The Goniopora Project

[mazilla]

the cutting is the best part, and where the master's touch is required. This project is your baby, you have to ensure it starts of right. Besides, after you pull this off you would be an authority on the subject as so little info exist. People will be emailing you asking for help.....no pressure

[GoTakuF1]

Besides, after you pull this off you would be an authority on the subject as so little info exist. People will be emailing you asking for help.....no pressure

Almost makes me want to fail! I just wany my babies to grow up and get married off to the right tank, that's all!

[limestro]

Shoot, "slow and steady and precise," I'm out! Haha, seriously someone else needs to do the cutting. I can't stand watching it happen.

I'll do it.. =) I got a fresh blade your babies and some peroxide for some cleaning.

~Mike

[ManTis]

I WILL!!! I HAVE A 28"CHAINSAW!!! THE QUESTION IS WHO IS GOING TO HOLD THE GONIOPORA??? joking....

goodluck guys......

[barometer]

Almost makes me want to fail! I just wany my babies to grow up and get married off to the right tank, that's all!

I don't know if i can afford the dowry Minh
Looks like Mike's up to the cutting task

[limestro]

...Looks like Mike's up to the cutting task

Well, I'm part serious and part not. The way I see it is if we don't do it the project has come to a halt. I do agree that we should take some time to thoroughly think about the best method in fragging the coral before making a hasty judgement call and killing it. Thats the worst case scenerio. Hopefully we can figure this out, I'm really excited for this project.

~Mike

[CoralFrenzy]

If its in a ball shape I have actually fragged them with a hammer and screwdriver. They usually split rather nicely.

[barometer]

So I was thinking about the possible fragging. After reading the article, do you agree about the feeding/stress issues Minh? If so, do you think it would be better to frag it and keep the frags until you can feed them and see they're recovering or frag them and immediately distribute them to acclimete to their new tanks? I could see reasons for either, just wondering what your take is

[CoralFrenzy]

After the fragging you definitely will want to wait for them to heal before moving them to a new tank. I dont know about you guys but when I get frags of corals from people or mail order and I can tell they were fragged only a day or so ago I have a high rate of recession.

Its already stressful to the coral having its flesh ripped in half to have to deal with acclimating to new light, water conditions and flow.

[barometer]

Thanks Jason, this is what I was thinking. Best to get them back to 'normal' first, then transport and acclimate to new conditions.

[SuperDragon]

Agree with YumaED, give them time to be stress free in the enviroment they have been used to for so long after fragging.
As far as fragging... just do it. I have 10 blades, 15 blades, double action bone cutters, etc. lmk.

[GoTakuF1]

Can we cut the skeleton from behind, as far as the blade will go then use a flathead to chisel the pieces in two. Other than that the only option would be using a bandsaw. Anyone have access to one?

Thanks for all the food for thought guys! I've mulled it over a couple of times and I think Mike's suggestion from would be best. We'll cut the goni from the base or back with the lease amount of polyps/tissue. Then, we'll chisel the piece into parts. I think this would work better because tearing the tissue would be better than cutting the tissue with a foreign object, no? Is my thinking flawed?

Normally, the polyps are out 24/7 and with these big greenies, the polyps are MASSIVE so you can never see the skeleton underneath. I teased the polyps last night so they can retract and I'm reminded that the shape of the skeleton of this particular specimen is egg-shaped and the tissue started to encrust all the way around. Another very interesting observation is while I was teasing the polyps of that specimen, my biggest colony, which happens to be what is deemed most difficult (g. stokesi) also got teased. So a part of the coral retracted completely to show the skeleton. I was shocked to see how many goniophytes or buds/babies forming on the surface. This is of course normally not apparent when the polyps are out. I took a crummy pic under actinic lighting and will post it up tonight when I have some more time

I think we'll proceed with the fragging this weekend or whenever Mike has time.

[Whalehead9]

do you know what species that you have there? It could be G. planulata. If so then that is pretty promising they can be kept. A site to help the dedicated: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/10/aafeature2#h4

[maus]

I have a few non-green not-so-healthy colonies that I would be willing to donate to your cause if you were interested in working with different species. Just let me know if you want them :P

[GoTakuF1]

do you know what species that you have there? It could be G. planulata. If so then that is pretty promising they can be kept. A site to help the dedicated: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/10/aafeature2#h4

Thanks for the heads up. I believe it's a g. norfolkensis as the g. planulata are generally darker in colouration (brown/darker red). I'm not completely possitive as visual ID isn't always 100% so it could be something else. It's been one of the speediest recovery prospects in my tank so I hope it'll do well in others after fragging. Keeping fingers crossed!