OK here are some thoughts on this.

First of all to keep that type of anemone alive and thriving for so long is an achievement most people couldn't hope for, I would consider it a success and not a failure. The idea of a huge group of clowns hosting in that anemone I think deserves consideration, it would make a magnificent display. Another thought is that maybe after reaching a certain size these anemones become more predatory, if it is possible to make it split a few times (mechanically or by stressing it) you might have a more peaceful anemone as well as a few clones to sell, just a thought.

As far as losing an entire tank of corals it will happen to all of us sooner or later, it is the law of probabilities. Redundancy such as two half-powered heaters might help but eventually something will fail or a power outage will wipe out a tank. The best way around this IMO is an active network of people swapping frags, so if one person's tank got wiped out he could quickly restock his tank with frags from other hobbyists.

Anyway just my thoughts on this, my tank is young still and I know this will happen to me sooner or later.

[quote="reef_raf"]Well I solved that by going the mail order route. There are lots available it is just a matter of finding them. I also think Christy has some, and Ocean Aquatics too. :biggrin:

Can you think of anyone else that has zoos?? :razz:

I know Bob has some! :eek: Because I just bought some from him! :biggrin:

You know I'm somewhat surprised that the Grammar Gendarme does not refer to them as "zoa's". I forget where I first heard that rant, "They're not ZOOANTHIDS they're ZOANTHIDS so why call them zoos? Zoos are places you might find zoas" (or some such). :razz:

TriLinear, thanks for your thoughts (and kind words regarding the amount of time I've kept it ... It's funny that one tends to forget or overlook the positives ... "guilty"). I am giving serious thought to the small-group/sharem idea, we'll see where that goes.

On an interesting side note, I feel it's an important distinction to note that it is not so much "predatory" as it is "highly defensive." It shows no interest in eating anything larger than mysis sized pieces.

As for the law of probabilities ... I think you're completely right. It really is a question of "when" not "if" and anyone who feels otherwise is probably naïve.

You mixed a hard and soft G sound here - therefore "Grammar Gendarme," while cutesy enough due to the mixing of French and English, must be disallowed... I'll talk to a mod... :wink:

This is why I hold my breath for long stretches...

I don't know if I would call that a rant, but let's explore this. (post padding :question: )

The first place I saw this controversy mentioned was in Eric Bourneman's "Mything the point". He stated (quite correctly) that we are talking about Zoanthids, not cutesy terms like "zoos", or indeed "zoas".
However, I don't see where Zoas is any more legitimate than Zoos. Both are equally wrong grammatically.
I myself use the word zoanthid, and zoos interchangeably(sp?). It depends if I want to be gramatically correct, or just go with the flow. :eek:

I lost a mystery wrasse and a foxface today.

Both have been in quarantine for 6 weeks or so because the wrasse had developed a white *bump* on his belly. It was going down in size and both fish ate quite well... at least twice a day, sometimes 3x a day... a good variety of foods, clean tank, good flow, stable params...

and yet, both dead, for no apparent reason as the white bump that kept them in quarantine for an extra few weeks had gone away this weekend and I said to myself - I'll just give it a nother week before I put them in the big tank...

Also noticed 1 coral completely RTN'd overnight... it was about 4-5" across. 2 more corals are looking like they are ready to go as well.

Bah. But, I am still gonna get my bigger tank setup and keep my chunk of the ocean going... even though I am a bit upset with it all today.

Brad if you want you can have all mine.

Seriously. Let me know.

Christy.

Since this is turning into a zoo fest, I want to ask a question about the toxicity of zoo's, I remember a couple stories from Anthony Califo and also reading several articles about how toxic zoos are. could this make it hard to keep other types of corals in a tank with a bunch of zoos?

Steve