You can't blaim a hobbiest for wanting somthing first, money talk. Also the hobbiest who pay big bucks first will make the most off it.
On the Dirty tank note, im switching to vodka soon and im wondering what my Z and P's will do it shall be interesting.
i do NOT buy the dirty tank anecdotes at all. yes maybe some zoas can be raised in less then ideal conditions, but they can also be raised in pristene water, and most are adaptable to both. i've raised zoas for many years, and they remain one of my favs. most are not expensive, they are hardy, they grow like crazy, and they are colorful and just become better as the colony grows.
- i think zoas are just very forgiving
- i've had zoa/shroom tanks that were skimmerless and i rarely even did water changes on - my zoas did just fine
- in my current tank DT were i dose vodka and have a large skimmer/filtration system, i have to be careful not to get too clean or my SPS go pale, and yet my zoas are thriving
sure i have had a couple zoas melt on me over the years, but very few compared to other corals i have raised - they are just plain hard to kill - but it can be done
the single best way to kill a zoa is to cut small or single polyp frags from an already small group and then ship them. i have found that fragging zoas into small frags or even single polyps, is generally successful as long as they are given proper recovery time AND the colony was thriving to begin with.
as far as growth goes it is like all corals in that it tends to be exponential. when you start with one polyp, sure it seems like forever before you have enough to cover the plug but if you start with a rock full they seem to spread like crazy. obviously each polyp is only capable of splitting so often so the more their are the more new ones you get
as far as the names and silly pricing - simple - don't fall for it. buy what you like and pay what your willing. i just let someone else have that newest "must have" zoa, and smile when i hear what they paid
