ZA (zoaholics anonymous)

[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?

[Zoaelite]

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?

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!

[ProReef]

WOW, those pictures were very inspiring and motivating to cater more to my beloved zoas in my tank at home. I am triing to figure out why one of my colonies at home are not as happy as they once were, while the neighbour zoas are just fine?? Good to hear that others sometimes bang their head on the wall too at times. Thanks to all that posted, i will be following this thread for sure. I will post pics later.
Cheers Ronnie

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by ProReef

WOW, those pictures were very inspiring and motivating to cater more to my beloved zoas in my tank at home. I am triing to figure out why one of my colonies at home are not as happy as they once were, while the neighbour zoas are just fine?? Good to hear that others sometimes bang their head on the wall too at times. Thanks to all that posted, i will be following this thread for sure. I will post pics later.
Cheers Ronnie

perhaps being picked on or nipped at...nudis,fish,bristleworms,crabs etc. try moving them to a different spot if its none of the above and see if it helps, unless they are completely grown in in which case youll just have to observe them day and night to see when they open and why they open or close

[NanoReef]

well mine look pretty bad after posting behind zoaElite lol but heres a few of mine
anyone have a name for these purple ones?

[fishytime]

Originally Posted by NanoReef

anyone have a name for these purple ones?

Ive got a name for them.......freakin sweet!....... dont quote me, but try looking for pics of "jokers".......I think that might be what you got.....

[lorenz0]

well I said it wouldn't happen but i relapsed after seeing these... always wanted them

so now I am setting up a few small islands for zoa's/paly's... i give in too easily

[NanoReef]

Originally Posted by fishytime

Ive got a name for them.......freakin sweet!....... dont quote me, but try looking for pics of "jokers".......I think that might be what you got.....

Ran a quick google search on "jokers" and yes! That Is exactly them! Thank you! I bought a colony of greens just because I saw this tiny purple one with a green skirt on the back of it. So I got it home, fragged the single polyp, and now I have what you see in the pic! One of my favorite zoas that I own for sure.
Now I NEED to get some tubbs blues, but can't find em around me. Ugh