand of glue? Has anyone had better luck with one brand over another? Or the important thing is that it is a "gel" type?

 

[thanh386]

Gel type makes the world go round when u are working at fraggin. Drys a bit slower but the polyp gets a cushion to sit on . I dunno how ppl do it with the watery instant dry stuff.

 

[thewarbrd]

I read somewhere that, if you can help it, try to get a thin layer of the rock they are attached to when you slice them off the colony, even if it's just nothing more than just a layer of dead algae they grew over so the skin isn't in direct contact with the glue. The couple of tiny frags I've made have worked out for me pretty well that way. Dry it off, stick it in a dab of glue on the plug, and immediately into a little dish of water, seems to flash cure the glue.

 

[skriz]

Gel is easier to work with but cures slowly. I love regular super glue-it's cheap and cures quickly; it does take some time to master its use though.

 

[drnecropolis]

That it does.. I still manage to glue my fingers together 9 out of 10 times

 

[molson]

DrNecropolis;285613 wrote: That it does.. I still manage to glue my fingers together 9 out of 10 times

Same here, then my wife wonders why I keep stealing her bottle of acetone.

 

[weaglereefer]

When I was gluing my ricordeas down, I made sure I had a spare bowl of tank water set aside. After I glued them, I sat them in the bowl and floated that in the sump for 20min so the glue had time to adhere without a current and the temperature remained stable. No problems with detachment here.

 

[dakota9]

The few times I fragged, I found that drying them does help trmendously, but still had a few to come off, specially the more slimy ones. I did use a modified jar approach though. I used an old-school freshwater cheap breeder net (the type that frame a box out of lil plastic sticks, then fit the square net over it) The fine mesh net not only broke up the current, but kept the frags from getting lost the first couple of weeks and made them easily accessible in the top 4 inches in the corner of my display tank so I could keep an eye on them.

I've purchased many frags that were just rubber banded onto a piece of rock, although that would be too tricky for small zoas. Super glue is a double edged sword, both our friend AND foe at times.......

 

[weaglereefer]

A frag I got recently from a member had some zoas tied to a rock with what looks like sewing thread. It's rather loose now and the zoas seem to be well adhered to the rock, but I'll probably leave it on a bit longer for good measure.

 

[crew]

I haven't ever fragged anything.. but I did have to glue some corals down because my **** emerald crab kept knocking them.. and something that has worked great for me is using the liquid superglue UNDER water.. the outer shell is instantly hard, but the inside of the "glue bubble" stays fresh, and when I press the coral into the glue bubble it instantly sets.. no problem

 

[grimreefer]

Carty, you're saying that the liquid works good for you. Not the gel.

This is good news, because I have always used the gel.

 

[skriz]

Carty's method works well. You just have to make sure you puncture the outer shell to expose the fresh glue from inside. Also, block the tip of the sg bottle when taking it out of the tank...it'll leak a film of glue on the water surface that can do some damage.