best timing for 'shroom fragging

[Dr. Tom]

Is there a best time to frag mushrooms?

I have a bunch of single heads that I've been nursing along. Some have gotten really big and sail nicely in the current. I want to divide them (probably 'pizza style' then into small growout basin within my prop tank i.e. the bottom of a yogurt container).

Is there a size, time, event that I should be looking for to say, 'Now is the time to frag this shroom?"

Curious...:poke:

[Wiggler]

Hey Doc,

I myself frag my shrooms using the lumberjack method (across the stalk and not down the middle).

I myself have done this at various times during the day, (BUT generally during the day well before lights go out) and I haven't had any problems .. all new shrooms grow out in a little ziploc plastic container on the bottom of my nano. (AWAY from my anenome :D)

HTH

Pam

[Dr. Tom]

Pam,

Thanks.

I didn't really mean time of day. More like how big or how established or something like that.

My one attempt at pie cutting wasn't that successful (they kind of turned to mush) but I think that was because I didn't cut cleanly and ended up hacking the stalk more than I wanted to.

I might do a few by the 'lumberjack' method, too, and see if that's more successful.

[jtremblay]

Doc,

Bandage scissors / paramedic scissors work quite well with the pizza method for the smoothe mushrooms (discosoma spp.?). The small serrations on the blades hold 'n' slice the 'shrooms very quickly and accurately. No fatalities on the striped mushrooms ... my problems with the solid red ones is that, while they healed, the little bastards wouldn't attach to anything in two weeks. I set them loose in the tank to see if that helps.

I'm more wary of propogating the hairier shrooms, tho.

Jason

[Dr. Tom]

Jason,

GARF site says the trick for getting them to adhere is to cover the container with the bridal netting and ignore it for no less than 4-6 weeks. They caution against peeking too early lest you shrooms blow away under a rock or something.

The cardinals are the ones that I'm having the most difficulty with. However, they are also the ones that are reproducing the most quickly naturally in my 25g tank. I'm just trying to start a nice red mushroom rock a bit more quickly.

I'm working with these color morphs of discosoma:

red
turquoise spotted
blue spotted
purple spotted
blue striped (?velvet)
green striped
green velvet

Not really sure of the species of the 'velvet' types. Just made up the name cause that's how they look.

I'm also eyeing up my hairy mushroom and ricordea (orange and green) but I think they're still too small.

[jtremblay]

The striped ones attached in 2 or 3 days in a ramekin with CC. In about 2 weeks, the slices are about 90% healed and the shrooms are almost circular again.

FWIW, I had to take the ramekin out since it was taking up waaaaay too much room, it was crowding the frags I'm already growing. My next shot is gone to be, well, a shot glass. My current theory is that, the faster a shroom grows, the faster it attaches ... my red ones are slow growers, and the striped ones are fast.

Jason

[freeborn]

i use rubber bands. make them snug across the shroom and shazam...2-3 days later i have 2 fairly healthy shrooms

[create_a_reef]

I use the garf method too with the plastic container on the sand bed. My only thing to add would be that you make sure there is a good amount of water flow accross the netting area. My only bad experience with shroom cutting was a red slime algea bloom 2 days after I cut, everything was doing well until then. Cut hairly, blue, red, metalic blue and a few others all turned to mush =/ Other then that i have had no problems. Just make sure that your tank is not due for a bloom..... if thats possible =)

Brent

[huss]

so if i have a rock of bright green shrooms, the rock having 15 each having a dia of atleast 3-4 inches should i be thinning them out?
same with my zooz and green star polyps. all have been in my tank for almost a year and have grown alot.
i have an open brain coral that is redish pink and yellow, i didnt know that they grown but mine has added an extra 3" in dia.

[otto]

I got a colony, should I touch them or let them be for a period of time?

Still learning how to take pics, shrooms are supposed to be green.

[Dr. Tom]

Originally posted by jtremblay
The striped ones attached in 2 or 3 days in a ramekin with CC. In about 2 weeks, the slices are about 90% healed and the shrooms are almost circular again.

FWIW, I had to take the ramekin out since it was taking up waaaaay too much room, it was crowding the frags I'm already growing. My next shot is gone to be, well, a shot glass. My current theory is that, the faster a shroom grows, the faster it attaches ... my red ones are slow growers, and the striped ones are fast.

Jason

Jason,

I seem to have the reverse problem to you. My striped ones are slow and my reds are quicker.

[MountainM]

I find cutting their heads off at night is easiest or just before lights on because my shrooms seem to stretch up high and leave a nice avaliable piece of their foot for me to chop ;)

[otto]

The hairy shrooms in the pic does not stretch up high enough to show the stems to be cut. I practiced on one at the corner and end up cutting out a donut shape head with out the niple...

I will try the rubber band technique instead...