How much needs to be left for a zoa to come back?

Calm Blue Ocean · Apr 1, 2021

So my new zoas look to be not long for this world. One head is pretty much gone and the other is taking on a strange look, similar to the way the other started to decline. I'll keep doing what I can for this one but I got wondering, I've seen softies come back from just a smudge on a frag plug and even less, but those were much simpler corals. What can a zoa come back from? If there is still a trace of tissue left on the rock can it grow back or does it need actual living heads to exist?

TheDragonsReef · Apr 1, 2021

I have some palys in my tank that come back from mush all the time lol i cant kill them not matter how hard i try. so its possible.

mdb_talon · Apr 1, 2021

Have had them come back from nothing(that i could see anyway)

Calm Blue Ocean · Apr 1, 2021

mdb_talon said:
Have had them come back from nothing(that i could see anyway)

Good to know. So if the worst happens I'll keep the frag plug in the tank just in case (not like it takes up so much space).

My first ever coral was a Kenya tree that completely disintegrated (damaged in shipping) and it really looked like all I had was a bare rock. In a year it grew so much I could have filled several tanks with Kenya Trees. That thing is still trying to run me out of the house. But of course that was a Kenya Tree. ;Hilarious

Reefing_addiction · Apr 2, 2021

As long as there is something on the frag plug I wouldn’t remove it. Try and keep the plug free of algae though. Soft tooth brush with h2o2 or a quick dip in h2o2 and in a few month it may come back. I have had it happen several times

Gtinnel · Apr 2, 2021

I also had a zoa frag that I had given up on because there was no visible tissue, and a few months later I was looking at my tank and noticed a small dot of color. It had seemingly came back from the dead. Now it has grown into around 15 polyps.