Do ACRO lovers still HATE us? Poor little Zoanthiniaria.....

[revhtree Verified Admin]

This is the question that all those little zoanthid frags are dying to know!

Back in the day, in my reefing adolescence, zoanthids we're becoming all the rage with everyone because of their beautiful variety of colors and the speed in which they reproduced! With everyone except the SPS guys and gals that is! You had one group that loved them so much they started a whole website to talk about them (eventually reef2reef) and then you had the group, called stick lovers, that would do anything to eradicate them. Is that still the case today and how much do you like or dislike our little button polyp friends? Let's talk about it!

1. Do you like zoanthids and if so why or why not?

2. What's your hands down most favorite zoanthid?

image via @joshporksandwich

 

[homer1475]

No hate here.

I had them when I was a newbie. Now with the evolution of my reef going to mainly SPS, there is no room for them.

Although common, eagle eyes were my favorite.

 

[The_Skrimp]

I love them both and wouldn’t be mad if my tank was nothing but zoas and acros. Once I get my corals to grow out a little more on the main rock I’m definitely covering the rest with zoas. For now I have a rock up front I’m making into a zoa garden

I don’t know that I have a favorite. I try not to get caught up in the collector mentality or fall for the fancy weed names people give zoas. I just go for what will look good in my tank and call it something like “the pink ones”. I guess I probably should find out what they’re called if I ever plan on fragging them though.

 

[Chuk]

I like them.

They're a good way to get lots of different colors in different parts of the tank.

I don't have a favorite. I usually just look for whatever color the wife says I need on that part of the tank.

 

[Sharkbait19]

I like zoanthids, but I definitely wouldn't see myself spending hundreds of dollars on fancy colonies. They're really neat corals, which I love having in my tank, but I don't know if I'd devote the time and effort on growing an entire garden (although they do look phenomenal).

My favorites are rasta zoanthids. I once saw a large frag of them at the lfs, and since then have wanted them in my tank. I'm just waiting for the right opportunity, and for my lfs to have them again....

 

[Reefs and Geeks]

I enjoy all coral! sticks are my favorite due to their colors and growth patterns, but at the same time I have about 30 different varietys of zoas in my tank as well. There really is alot of variety with color, and to some extent growth pattern for zoas. variety is the spice of life, so a tank with just a bunch of acros isn't quite as exciting as a well run mixed tank, IMO. I think one thing that makes sticks my favorite though is that the growth pattern does change as they grow, and they look like different coral as they grow. Zoas just multiply, but look the same as they grow.

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

For my first year of reefing I was terrified of zoanthids. Stories of palytoxin made them a hard no for my tank. And that might not have been a bad thing. I fought my first tank regularly, having to pull rocks several times to scrub bryopsis and other invasive things. Kenya trees and xenia were really a better idea.

Nearly two years in and with a new tank I've learned a lot and had a change of heart! I now have four different zoas in my tank. I love the pop of color, the relative hardiness, and the way they grow. They've turned into one of the most eye catching features in my tank.

Right now I have JF Mango Coolers, King Midas, Purple Hearted Emeralds, and WWC Superstars. My favorite by a landslide are the JF Mango Coolers. I can see those things from across the room under blues but they look beautiful in all kinds of light. Not just my favorite zoa but possibly one of my favorite corals in my tank.

Wish the picture really did the color justice.

 

[sp1187]

HATE THEM.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

I love them because they're simple and hardy, plus for a few more dollars you can get more colourful ones. Rastas are my favs

 

[MONTANTK]

I love zoanthids because there’s so much variety. It truly feels like you have a collection, similar to SPS. I also feel like they compliment SPS very well.

 

[elcapitan1993]

I love zoanthids and palys, I used to be afraid of them now I grab them and frag them without gloves “ I know” .

it’s hard to say what my favorite is because I love all of them and I have sooo many in my tank but I really like the rainbow incinerators I love the blue/green skirt that glows super bright

 

[elcapitan1993]

I love them because they're simple and hardy, plus for a few more dollars you can get more colourful ones. Rastas are my favs

I just got a frag with 30 of them for 30$ I was so excited, they are beautiful

 

[AJsReef]

Very much the same story, Zoas got me hooked on corals. It seems about 8 years ago though, the craze picked up and so did prices so I moved onto LPS/SPS. They can definitely add a ton of color but get lost in big tanks IMO. I don't think I've owned Zoas in over 5 years. "Darth Mauls" would probably be my favorite

 

[Timfish]

For those interested here's research showing potential issues between acros and zoas due to promotion of bacteria by zoas and variable immune systems in acros.

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Aura-biomes are present in the water layer above coral reef benthic macro-organims

Aura-biomes are present in the water layer above coral reef benthic macro-organisms - PMC

As coral reef habitats decline worldwide, some reefs are transitioning from coral- to algal-dominated benthos with the exact cause for this shift remaining elusive. Increases in the abundance of microbes in the water column has been correlated with ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Intraspecific differences in molecular stress responses and coral pathobiome contributes to mortality under bacterial challenge in Acropora millipora (immune system robustness varies by genotype)

Intraspecific differences in molecular stress responses and coral pathobiome contribute to mortality under bacterial challenge in Acropora millepora - Scientific Reports

Disease causes significant coral mortality worldwide; however, factors responsible for intraspecific variation in disease resistance remain unclear. We exposed fragments of eight Acropora millepora colonies (genotypes) to putatively pathogenic bacteria (Vibrio spp.). Genotypes varied from zero...

www.nature.com

Acropora microclades mostly found only with other acros.

You Won’t Believe Where Strawberry Shortcake Acros Live | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

Recently in Australia, together with Nic from Ultra Coral Australia we had the luck to go and observe Acropora microclados, aka the Strawberry Shortcake (SCC), in its natural environment.

reefbuilders.com

 

[Toolman]

Love them. Ok go for color and price. Don't care about the fancy names. Still I only have limited success with them. Some just don't seem to proliferate for me while others do.

 

[tamanning]

Zoas are awesome in my book. The colors the growth rate. what is not to like.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

I just got a frag with 30 of them for 30$ I was so excited, they are beautiful

30 for $30?? What? I payed $25 for 3 heads! I thought that was a good deal because usually online I would see 3-4 heads for $50!
Either way they've grown a lot in about a month, now I have about 5 heads

 

[Fishinabarrel]

I was indifferent to them for the longest time.
Sold off a paly that bored me.
I was annoyed by all the names.
I was annoyed by some of the outrageous prices.

Then 2 months ago I bought an orange one from a fellow reefer who was thinning out his herd (Mother of God? Mother of the earth? I forget its name..)
It has doubled in size. Then I bought a 2nd (Halle Barre).
Now I want to grow and trade and soon start a dedicated, small zoanthid only tank.

 

[walloutlet]

I love them... in my books nothing better than a zoa garden on an island curated with just the right splash of colors mixed together. I also find it extremely fasinating how they grow and stretch out over a rock, like veins running everywhere. That said, main real estate is reserved for Acros as I have forgone my fear of keeping/killing Acros and now have many sticks thriving.

 

[Ryan Doolittle]

I love my sticks first. Zoanthids are nice because of the colors, easy to grow, but why I actually love them isn't because they make $$$ to feed my Acropora addiction.

I will sell 3x as many zoa frags as I will sps frags, even if they are the same price.