Ripped off one of the first leaves

shit happens. as lon gas the growth tip is undamaged, it's fine. Might be a tad slower the first few days but irrelevant later on... cotys don't pull that much weight in the long-run. Seed shell removal Hold the seed (but, allows other half to be pried open) with some tweezers in a way that immobilizes the stem, too. You keep this hand as steady as possible. the plant should barely move throughout this process, if at all. Then use a toothpick or another set of tweezers etc to gently pry it open... by holding it steady, can't damage it. This ensures 100% of the force is applied to the seed shell only. You can still rip off a coty if it is stuck to the seed shell, but it should be very rare. If you feel resistence like that, may need some finer movements to release the leaf before prying seed open etc... Some nice reading glasses, even if you don't normally use them, will be very helpful too. sometimes a membrane remains - holds cotys together. Don't try to rip that apart. Slide it off. Can gently poke the toothpick or pin etc at base between leaves and slide it off the end of the leaves.