Secrets to zoa?

[SaltyBuddha]

I'm trying to create a little "Zoa Island" and I currently have about 6 types of zoas on the rock. Rastas, Radioactive Dragons and some others that are unnamed. One of the unnamed types has been giving me trouble, but another is just bizarre. 

 

This one type of ugly brown Zoa that started off as one polyp. It almost NEVER opens, but is producing more polyps. None of the polyps open, but I have 4 of them now... I'm thinking about tossing them because I really don't want zoas growing that just stay closed

 

[Pjanssen]

I have a pretty nice Zoa garden, but they are all "no-name" Zoas. Every time I try something like Rastas or Fire and Ice they die.

[TheBig053]

My rastas dont look great, very small polyps. From what I understand the polyps generally dont get very large for most folks. However, there is an LFS around here with some rasta polyps that are 1/2-3/4" diameter. Makes me jealous.

 

Heres everything.

 

 

[dandelion]

Maybe I'll try to pull out my DIY Julian's thing out and start feeding the zoas. See if they'll do any better. Do you feed them reef roids?

[TheBig053]

I do give 'em a little spray of the reef roids

[twowilldo]

Whatever the secret is, it is eluding me too. I bought a whole bunch of them online and only one has opened, barely. Most of the rubble they came on is mostly bare now. I started them very low and moved them into higher area of the rocks when they were only bumps... not opening, hoping that would help. 

 

I have never bought coral online before and won't ever do it again... would rather at least see they are living and thriving in a local frag tank somewhere and pick them out that way. I have had zoas in other tanks, now when I try to actually build a dedicated tank for them... nothing.

 

Maybe I should switch to mushrooms.

 

I have the regular Current LEDs not the pro, so have to think of light requirements.

 

Spec V tank is about 2 months along, cycling completed about 5-6 weeks ago. I have an astrea and a nass, they seem fine.

 

SG 1.025

Temp 78

Red Sea test kit:

No ammonia or nitrite

Nitrate less than 5

Seachem:

Alk 7

 

I don't have a calcium kit, do I need that for keeping zoas?

 

Really bummed.

 

On the bright side I really like the little Aqua Forest heater, it is doing great!  

 

[dandelion]

4 minutes ago, twowilldo said:

Whatever the secret is, it is eluding me too. I bought a whole bunch of them online and only one has opened, barely. Most of the rubble they came on is mostly bare now. I started them very low and moved them into higher area of the rocks when they were only bumps... not opening, hoping that would help. 

 

I have never bought coral online before and won't ever do it again... would rather at least see they are living and thriving in a local frag tank somewhere and pick them out that way. I have had zoas in other tanks, now when I try to actually build a dedicated tank for them... nothing.

 

Maybe I should switch to mushrooms.

 

I have the regular Current LEDs not the pro, so have to think of light requirements.

 

Spec V tank is about 2 months along, cycling completed about 5-6 weeks ago. I have an astrea and a nass, they seem fine.

 

SG 1.025

Temp 78

Red Sea test kit:

No ammonia or nitrite

Nitrate less than 5

Seachem:

Alk 7

 

I don't have a calcium kit, do I need that for keeping zoas?

 

Really bummed.

 

On the bright side I really like the little Aqua Forest heater, it is doing great!  

 

As far as I know alk and calcium aren't big concerns for zoa

[1891Bro]

The ugly ones grow real fast! The pretty ones are like cutters, the pain makes them feel real. 

[Lula_Mae]

13 hours ago, twowilldo said:

Whatever the secret is, it is eluding me too. I bought a whole bunch of them online and only one has opened, barely. Most of the rubble they came on is mostly bare now. I started them very low and moved them into higher area of the rocks when they were only bumps... not opening, hoping that would help. 

 

I have never bought coral online before and won't ever do it again... would rather at least see they are living and thriving in a local frag tank somewhere and pick them out that way. I have had zoas in other tanks, now when I try to actually build a dedicated tank for them... nothing.

 

Maybe I should switch to mushrooms.

 

I have the regular Current LEDs not the pro, so have to think of light requirements.

 

Spec V tank is about 2 months along, cycling completed about 5-6 weeks ago. I have an astrea and a nass, they seem fine.

 

SG 1.025

Temp 78

Red Sea test kit:

No ammonia or nitrite

Nitrate less than 5

Seachem:

Alk 7

 

I don't have a calcium kit, do I need that for keeping zoas?

 

Really bummed.

 

On the bright side I really like the little Aqua Forest heater, it is doing great!  

 

I've bought most of my coral online with great success, though it's definitely possible yours didn't handle shipping stress well.  Have you tried a Lugol's iodine dip for the ones that are left?  I'm sorry they aren't cooperating, it stinks when corals you want to thrive won't.

[Minmay]

13 hours ago, twowilldo said:

Whatever the secret is, it is eluding me too. I bought a whole bunch of them online and only one has opened, barely. Most of the rubble they came on is mostly bare now. I started them very low and moved them into higher area of the rocks when they were only bumps... not opening, hoping that would help. 

 

I have never bought coral online before and won't ever do it again... would rather at least see they are living and thriving in a local frag tank somewhere and pick them out that way. I have had zoas in other tanks, now when I try to actually build a dedicated tank for them... nothing.

 

Maybe I should switch to mushrooms.

 

I have the regular Current LEDs not the pro, so have to think of light requirements.

 

Spec V tank is about 2 months along, cycling completed about 5-6 weeks ago. I have an astrea and a nass, they seem fine.

 

SG 1.025

Temp 78

Red Sea test kit:

No ammonia or nitrite

Nitrate less than 5

Seachem:

Alk 7

 

I don't have a calcium kit, do I need that for keeping zoas?

 

Really bummed.

 

On the bright side I really like the little Aqua Forest heater, it is doing great!  

 

Usually when I buy online. I only buy from LFS so I can do local pickup. My zoas are growing but slowly. I do feed them roids once a week. Will also do a peroxide dip when i see that its not opening for like a week or so. I periodically blow them off cuz my hector likes to sift sand and swim over them. Dont give up on them though. Try maybe a peroxide dip. Maybe something is irritating them that your eyes cant see. Good luck ?

[discchord]

On 8/24/2017 at 2:41 PM, GregEmmitte said:

I've never had problems with Zoas. But I really don't care so hats probably why they grow. It's called spite.

Does Hanna make a checker for Spite? 

 

My first foray into zoas has started with 4 WYSIWYG colonies from a Tidal Garden's Live Sale. Presumably they were all raised under the same tank conditions so I would expect similar results in terms of flow and light requirements. 

 

In the first day they all opened up, but within a week one of them was closing. I thought I might be overdoing the light so I scaled that back but the colony got worse and worse. Then the 3 of the other colonies began to stay mostly closed, and I realized too late that I must have a pest. I was advised to try an iodine dip and that really seemed to help... at least for the 3 new ones being affected. The first colony to show symptoms completely died off. Of the 3 remaining colonies only 1 has remained fulled open. A second iodine dip helped, but the other 2 are still not fully opening. Now I'm starting to see some white fluffy stuff on one of them, which looks like a fungus to my extremely untrained eyes.

 

 I'm going to try another iodine dip with 20:1 water:peroxide dilution, and see if that helps. 

[GregEmmitte]

Sponge perhaps? I got zoasponge.

the brown colony of zoanthids I got a year ago from petco of all places. I got it about 3 weeks into my cycle in my first sw tank. It's tripled in size.

[GregEmmitte]

It's not the best of photos especially with nemo photobombing and the gorg in the way. But despite the sponge the red ones are growing to. They weee 4 polyp colonies 6 months ago. The Duncan's seem to be annoyed by the macro and lack of flow.. but they've grown green skeleton. When I got them there was no skeleton.

 

[Ebn]

Just dip in Bayer and onto the sandbed they go. No special care needed in the predominantly sps tank.

 

 

Most of these were purchased or given as 1-2 polyp frags. Top left is RR banana boat, then rastas, PPEs, and fruit loops.

 

I just sold this rock of emeralds on fire off today. Started out with ~5 polyps and it grew into this, which is ~200 polyps. Sold it for to someone for a steal at $1/polyp.

[Lula_Mae]

2 hours ago, discchord said:

Does Hanna make a checker for Spite? 

 

My first foray into zoas has started with 4 WYSIWYG colonies from a Tidal Garden's Live Sale. Presumably they were all raised under the same tank conditions so I would expect similar results in terms of flow and light requirements. 

 

In the first day they all opened up, but within a week one of them was closing. I thought I might be overdoing the light so I scaled that back but the colony got worse and worse. Then the 3 of the other colonies began to stay mostly closed, and I realized too late that I must have a pest. I was advised to try an iodine dip and that really seemed to help... at least for the 3 new ones being affected. The first colony to show symptoms completely died off. Of the 3 remaining colonies only 1 has remained fulled open. A second iodine dip helped, but the other 2 are still not fully opening. Now I'm starting to see some white fluffy stuff on one of them, which looks like a fungus to my extremely untrained eyes.

 

 I'm going to try another iodine dip with 20:1 water:peroxide dilution, and see if that helps. 

Hope that does the trick for you! Zoas can be maddening lol.

[twowilldo]

On 9/2/2017 at 9:19 AM, Lula_Mae said:

I've bought most of my coral online with great success, though it's definitely possible yours didn't handle shipping stress well.  Have you tried a Lugol's iodine dip for the ones that are left?  I'm sorry they aren't cooperating, it stinks when corals you want to thrive won't.

Yes, temp acclimated and dipped upon arrival, then another dip last weekend. There is one that opened and one lump left on one of the rubble pieces. Live and learn.

[Tamberav]

On 9/2/2017 at 3:37 PM, Ebn said:

Just dip in Bayer and onto the sandbed they go. No special care needed in the predominantly sps tank.

 

 

Most of these were purchased or given as 1-2 polyp frags. Top left is RR banana boat, then rastas, PPEs, and fruit loops.

 

I just sold this rock of emeralds on fire off today. Started out with ~5 polyps and it grew into this, which is ~200 polyps. Sold it for to someone for a steal at $1/polyp.

 

Are they just on frag plugs and spreading across the sand?

[Ebn]

17 hours ago, Tamberav said:

 

Are they just on frag plugs and spreading across the sand?

 

Yes, at a certain point in time the zoas run out of rocks and just grow on the sandbed. They use particles of sand to anchor onto as they grow out. For instance, the colony of fruit loops that you see in the left in the picture above. Here's the underside of it.

 

 

You can see where the original rock that it was originally glued down to (flat, white bottom piece). Everything beyond the borders of that is growing flat across the sandbed, which makes it really easy to tear off the main colony or just cut away from. 

[twowilldo]

My faith in trying to start a zoa garden has been restored. Bought some nice frags from local reefers (actually saw then open and looking robust). They were all open within about 30 mins to an hour... I hope this journey goes a little smoother now.

 

Out of the variety of 6 frags (24 heads?) I bought from a seller found here on NR, only one Twizzler opened. The rubble they were on had tiny bumps upon arrival, only ever saw an actual stalk on the one that survived. Hope it remains happy and makes more. Fool me once, shame on you... and it won't happen twice.

 

I was lucky to meet a person (turns out to be a neighbor actually) that has beautiful, healthy tanks loaded with all kinds of unusual zoas. She told me she has found that alk between 7-9 is optimum for zoas (she had huge colonies all over the rocks). Alk in my little pico is 7. I am not even sure how I will manage that if it gets too low, or too high in such a tiny environment.

[Lawnman]

I blast my zoas and palys with light. I find the best thing you can do for them is use a turkey baster on them nightly blowing off any detritus on the mats. This helps keep algae and fungus from growing on them. I also dose Brightwell Coral Amino nightly. I never spot feed them. 

[IonicBond]

I've had the most success with low nutrient, low/moderate flow, moderate light.  I say this because they proliferated in an SPS dominant tank in the lower tiers and not in the mid/upper regions.

 

I also checked them fortnightly with a red headlamp in the midnight hours for pests, and did some manual removal of nudibranches initially.

[dandelion]

8 hours ago, twowilldo said:

My faith in trying to start a zoa garden has been restored. Bought some nice frags from local reefers (actually saw then open and looking robust). They were all open within about 30 mins to an hour... I hope this journey goes a little smoother now.

 

Out of the variety of 6 frags (24 heads?) I bought from a seller found here on NR, only one Twizzler opened. The rubble they were on had tiny bumps upon arrival, only ever saw an actual stalk on the one that survived. Hope it remains happy and makes more. Fool me once, shame on you... and it won't happen twice.

 

I was lucky to meet a person (turns out to be a neighbor actually) that has beautiful, healthy tanks loaded with all kinds of unusual zoas. She told me she has found that alk between 7-9 is optimum for zoas (she had huge colonies all over the rocks). Alk in my little pico is 7. I am not even sure how I will manage that if it gets too low, or too high in such a tiny environment.

When my 5G pico was running my alk would drop from 10 to about 9 everyday. That was a SPS dominated tank though. If your tank is zoa only it probably won’t drop very much.

[Lovemycj7]

if zoas dont look good usually lack of nutrients

[dandelion]

My zoas are temporarily housed in my 29G that I keep rather clean. I got lazy and didn’t do water change for the past month and it seems like they’ve perked up a bit.

[DevFishe]

Sacrifice 3 hermit crabs to the Zoa gods and do the zoa dance every morning at sunrise.  

i think reef plus has helped my one colony of zoas, but might be coincidental