Quote:
Originally Posted by ScubaSteve
Levi... Dude... Those are freakin' insane! Christ, I love your tank and hate it at the same time because I look at my tank and and it looks like crap compared to yours.
What's your secret man?
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Hard to say I have had tones of colonies melt on me, Zoantharia as an order tends to be pretty diverse so you need to find the correct light/ flow for each colony.
Couple tips:
-Many zoanthids have horrible track records in captivity, these are usually the sought after ones adding to the frustration. Aquacultured corals just like SPS tend to be a little more resilient so buying cultured is the best way to go.
-Healthy fish food high in HUFA's is key to healthy fish and more importantly healthy fish poop. Studies on Zoantharia nutrition tend to be few and far between but generally identify dissolved organics and bacteria as a large contributors of Nitrogen and Carbon not acquired through photosynthesis. Having a healthy system which can easily turn nutrients into bacteriobiomass works wonders for zoanthids. In addition to the bacteria, fish waste and detritus is routinely captured by species from the families Parazoanthidae and Sphenopidae while Zoanthidae tend to rely more on photosynthetic processes. Identifying the family helps identify what care is required, this unfortunately is not an easy task for beginners.
-Actinics make the florescent pigments in zoas POP, the bluer the spectrum the more "Pop" you get. Of course there is a trade off with growth and color so finding the sweet spot is a tricky ordeal.
-Flow is pivotal, although branded as beginner coral high variable flow mixed with strong lighting is highly beneficial for pretty much all species of Zoantharia.
The biggest tip I can give though is once you put the colony in and find a good spot for it DONT MOVE IT. Everytime a colony moves it has to photoacclimate which can be an easy stressor, in a reef full of infectious microbes stress is the enemy.
Hope that helps buddy!