How to morph zoas. A big mystery.

[WereAllNegan]

I know this might sound strange but I am dedicated to finding out how to intentionally morph Zoas. It happens so easily, sometimes after a hydrogen peroxide dip, sometimes with idione and I've noticed if you take them out of the tank and let their temperature drop for 30 minutes it sometimes causes certain colors to morph.

I just know that there's a way to do it we just haven't found out how. There's gotta be something out there that triggers them to morph. Whether its a chemical like idione or something that no one's thought about. I plan on dedicating years to this until I find out how. Any one have similar experiences with zoas changing colors? Imagine if we could intentionally morph zoas. It would be fun and fascinating at the same time. I hope I don't sound like a mad scientist here. I'm just very curious by nature

 

[ZoWhat]

Zoas get their color photosynthesizing zooxanthellae algae inside their tissues.

To be able to control that....idk man, i don't think a committee full of Marine Biologists with 5 phDs each can do that

 

[WereAllNegan]

I've thought about that, how can a hobbyist know more than a person who's dedicated their life to research.

What you are saying is a reasonable assumption. This curiosity stems from seeing zoas morph just by coming in contact with super glue (probably the heat it causes as it cures). My nephew left his zoas out because his timer didn't go off while acclimating and the temperature dropped significantly by the time he noticed it. When we put them back in the tank and they opened 2 hours later, they had morphed colors.
That tells me that there's something to this, regardless of genetics. Part of scientific research is observation.

We know that different spectrums can also change colors on coral (regardless of genetics). Zoas *will* morph we know that.
My whole life I've been told "you'll never do this, you'll never do that, thats impossible, that goes against research and blah blah blah. When I was 19 I told my family I wanted a Lamborghini Murcielago and they said I was crazy. I don't blame them, I was working at Red Lobster lol. At the age of 24, I bought my first Lambo in dark grey with a six speed transmission. Awesome but uncomfortable.

I guess I'm used to being told "not possible". I don't want to sound egotistical but almost everything I've set my mind to, I've accomplished. Almost

The words "not possible" don't mean [anything] to me but not every one has the same mentality

Reminds me of the story of Eratosthenes who was ridiculed by the whole scientific community when he suggested the earth wasn't flat but round. Now, we have globes in every school.

Or when Albert Einstein (one of the smartest man in history) ridiculed the scientist (can't remember his name) that proposed the theory of black holes. Now we're studying them.

I hear what you're saying and i respect it but I'm sorry, 5 PhDs don't mean anything to me. Just like Elon Musk when he hires people to do the "impossible".

A curious mind is greater then one stuck in a box.

I might fail, but I'm going to try. I'm seeing patterns and that draws my curiosity. In the end, we barely know how corals work. That's why there's so much conflicting information in this hobby. I don't think what I'm trying to do is out of this world. Not like I'm trying to morph zoas into torches lol.

I've seen your posts and you've actually helped me regarding my reef tank. You are an awesome reefer, but always keep your mind open. That the only reason why I've succeeded in life against all odds.

Never get stuck in a box
You're a good reefer and people appreciate you here. As I do.

 

[damsels are not mean]

If the color morphing is the result of a specific process that the zoa is doing to adapt to different conditions then yes you could figure out what's happening, but it could also be effectively random. It might be a response that the zoa does by expelling something that won't grow back, like a gecko dropping its tail. In that case the nub that grows back (unlike iguanas who grow their whole tail) may or may not have reliable patterning. Alternatively, it might be that each genetically unique colony will morph to unique colors, and this makes it so that you'd have to culture the colonies individually and test them under different conditions and have to keep record on which genetic stock respond which way to which conditions.

 

[mermaid_life]

So interesting that I saw this thread today! I have a rock that has 3 main types of zoa's on it. Nothing fancy....

The first type is the mohawk or pink glitter or whatever ppl want to call it. It's a fast propagator and it's nothing fancy. It's pink with gold rim and gold glitter in the middle and pink mouth.

I have another type that I got from a fellow reefer and it's sky blue with a green mouth. It's also nothing famous that I'll aware of.

They recently started merging and bearing this hybrid.... It's hard to get a good pic but it's gold speckled, a little different colored pink with a green mouth!

I don't know how to draw on images.... It's close to the right middle/bottom

 

[Derrick0580]

This makes me think of the Deadpool movie how different patients developed their mutant powers under different stress factors. Could be different zoas morph under different circumstances!

 

[damsels are not mean]

So interesting that I saw this thread today! I have a rock that has 3 main types of zoa's on it. Nothing fancy....

The first type is the mohawk or pink glitter or whatever ppl want to call it. It's a fast propagator and it's nothing fancy. It's pink with gold rim and gold glitter in the middle and pink mouth.

I have another type that I got from a fellow reefer and it's sky blue with a green mouth. It's also nothing famous that I'll aware of.

They recently started merging and bearing this hybrid.... It's hard to get a good pic but it's gold speckled, a little different colored pink with a green mouth!

I don't know how to draw on images.... It's close to the right middle/bottom

I have a recently purchased frag that came as a mix of two colonies and one of the new polyps seems like an odd mix. Will see if that lasts or if more come out that way.

 

[workhz]

I got tired of these green palys so dropped a frag of even faster growing red ones. I’ve forgotten the names of them. I think the reds will win this particular war. No idea if they’ll morph or not.

I also have some Mohawks (I think) and add the same red ones and I’m pretty sure some combo colors have come out of that.

 

[ZoWhat]

I morphed smthg recently

 

[mindme]

Well the colors in the zoas are zooxanthelllae, so it seems to me the logical reason why they morph is because the conditions for a certain colors are present. Because even if you morph them, they will likely go right back to what they were previously if you remove the conditions.

I have some green/brownish kind of ugly palys on my rock. They looked nothing like that when I bought them. They were the previous color because they were kept under certain light conditions, and when they go into my tank where there is a good bit of white light, they quickly changed and the brown parts that were previously limited have thrived, changing the colors. If I were to keep the lights almost always blue, the brown probably wouldn't have came up. Or that is my guess anyway.

Personally, I dislike the practice for that reason. Sellers keep trying to get the most colors out of coral, but then if you don't keep their paramaters and such, they'll just go back to looking like the cheap one you ignored.

 

[Doctorgori]

keep it up and I’m gonna report this thread, the makers of “Glow fish” could be watching and I’m not paying for high priced patented “glow zoas”
seriously….

Well the colors in the zoas are zooxanthelllae, so it seems to me the logical reason why they morph is because the conditions for a certain colors are present. Because even if you morph them, they will likely go right back to what they were previously if you remove the conditions.

I have some green/brownish kind of ugly palys on my rock. They looked nothing like that when I bought them. They were the previous color because they were kept under certain light conditions, and when they go into my tank where there is a good bit of white light, they quickly changed and the brown parts that were previously limited have thrived, changing the colors. If I were to keep the lights almost always blue, the brown probably wouldn't have came up. Or that is my guess anyway.

Personally, I dislike the practice for that reason. Sellers keep trying to get the most colors out of coral, but then if you don't keep their paramaters and such, they'll just go back to looking like the cheap one you ignored.

my so called “nuclear” palys are dull brown for now…agreed and agreed on both points