Fast Zoo growth

banditpowdercoat · #1 11-19-2008, 01:03 AM

Well, I went away for a while, to work, and havnt had much time for tank maintenance. Wife's been feeding the fish fine. We;ve backed off on food a little to control algae. Think we were over feeding. BUT, My Zoo's have seemed to take off the past couple weeks. Like trippled in numbers and some have stalks that are nearing 2.5". They are attached to large pieces of rock to, so I dont know if I can take them off? Cant remove the rock, thats would be dismantling basically.

So, what caused the Zoo's to grow so fast? Were not tatrget feeding them or nothing. Just Form 1+2 pellets and Mysis for the fish. A Krill now and a gen to the anemone..

Thx in advance

justinl · #2 11-19-2008, 02:00 AM

zoos and most softies and lps usually grow much better in tanks that present more free nutrients than in sterile SPS clean tanks. within a limit of course

banditpowdercoat · #3 11-19-2008, 02:16 AM

What's the best way to limit or lower free nutrients? Is it just leftovers from feeding the fishies? I like my Zoo's but fear thy will overrun the tank in a while

justinl · #4 11-19-2008, 03:18 AM

lol people usually try yto do what you just did by accident... dunno why you'd want to stop it. If you're worried about overgrowth and crowding, set frag plugs or something (I use clam shells) around the zoo colonies and as they grow, just use a razor to slice off the bit on the shell and voila frags and a trimmed colony. if you're really set on limiting them, cut back feeding again and see what happens in a few weeks.

tgoeujon · #5 11-19-2008, 05:47 AM

which ones are going crazy, im gonna go with a wild guess and say the pinks.

Amante · #6 11-19-2008, 08:12 AM

Lucky you brother.

Quote:

Originally Posted by banditpowdercoat

Well, I went away for a while, to work, and havnt had much time for tank maintenance. Wife's been feeding the fish fine. We;ve backed off on food a little to control algae. Think we were over feeding. BUT, My Zoo's have seemed to take off the past couple weeks. Like trippled in numbers and some have stalks that are nearing 2.5". They are attached to large pieces of rock to, so I dont know if I can take them off? Cant remove the rock, thats would be dismantling basically.

So, what caused the Zoo's to grow so fast? Were not tatrget feeding them or nothing. Just Form 1+2 pellets and Mysis for the fish. A Krill now and a gen to the anemone..

Thx in advance

banditpowdercoat · #7 11-19-2008, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgoeujon

which ones are going crazy, im gonna go with a wild guess and say the pinks.

LOL, they growin huge for you too? They are LARGE in my tank. I'll see if I can get pics later. Camera kinda busted. But I do have some little Orange Skirts that over doubled in size too. Guess im lucky? I'll get some oyster shells and whatnot, see if I can make them migrate?

BTW, whats an easy way to get them off the host rock they are on? An In Tank procedure. Can it be done without harming them?

tgoeujon · #8 11-19-2008, 02:36 PM

did you get the oranges with the pinks? if not i want a frag

banditpowdercoat · #9 11-19-2008, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgoeujon

did you get the oranges with the pinks? if not i want a frag

Got Orange's from Wendell, I'l see what I can do

justinl · #10 11-19-2008, 05:20 PM

I've had luck with scraping off the mat of zoos and then using a razor to slice off the part that i lifted off the rock. Do your best to actually scrape into the rock so you get a thin layer of the actual rock instead of cutting up the bottom of the zoos. Dremel works well, but a knife will do. You can then superglue the bottom of the loose zoos onto your plug.